What remains of Perth's tram network?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 เม.ย. 2024
- The Perth tram network ran from 1899 until 1958 and included an expansive system that reached all corners of the metropolitan area. In this video, I set out and document all that remains decades later. This video includes remains in South Perth (the ferry tram), Mount Lawley, Victoria Park, Perth, Yanchep National Park and, of course, the Perth Electric Tramway Society in Whiteman Park.
Website: www.brendansodyssey.com
Email: brendansodyssey@gmail.com
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I’ve learned more in the last week by watching your videos than living 47 years in the city
Lived under a literal rock then sadly...
Stumbled upon your channel by chance. Please keep making these videos! It's about time we get more content on Perth's past.
Kalamunda has an airbnb where you can stay in an old tram. Its fantastic. Don't remember the specific history of it, but again super cool.
Volunteer from PETS here, I must say great video! It was awesome to see how many bits of Perth's tramway history are still scattered around the metro area. One small correction though, Perth 66 isn't under restoration but is already fully restored and is in our operating fleet. We mainly run Melbourne trams as 66 is not wheelchair accessible, so we normally only run her on occasions where we can run 2 trams. And when it comes to wondering around outside the carbarns, it's a bit iffy. I believe we would prefer if you didn't due to safety concerns, but i highly doubt any volunteers would yell at you haha. And if you would ever like to learn more about what we do, feel free to come down to the carbarns on a Wednesday or Thursday morning between 7:00am and 11:00am, we would love to be able to show you around the crabarns!
Awesome to hear!
Melbourne keeping its trams running and expanding upon them was and continues to be a stroke of genius typical of a primarily Labor Party-run state... WA Labor Party Premier Albert Hawke (yes, Bob's uncle) had his doubts as to the logic of disbanding the tram lines after seeing how integral they had become in Melbourne, but the will of the people and the businesses servicing them at the time took precedence... In hindsight, it was a big mistake, and Perth became an American-style, car-dependant hellhole in the decades that followed.
@@Funkteon Sounds like this was written by someone who hasn't experienced the massive mess caused by accessible tram stops that have been installed at an astronomical cost over recent years and still won't be finished for many years more.
@@CaptainKremmenthat sounds like a typical liberal thing sell everything off and pray it works out
@@Funkteon Having been to Melbourne and living in Perth I much prefer the layout in Perth. But to each their own I guess.
As a Perth resident and history nerd, I loved your video! It’s crazy that i’ve walked and driven past these poles and remnants of the network a billion times and never noticed them.
“Hopping on a bus wishing it was a tram” as a fellow Perth person, I feel that! I work at the Transport Museum in Whiteman Park and your videos have been so great to watch! The trams and trains running are also dependent on total fire bans during the summer. I also used to live close to the electrical pole in Mount Lawley and never noticed it, I’ll be sure to keep my eyes peeled next time!
My old man is a project manager, the company he was working for done an underground pipeline project in freo and dug up some remains of the tram rails that were buried over many years ago.
Very well made and narrated documentary on Perth trams. Kudos.
Such a shame Perth doesn’t have its trams anymore. How good would it be to have easy hop on/off transport around the inner suburbs! Hopefully one day we’ll see a return?
Don't remember too much about trams in Perth, but certainly rode often as a kid on "trolley buses" - no road-level tracks, but overhead electric power connected by booms, not unlike current day electric trains.
At the corner of Beaufort & Wellington Sts, the booms sometimes came loose and crashed down on the roof of the bus. The driver had to get out and grab a big pole-mounted tool to reattach to the power lines ! 😊😊😊
Never been to Australia. I'm a person who enjoys history of things most people don't think about. Excellent video. I enjoyed learning about this.
Great work, Brendan. This certainly brings back many fond memories of my childhood in Floreat (Floreat Park, as it was in my young days). Trams were fascinating things for small boys who loved anything with wheels, especially if they were on rails!
Love your vids, mate. As a fellow local history nut from Perth, this is right up my alley. Keep up the great work!
Apparently I rode on a Perth tram several months before I was born but I can't say I remember the trip. I haven't checked recently but a number of buildings around central Perth intersections still had the anchor fittings to suspend power cables well into the 2000s. The plaque on Main street does commemorate the terminus which was in the centre of Main street just short of Royal/Hutton streets. There also used to be some photographs on display in Mount Hawthorn of the construction of the tram tracks in that location.Possibly in the clinic / day surgery at the intersection of Oxford street and Scarborough Beach road.
Apparently track remnants lasted for a long time in front of the barracks arch.
