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TRAMS (Trolleys) in New Zealand - Cont'd

WELLINGTON TRAMS
at MOTAT and Paekakariki
Photo - Noel Ashby
Best Viewed
with INTERNET
EXPLORER 5
TRAM 135 was one of a design that lasted from 1913 to 1935,   It had a double  saloon with an open centre compartment.  Trams of this type were later closed in (no remarks about Wellington weatther!)
This one forms part of the MOTAT fleet in Auckland, where it has been painstakingly restored to its original condition..  This class of tram was withdrawn from Welington service in the 1950s.
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TRAM 257 seen here at MOTAT, is one of the "Fiducia" type - a double truck saloon.    The first, No.232, went into service in 1933.  The numbers ran from 233 to 260.  The construction of trams 257 to 260 was stopped by World War II, but resumed in 1950/52.  Tram 260 was the last electric tram to be built in New Zealand.   A "sister ship", Tram No.252, was the last New Zealand  tram in regular service when the Wellington trams stopped running on 2nd May, 1964.  That tram is now stored away in the MOTAT collection too.
Photo - Noel Ashby
THE WELLINGTON TRAMWAY MUSEUM  tramline begins near the memorial gates at the entrance to Queen Elizabeth Park, McKays Crossing, 4km north Paekakariki.  It runs for 1.85 Kilometres through the sandhills to a picnic area at Whareroa Beach.  Views range from mountain vistas (Tararua Ranges at the Depot end) to panoramic views of Kapiti Island from the beach. 

This working Museum has a number of trams.   Four are now able to run:  Fiducias  Nos. 239 and 238 and  Wellington double saloons, No. 159 (seen here), and  No.151.    Nos.239 and 151 are currently in regular use.  No.159 is off the track at the moment whilst its two trucks are being overhauled.   Trams in storage including a Wellington cable car and trailer, Fiducia No.260 - the last tram built new in New Zealand (1952) and other trams from Wellington Wanganui, New Plymouth and Brisbane.

Photo - Les Stewart
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Photo - Les Stewart
Photo - WW Stewart
An updated WELLINGTON CABLE CAR ascending the steep incline to Victoria University and the suburb of Kelburn - on a line which has been operating now for 82 years!

ON TO CHRISTCHURCH
and DUNEDIN TRAMS
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