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Four views of 29 in service.

We were made very welcome and we both enjoyed our visit to this museum. It is within walking distance of the town centre and part of the site was once a railway workshop so there is plenty to see.

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Number 29 is powered by a 220 volt generator so progress is quite sedate. The tram starts to move on the third series notch and parallel is used soon after this. Both the driver and conductor wore high vis jackets.

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The body of number 10 is on public display.

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Another nice touch is a display panel for each of the 29 trams in the fleet.

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A tram shelter and on the back wall there are displays concentrating on the lives of the staff in a small town where everyone knows everyone. Rather surprisingly a game of cards in the canteen is depicted.

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This car became a 'Chook House' (look on the roof). It has been retained in as found condition and inside there are displays of the second lives of several of the trams and their new owners.

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The museum has acquired a lot of equipment from Japan which shares the 3'6" gauge. This controller looks like a DB1 but has Japanese characters cast on the top. The bogies for 29 came from Japan and this is a spare. Finally 4-wheeler number 8 is on display but it is standing on a single bogie and not a 4-wheel truck. The museum plans to lengthen a similar bogie to make a truck for number 1.

Launceston (1)

Today we visited Launceston Tramway Museum which is situated in a former dock and railway workshop area which is now a leisure complex with a combination of old and new buildings. Launceston tramways opened in 1911 and closed in 1952. There were 26 4-wheel California style cars which were augmented by 3 long bogie cars in the late 1920s. Upon the closure most of the car bodies became summer houses etc and 5 have been rescued by the museum.

Bogie car number 29 is the sevice tram.

Number 26 is at the back of the depot where work is concentrated on number 1 for the centenary.

Trams soon

Is it a train or is it a tram?

Mining loco

We haven't seen any trams yet. The nearest being this 500 volt electric mining loco in a cage. Look carefully and you can see a tram like trolley base, short trolley pole and a fixed head trolley wheel.

Former Sydney bus

I have sent some more pictures of this 1974 Leyland Atlantean to the Focus Transport web site http://www.focustransport.org.uk/ . They should appear in the next day or so.

Steam crane

We are in Hobart, Tasmania. This magnificent steam crane was made in Leicester. I am sending some bus and aeroplane pictures to Focus Transport.

Australia

We are leaving for Australia tomorrow.

This picture was taken at St Kilda, Melbourne in February 2008.