@@indiathylane2158 If you are referring to Trams, they never went along St Georges Terrace and trolley buses didn't go that far up the Terrace.
@@SueFury Yes, I meant trams. Damn, I'm so tired of urban myths. People claim anything.
Thanks.
Very well done.. whilst too young (LOL) to have ridden a tram, I do remember riding a trolley bus with my Nana, probably 55 years ago.
Nice. I plan to do a video on the trolley buses, too.
Omg yes! From Scarborough Beach Rd in Mount Hawthorne to the city to go to a movie. Metro Theatre, then lunch upstairs at Coles. Such happy childhood memories 💓
As a fellow Perthie I really enjoyed this. Bravo!!
Loving your videos.
Keep up the great work.
Being Perth born, watching these are so cool.
We’ve traveled to Pemberton a couple of times and there are many abandoned railway lines down there if you’ve not already filmed.
Awesome videos showing Perth's history. I only moved here nearly 5 years ago, so watching your videos has gotten me hooked on the history of the city!
Keep em coming!
Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time and making these videos. They really do show that people want to know the history of Perth.
I can see from the lack of signs on streets and potential lack of awareness that we really do need to do a better job to celebrate where Perth has been and come from.
These videos have been making me excited to explore the areas that I regularly peruse. Can’t wait to watch more of your vids!
It’s such a shame we have lost so much of our history.I am new to your site so I am very much enjoying all the memories. Thank you 🙏
I was desperately watching closely to see if you missed the one at the Albion Hotel. I've eaten a meal in it was pretty unique experience. Possibly the best video ever Brendan well done!😊
There is one in a cafe in bassendean too at the shopping centre
Interesting video.
I remember catching a tram in Perth, as a toddler, with my father.
Another fond memory of public transport travel around Perth, as a kid, is the trolley buses in the first half of the 1960's.
You should do another video about those.
Tram 66 at the tramway society is fully functioning but only comes out a few times a year on special occasions, keeping it in good shape. The trackless tram project has been cancelled for the present as the state government did not provide funding to the City of Stirling after the trials in November. It was already exported back to China in December.
Yes, the society themselves commented below that it's running. Apparently, the website is out of date and can not be edited.
It's a shame to hear about the trackless tram. Can you provide a source? I can't find anything about it being cancelled. There's videos of people riding the trials in December, and that's the latest I can find.
@@brendansodyssey I'm also a member of the society volunteering for conducting and driving. The last time we had 66 out was over the Easter long weekend when two trams were running the whole time.
Honestly I can't see any mentions of the trackless tram project after the November public trials, but I think that's exactly what points at the fact that it's been forgotten. The whole thing was just a fancy idea from the City of Stirling's mayor and they could never fund it themselves as a local government. They used the trials to seek for state government funding but none was provided, so they couldn't really move on. The vehicle has not been at the City of Stirling site since December and it was physically sighted being loaded back onto a ship so for now nothing can really happen with that. There are still other plans from METRONET though surrounding mid-tier transport as you can see on their website, so I believe one day we will still get something other than buses on our roads.
@@brendansodyssey I'm not so good with going back and searching but around the time of the trial weekend I recall there were articles in the West/Sunday times mentioning that the Trial had been organised by Stirling without seeking any commitment from the government beforehand, and they were basically saying it's not in City of Stirlings area of responsibility and they should say in their own lane, if Perth was going to have it, it would because Transperth thought it best. (obviously all paraphrased from memory)
I was one of the people that went on the trial, (5yo son was very excited seeing it in the council carpark before the tests) , and I don't see how it would offer any improvement over the current bus route, would involve hideous expense in setting up the charging infrastructure, and importing the cars - the tram was battery powered and grabbed a small recharge at each stop wirelessly. plus the proposed route doesnt presently have enough space for the existing dual lane road in each direction which already operates over capacity for significant portions of the day, so running the tram down there means either
a) reduced car capacity on an already over saturated arterial road
b) the tram sits in traffic with the cars, kinda defeating the point or
c) pedestrian access is reduced or land is forcibly acquired along the route, cant imagine a govt pushing this through for a tram.
Didn't even know there was a trackless tram trial in Perth. Clearly I've been living in a cave. 😂
I've been trying to find out where the trackless tram ended up for the past few months, thanks for providing some insight.
Great to see ppl making these videos and taking an interest on what once was.
Trams were an evolutionary solution to the need of the day, in an era that has long gone they fell out of use as ppl preferred the independence of what time and route to location they travelled.
