- Trams Took a Long Time to Come to Chermside
- 1897 First Electric Tram
- Expansion of Tram Services - To Bowen Bridge
- To Windsor Council Chambers and Beyond.
- On to Kedron Park (Brook)
- Lutwyche Extension
- Lutwyche Terminus
- New Kedron Bridge
- CHERMSIDE TRAMWAY LEAGUE
- Trams Arrive at Chermside
- Tram Lines and Rose Beds
- Closure of the Trams 13-4-1969
- Souvenir Tickets
- Weekly Ticket
- All That Remains
- But Wait, there is One More Thing
- A Word about the Rail
Trams Took a Long Time to Come to Chermside
John Cole on p.21 of Shaping a City states that horse tramways appeared in 1883. However if the date on the accompanying photo is correct it may have been earlier.
The Tramway Museum states that horse drawn trams on rails began in 1885.
The implication appears to be that the trams before 1885 did not run on rails. See the Bulimba Tram photo.
When the trams first came to Brisbane in 1883/5 Chermside was still called Downfall Creek. It was about 10 kilometers along the Great Northern Road. There was a blacksmith, a store, a few dwellings surrounded by small farms and a lot of bush.
1897 First Electric Tram
The Brisbane Courier, 17-6-1897, in an article on the opening of the upgraded Brisbane Cricket Ground, reported "A novelty in connection therewith will be the running of the first electric tram in Brisbane from the bridge to the ground gates."
One important feature of the electric tram was speed, it could travel much faster and further in a given time than the old horse drawn transport.
The electric tram was to the larger settlements, what the steam railways were to the whole state.
Another important feature, it could carry many more passengers than a horse drawn vehicle, the trams were much bigger and they gave a much smoother ride
Expansion of Tram Services - To Bowen Bridge
The Tramway Museum dates the first expansion of the tram service as 29-4-1899 when it reached Bowen Bridge.
The Brisbane Courier Saturday 29 April 1899
TRAMWAY OPERATIONS
This morning, at 10 o'clock, the new Bowen Bridge tram extension will be opened to traffic, and on Monday night the hourly service of all-night tramcars will be initiated.
The last point indicates that the public were taking to the trams, business was good, so the service was extended. In fact the trams were to remain the choice of the traveling public for many decades to come. The only real competition, apart from the trains, was the motor vehicle but that was still in the future.
This was on the way to Downfall Creek (Chermside) but it was going to take almost another half century to get there. And it was only 10 kilometers away.
However the horse buses still served Chermside until private motor omnibuses appeared in the 1930s. If you wanted to catch the train at Wooloowin to go to the city you caught the horse bus from Bald Hills.
To Windsor Council Chambers and Beyond.
4-9-1914 tram extension from Bowen Bridge reached Windsor Town Council offices and extended one section past as the first part of the extension to Kedron Park Hotel.
The Brisbane Courier Friday 4-9-1914 p.6
Windsor Tram Extension Opened.
The long looked for extension of the Bowen Bridge tram line to Windsor was opened yesterday morning. There was no official function, but the crowds of people who traveled there showed that the service supplied a long felt want. The present extension is as far as the Windsor Town Council offices, but when the whole length is completed - the work is now proceeding - the line will extend to Kedron Park. At present it is understood that the service is a 10 minute one, and there is a double line of track.
On to Kedron Park (Brook)
I have not been able to find a reference to the opening of this terminus in the Brisbane Courier, yet.
But, in a report about the location of a new camp for Diggers, the following item appeared:
BC Friday 23-4-1915 p.7
Though the arrangements have not yet been completed it is thought that the site of the new camp will be at a spot between the far side of Bowen Bridge and the Kedron Park tram terminus.
Thus it would appear that the completion of the new terminus would have been between the opening of the Windsor line in September 1914 and the above date.
Lutwyche Extension
2nd May 1925 the tram reached Lutwyche Cemetery - with a change of tram at Kedron Brook where passengers alighted, walked across the old bridge and joined another tram. This tram was permanently located on the north side of Kedron Brook. I wonder how they got it across the brook?
Lutwyche Terminus
The Brisbane Courier Monday 4-5-1925 p.8
LUTWYCHE TRAMWAY EXTENSION
The first tram breaking the ribbon at the opening of the Lutwyche tramway extension on Saturday.
A Wallace photo was published in the Courier but it could not be copied.
New Kedron Bridge
1927 New bridge built over Kedron Brook - trams, and passengers, able to cross and travel to Lutwyche Cemetery terminus
The Brisbane Courier Wednesday 16-2-1927
NEW KEDRON BRIDGE
The approaches to the new concrete bridge over Kedron Brook are now being made, and it is expected that this work will be finished shortly. The bridge was opened to traffic recently, as the approaches to the temporary bridge nearby had been washed away by heavy rains. When the new structure is completed the Lutwyche tram extension, on which an isolated car is being used at present, will be linked across the bridge with the Kedron Park terminus. The Mayor of Brisbane (Ald. W. A. Jolly) has not yet decided whether there will be any official opening ceremony.
