Withdrawn Melbourne W class trams in storage at Newport

Members of Melbourne's once iconic W class fleet languishing in the Newport Workshops.

Reminiscing on my some 18 years living and working in Melbourne until 1996 on Australia Day 2016, still remember how I made something of a "hobby" of photographing some of the W class trams being transported from the Preston Workshops to the Newport railway workshops in January and February 1994 as part of a more permanent storage site arrangement, with many of the shots being snapped from a park at the corner of Epsom and Smithfield Rds. near the Flemington Racecourse.

Those trams were SW5 class 764, 769, 726, 731, 775, 814, 733, 789, 830, 737, 889, 765; SW6 917, 873 and 985.

 

WHY ARE MOST OF THE W CLASS TRAMS STORED?

In 1990, the National Trust classified all remaining W class trams, thereby making them Heritage items. A combination of the Trust, unions and the State Government put an end to W class trams being removed from Victoria. This means that the trams listed as being stored at Newport Workshops are sitting in a bloody big warehouse gathering dust and slowly rotting away instead of either being sold or donated to individuals and/or groups that would take care of them and restore them to their former greatness.

Another set of trams is listed as being part of the Ready Reserve fleet stored at Preston Workshops.

At last report, these 50 trams were supposed to be kept for emergency services such as extras for sporting events etc. but 43 of them have been stored in the old Plate Shop at the back of Preston Workshops, all bar five are not on rails. SW6 936 is stored in the workshops yard as it would not fit in the Plate Shop.

Another 7 have been stored at various suburban depots.

 

MELBOURNE'S FAMOUS GREEN AND YELLOW W-CLASS TRAMS LEFT TO RUST

Herald Sun July 21, 2015

Melbourne's famous W-class trams are being left to rust.

The popular tourist trams, which offer a free ride around the City Circle loop and through the Docklands, are slowly being phased out.

Despite their historic ties to the city, not much love is being shown towards them as they sit in Newport, resembling trash in a wrecking yard.

Some of the trams have missing headlights and smashed windows. Many are covered in graffiti.

A Public Transport Victoria spokesman said new homes were being sought for the trams, which have been part of Melbourne’s landscape for at least 85 years.

“PTV and VicTrack are in the process of identifying groups and parties who may be interested in securing retired trams for display in museums or for heritage purposes,” the spokesman said.

Melbourne’s treasured fleet of green and gold W-class trams are now also popping up in people’s garages as they try to hold on to an era.

One man bought his tram for $150.

The number of disused trams stored at the Newport workshop is growing as more are taken off the rails despite $8 million allocated to preserve some of the mothballed fleet.

There have been some safety fears over the ageing trams.

One caught fire in 2009.

 

And in a report from Transport Reporter, John Masanauskas, published on 29 November 2001:

HUNDREDS of Victoria's historic trams are rotting away in a forgotten graveyard.

Up to 200 of the world-famous vehicles that once criss-crossed Melbourne have been left derelict at an old Newport workshop.

Trams painted by renowned artists, including Clifton Pugh and Lin Onus, and a restored cable car from the 1880s are among the dilapidated treasures.

Many of the grime-covered trams are now home to pigeons, possums and foxes.

Successive State Governments have failed to resolve the fate of this surplus rolling stock, despite the trams' tourist potential.

Enthusiasts point to the popularity of Melbourne W-class trams now running on tourist routes in US cities including Seattle, San Francisco, New Orleans and Memphis. Lord Mayor John So and ex-premier Sir Rupert Hamer have called for historic trams to be protected, with some activists calling for a tram

museum.

"I love the Melbourne trams - they are part of this city's history and charm, especially our old W-class trams," Cr So said.

"It would be a wonderful trip down memory lane to be able to re-visit some of them," Cr So said. The Herald Sun has also learned that the city's current W-class trams will not begin returning to main routes for up to six

months.

This is almost two years after the 53-tram fleet was removed from the system for brake repairs.

A handful of the trams are back on the free City Circle service.

But the tram union, user groups and the State Opposition claim the private operators want to axe the remaining W-class fleet.

Most trams at the Newport workshop are discarded W-class stock. Also forgotten is a Bondi tram and an 1888 cable car that ran between North Carlton and St Kilda.

Dozens of old tram motors, bogies and historic signs litter the huge workshop.

Tram union secretary Lou Di Gregorio said the state of the trams was a disgrace.

"We have been talking about a museum for years, but nothing has been done," he said.

"We have a great culture and a museum would be very popular."

Connies Coalition spokesman Roberto D'Andrea said a museum could be built at the Preston workshops, which also has surplus trams.

But Public Transport Users Association president Paul Mees said most of the disused trams should be returned to service.

Transport Minister Peter Batchelor admitted the state of the trams was unacceptable.

"The previous government thought the matter had been resolved if it just put them in a big warehouse and slid the door shut," he said.

He said he had commissioned a study to identify heritage transport assets and recommend options for their use. He would not commit to a tram museum before seeing the report.

 

Done