I was not aware of the plans for the trackless tram, very exciting
Stumbled across this video this morning on my feed. Really appreciate your work, an entertaining combination of research and wit! Great content for this Perth resident and public transport fan. Subscribed.
Keep it up. 👍🏼
Oh my god. I have driven past that Vic Park bus stop thousands of times. How did I never realise it was related to the tram network.
Good on ya mate, keep this stuff coming
Thanks for uploading this doco.
Next time you're in South Perth drive up Angelo Street from the Zoo end. The bitumen is still sinking where the decaying sleepers create ruts. Yes several attempts have been made over the decades - they fill the ruts and patch the surface without actually digging out what remains of the sleepers. So, like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it never ends.
Great video mate! This came up on my recommended and I'd never seen your channel before. I'm right into history and live in Perth so I'll definitely be subscribing and checking out your other videos!
I know it's called Perth trams however there was a network in Fremantle. My grandparents Corgi dog got run over by the one that went out to East Fremantle. I used that tram to go and see them. The best recollection of the tram was when East Fremantle used to play against South Fremantle. A blood bath that would be fought to the last man standing. Fremantle was full of waterside workers (lumpers) and a strong Irish area from descendants of convicts in Fremantle jail (I am one of them). There were special trains put on to bring the spectators in to Fremantle station where they would pack the trams going out to the Oval. It was amazing. Full of men usually drunk even at mid day singing songs and chanting words I didn't understand. Check out the Freo trams next time, A lot of history.
Do you know if the tram went to South Beach? My parents told me it used to be a very busy spot with a Fun Fair on the lawn area
@@dielaughing73 yes it did and it was. all gone.
The Trams shown at 6:20 & 13:45 are Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) W2 Class Trams. There is also a third W2 in Perth numbered 429 which is at the Gosnells Hotel. The Trams you filmed at PETS are SW5.729 & SW5.749 which arrived in Perth in early March from Newport in Melbourne.
Melbourne keeping its trams running and expanding upon them was and continues to be a stroke of genius typical of a primarily Labor Party-run state... WA Labor Party Premier Albert Hawke (yes, Bob's uncle) had his doubts as to the logic of disbanding the tram lines after seeing how integral they had become in Melbourne, but the will of the people and the businesses servicing them at the time took precedence... In hindsight, it was a big mistake, and Perth became an American-style, car-dependant hellhole in the decades that followed.
Thank you Brendan. Please continue being an outstanding part of the local community.
Im so glad ive come across your channel, im loving the videos of WA and learning about some of the history i was unaware of. Thanks
Fun fact: I am watching this video while on a tram! (Sydney light rail)
Having the tram at the train station is awesome
Loving your work!
I’m 42 and from Perth. I’ve just finished watching this video and the one about the Perth Entertainment Centre.
It’s interesting to watch these glimpses back in time.
Some crossover to my history as a child and a teen, and some don’t, but great to see you filling in the gaps.
I hope you do a lot more of these videos.
I’ve just finished exploring the old Atlantis site at Two Rocks and I am fascinated by similar lost history and seeing echos from our past…..
Keep up the good work!
I explored the Atlantis site several years ago and wish I took more than mobile phone photos. A lot of it has been razed for development since.
@@brendansodyssey just watched your video about the abandoned Mundijong rail line.
I started driving out to Pinjarra for work every once in a while and I did wonder about that fenced off rail line….
Don’t ever stop exploring….
I remember going to Atlantis when it was open 😎 a little ahead of its time and was quite remote at the time. No freeway in those days
Stumbled across your videos and now I’m hooked - love learning about our city and history.
Plus! My team and I made and installed the windows/doors at the south perth display, so that was a bonus to see haha
Loving the comtent on your channel. So many things I would not have known about.
I live in the Perth suburbs and didnt know Perth had a tram system, fascinating!.
I believe it was comfortably the smallest of all the capitals except maybe Hobart, but there were some lines that would be very handy to still have if they hadn't closed the system.
Excellent job on researching and presenting! Glad I found your channel :)
I really dig ur lack of bias. refreshing on such topics . cheers Brendan
Very well made and narrated documentary. Kudos.
I grew up in Melbourne, catching trams since the 80s. i still remember the smell of them and the ticket master poking holes in my ticket 🎟 but I have lived in Perth now for the last 15 years. And it would have been awesome with trams. Great work 👏
Favourite sounds in Melbourne- trams on tram tracks or cars bumping over tram tracks. I arrive in Brunswick once a year, walk to Sydney Road, and hear those magic sounds. AAahhh!