CHERMSIDE TRAMWAY LEAGUE
CHERMSIDE TRAMWAY LEAGUE Brisbane Courier Mon 3-12-1928
At the Instance of the Chermside Progress Association one of the longest meetings of residents was held In the School of Arts on Friday. Mr. Speedy occupied the chair, and Councillor Bradbury was also present. Local residents strongly advocated the extension of the trams to Chermside, pointing to the rapid growth of population as revealed by the increased school attendance, and the large number of new residences. Councillor Bradbury, who was much impressed by the large gathering, promised full support at the proper time. A Tramway League was then formed with great enthusiasm, and officers were appointed as follows : Mr. D. J. S. Barker, president: Mr. J E Reid. Hon. Secretary; committee, Messrs. Sammells, Heenan, Early, Bowd, T. Hamilton, Speedy, and Smith.
They needed all the enthusiasm they could muster, it was going to be a long haul, almost two decades and a World War included.
Trams Arrive at Chermside
CM 21-3-1947 Photo
SCRUBBING THE LINES.- A 'scrubbing' tram was hauled over the new Chermside tramway extension yesterday to clear lines in readiness for the opening of the extension on March 29.
MORE CHERMSIDE TRAMS CM 5-4-1947 Saturday
Three extra trams in the morning peak period and three extra in the afternoon period will run to the Chermside terminus start in? on Tuesday. The extra trams will leave the Chermside terminus in the mornings at 6.54, 7.12. and 7.30, and in the evening will pass through the Valley at 5.10. 5.16, and 5.33.
Tram Lines and Rose Beds
This photo clearly shows that the tram was king of the roads, the tracks and rose beds taking up the greater part of the road. Very few cars are shown which indicates that this photo was taken well before the automobile became common.
The overhead wires which supplied electricity to drive the trams can be clearly seen. The electricity reached the tram via a long pole with a small grooved wheel, which ran along the electrified wire.
Only three automobiles are visible in this 1952 photo, a view which changed dramatically once the Automobile Age got into high gear. Then the patronage of the trams dropped and the tracks were taken out or covered over to make room for the individually driven autos.
The car was faster and did not involve time tables so it was very convenient for the drivers to come and go as they desired.
Closure of the Trams 13-4-1969
The trams provided good, cheap, all weather transport to the centre of Chermside from the 29-3-1947 for 22 years and the local people became accustomed to using them; they became part of the local scene.
As in any industrialized country, technology was not standing still, it was evolving rapidly. In this case the automobile was steadily carrying a greater and greater proportion of the moving population. It was much more convenient in that people could travel from their house direct to work or shops or entertainment venues.
What was once a common sight in inner Brisbane, the Horse Trams, had long been absent. Bringing out the old trams was a way of saying that the people who used them changed to a better form of transport, the electric tram. Now another change had arrived, buses were to replace the trams, unless you drove a car.
A car was costly and you had to learn to drive and you had to have a license and you had to obey a whole lot of rules. Some people bought cars and never learned to drive, one of the children had to be the driver. Many people kept the old sulky, or cart but slowly they disappeared.
Souvenir Tickets
Souvenirs are always sought for any important change in a person's life, many are compulsory such as this ticket. If you wanted a last ride in the tram you had to pay although you could ride in the horse trams for free.
This is the back of the Last Day Tram Ticket and it is slightly larger than the front so that you can read something of the history of trams in Brisbane. From horse power to electricity and the different models of trams over the years.
Weekly Ticket
The weekly ticket was for regular travelers, many of whom worked in the city. Most people bought a ticket when they boarded the tram and paid the conductor who collected the fairs. The conductor stayed inside the tram while the driver had two separate compartments one on each end of the tram. The trams did not turn around to reverse direction when they came to a terminus, the driver simply went to the compartment on the other end of the tram.
All That Remains
All that remains, apart from buried tram rails, which are out of site, is the Tram Memorial Sign in the Chermside Bus Interchange beside Westfields' Shoppingtown.
But Wait, there is One More Thing
What is a tram without rails? Like a Horse without a Nosebag, it can't go anywhere. So we provided the rail, a very small part of the hundreds of kilometers of them before 1969.
Thereby hangs a tale: One fine day in 2012, one of our members was driving along Gympie Road when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a startling sight; tram rails, lots of them, lying on the side of the road. Being of quick mind he wheeled around and headed back to to the 'golden hoard'. Parking his truck he sought out the foreman on the excavation job and politely asked could he have a 'piece of rail'. The foreman asked "How much would you like?" Foremen are like that, aren't they?
The upshot of the incident was that the Chermside and Districts Historical Society Inc found itself the proud possessor of a fine and complex portion of the ribbons of steel on which the trams of Brisbane ran for decades. In short we didn't know what we could do with it, where would we put it, what sort of sigh would we devise???
To cut a long story short, Westfield owned the site nearest the old tram terminus, the Brisbane City Council leased the site for their busses, Thiess John Holland were happy to have the rail on show and the CDHS was happy to write the history. The result is what a group of people and organizations can do when they get together and work together. Thank you all.
A Word about the Rail
This is for our quick thinking member who made this whole enterprise possible.