Ballarat Trams

The State Electricity Commission of Victoria, the former State-owned electricity generator and distributor acquired the tramway systems at Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong as part of the acquisition of privately-owned electricity companies in a number of centres. The State Electricity Commission operated the small tramway system at Ballarat until September 1971, when the trams were replaced by privately operated buses. A pictureseque section of the former Ballarat system has been preserved along the edge of Lake Wendouree through the Botanical Gardens by the Ballarat Tramway Preservation Society. The Society operates a tourist service along this line on weekends and public holidays.

The Ballarat tramways were themselves almost a museum piece as most of the trams that operated the system were over fifty years old at the time of the system's closure. The tramway system had a number of unique features including wrong-side running on a number of sections of roadway. Here is a small selection of pictures of the Ballarat system as I remember it.

Ballarat 13 was photographed at the Victoria Street terminus in about 1970. The line to Victoria Street was the first Ballarat tramline to be seen when driving along the Western Highway from Melbourne to Ballarat. Ballarat 13 was typical of the single truck California combination trams in use on the Ballarat system, having been purchased second hand from the the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board. It was subsequently modified for one man operation with the ability for passengers to board alight from either side of the tram.

Ballarat 14 was photographed at the Mount Pleasant terminus around 1970. The street scene is clearly from another era with the old wooden shop and the advertising for Robur tea. The Mount Pleasant line was a short hilly line along a fairly quiet street.

Ballarat 38 was one of two bogie maximum traction trams in use on the Ballarat system that had been converted for one-man operation. It was photographed on the Sebastopol route, waiting at a passing loop, bound for Lydiard Street North around 1970.

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