Sunday Mail used to sell old pics of Perth, including tram photos.
bus network wa worked on was better than having trams due to being more rural and having less funding to have expanded tram network like eastern states since eastern states took most of the money from the other states which lead them to being less developed.
i lived in mebourn in 1985/86 i was 7 years young fun times
i have seen trams/trians but no buses on the roads just cars
i walked to school with my bother
no fun i never got a chance to go on tram ride in melbourn
come to perth public transport change in a blink of my eyes from trams to buses/taxis
Excellent, informative content. Thank you.
I really enjoy watching glimpses of Perth from years ago. I'm old enough to remember a lot of the shops. It's a trip down "memory lane".
love these videos, please keep them coming bro
Absolutely love this footage ❤
I remember catching the trolley bus from the old Perth market in Wellington street to Royal Perth Hospital and then walking up the steep Lord street to Mercedes college, although it was still called Our Ladies College in 1966. I was just turning six and had caught the bus into the city from a northern suburb. It cost three pence and then five cents when decimal currency came in soon after. I can’t imagine letting a six year old go into the city alone or even with a teenage chaperone now!
fantastic research, well done and thank you.
Fun fact, Leonora had a tram service in 1901. A restored electric tram can be seen in the Gwalia museum.
Great Video. About 20 Trams were take to Mandurah and were placed at Beams Caravan Park on the foreshore as accommodation. Our family would rent these every Easter in the mid to late 70s and early 80s before the caravan park made way for the Kings Carnival which is so to close down. These trams had bunk beds, kitchen and dinning area in them.
These vids are fantastic! Look forward to more 😊
Brilliant info. Thank you
Dude this is amazing!!! So much research!! Loved the joke about the driver lol ❤
Great upload. As a Wembley resident, and often in and around Subiaco, West Perth, South Perth etc, many of these are familiar sites to me. The history of Perth, dnd Perth trams is fascinating. Really enjoyed your documentary. Thanks.
got my subscription, you’re good at presenting this history
Excellent presentation!!
Great video, I loved that you really took your time to research and I think it payed off. If you ever need some inspiration during WW2 there were Catalina flying boats in Matilda bay or even the old swan river ferry system could be some ideas for the future. Keep up the great videos!
When the trams were de-commissioned, the owners of a caravan park in Mandurah bought some of them and turned them into holiday homes. They were pretty basic though, with old ice boxes, not fridges in them and very little else.
Great video!
Thanks!
Thank you, this a very informative video and really enjoyed it . Makes me want to dig through the old mans photo collection for all the Tram pictures he lovingly collected
I once saw a tram, converted to a room, in a garden in Hopetoun.
Very interesting movie - well done!
My mum also said to tell you that you did a fantastic job ❤
When my grandmother was 3 or 4 she lived in Fremantle. One morning she decided that she was going to follow her dad to work when she tripped over onto the tram tracks, getting run over by the tram. She was stuck under it for over an hour. She was fine obviously. Otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this, but she only has 9 fingers.
This is the first time I've been recommended your channel - great to see things about my hometown. I've seen copies of that tram map for sale at the Map & Chart shop in Fremantle (for any nerds, that shop is an Aladdin's cave of awesome stuff). Tearing up trams around the world was one of the greatest crimes against cities. If only we'd kept ours in Perth. I think the tram you found in South Perth was attached to a train/tram themed restaurant in Kelmscott - it was the type of place where you cooked your own steak. The name started with a G - I'll have to ask my brother and see if he remembers. I'm 38 but have a few memories of playing on the tram as a kid. I used to live on Cambridge street (only left a bit over a year ago, I was right beside SJoG) and those roadworks went on right outside my window. It took them forever to tear up those tram tracks.
Interesting. I wonder what the restaurant was called. Thanks for the comment.
@@brendansodyssey Hi Brendan it's actually in the Gosnell's Hotel so yes he was pretty close. Being born in 61 I obviously don't remember the trams but I do remember the MTT trolley buses which must have replaced some of the tram routes, oh great video! Rob.
Well done on a good job on the video. I live in South Perth where your video started. I'm actually from UK and we used to have a large painting re-print on our wall from historic trams in the local area where I used to live in UK. I also saw the Croydon trams being built in a sense of laying the rails and overhead cables and theyre still running today. Maybe trams will make a comeback in the future :)
Bro, sick videos.
Surely you do a look back at that epic water park that used to be out near the airport. I forget what it's called but that place was heaven for 6 year old me. So many fond memories.
Nice video mate! I am a PETS Volunteer juts a few facts for you perth tram E66 is fully restored but we old run it on special event days like the easter long weekend or Australia day this is to do with us needing to operate 2 trams when it is running for the W-classes disabled access ability's so if you go out on one of those days you will get to see it! also you where trespassing going into the depot lol but its fine if you weren't doing anything that you weren't suppose to.
Another great video, full of well researched information. I'll now be keeping my eyes open when travelling around the city to see if I can spot the remnants of a bygone era 👍
Excellent video Brendan, you've gained a new subscriber
Went camping in the Gloucester House pool a few weeks ago and saw that tram, nice to know more about the whole story.
Hey man, nice videos. I'm a south westerner and these videos give me feel goods, I've been to most of the places you make content on. I'm a mid-thirtier, and my dad worked for CALM for many decades so whenever I go out for day trips he will point out abandoned mills and old railway lines and remnants of mines, so i really love this sort of content.
Shame you probably missed the boat on Atlantis before what was left was demolished a few years ago. I went exploring there a couple years ago with a camera and a drone and it was really good, sadly now its all gone except the big man himself.
Keep up the good work
Thankfully I did get to explore it several years ago before most of it was razed. I only I have mobile phone photos to show for it, though. Maybe I could still throw something together in memoriam?
@@brendansodyssey I think there's some historical video/photos around that you can supplement with, some side-by-side shots of the era vs ruins. Probably could make something, though it was before our times so it would be second hand experience of what it was like. + it was closed somewhat for animal cruelty I believe, so who know how it would go down 'remembering it fondly'.
I also just had photos as I explored, and some drone video loops of the statue. Disappointingly I didn't think to drone over the whole site at the time.
Felt the echo of the place when I was exploring it though.
Fabulous work.
There is a tram that one can dine in, its part of the Dome restaurant/cafe, at Bassendean shopping centre.
I lived in Basso for several years. While still cool, it's a train carriage.
happy 2024
i forget that there was a tram on top of bassendean shoping centre not sure what it was used for im not sure if its still here for any one to see/use
there is one on gealford train station still on its tracks used fo cooking/eating out something like a small restauant/cafe
and Alfreds kitchen in guildford you can sit in a tram or train carriage too, and weat the best damn burgers and pea and ham soup in Perth.
Awesome video mate
Wow, I completely forgot that you used to be able to open the windows on the buses. I also love that old video source of Perth in the 40s going down where the Brass Monkey is (or is that Guildford?) I'll definitely have a look at the full video.
My commute takes me past that bus stop on Albany Hwy in front of the Maccas. I had seen the tram wheels on the bench many times and assumed it was an art project, never noticed the plaque as I don't walk along there.
This was great. Thank you! My parents grew up in Mt Lawley and often talked about catching a tram into the city. I live in Bicton, and have often had elderly locals referring to a tramline which ran from Fremantle to Bicton Baths. I was wondering if you had come across this.
That's interesting, my mum grew up in East Freo and told me she used to take the tram down Marmion St to Freo. She was born in 1935
Nice one 👍🏻… methinks a trip to Whiteman Park might be in my not too distant future 😎
I enjoyed this. There's two trams on display at the motor museum in whiteman park aswell. One that you can walk inside. The other of memory was used in Kalgoorlie. Nice to learn a bit more about my home town of Perth 😊
I've always noticed that house on canning hwy and how huge it is!
Good stuff, thanks for your videos. 👍
There’s a tram at the Crooked Carrot Cafe on the Forrest Hwy on the way to Bunbury.
I think that’s a Melbourne team.
Very enjoyable - well done.
I live in Perth and I never knew. Thanks for the video!
Love the Chanel mate 👌🏼👌🏼
Fascinating. Thanks 🙂
That ferry system is very under utilized, would be good to see something like Brisbane and their ferry system
This is a great video mate
I love all the old footage, Perth being Perth it's rare to see historical footage, especially on youtube!
There is a tram (or at least i think it's a tram) in the playground area at the crooked carrot on the south west hwy midway to bunbury.
Good place to stop for a bite and stretch the legs if travelling down south etc.
Great video, very well done
Hi Brendan, thanks for sharing this excellent video. Just of interest there were also separate electric tram systems operating in Fremantle and even Kalgoorlie. I actually knew a friend who rode the last tram service in Perth. I actually grew up in Sydney and experienced the demise of the original Sydney tram system. Anyway, wishing all the very best. Rob in Melbourne Australia.
Thanks. The original plan was to include the Freo network in this video but I stuffed up the footage - there was a big smear on the lens! Instead, it will get a dedicated video. I also have family in Kal so there is potential for that to get its own video too.
Hey mate. I love this video. One thing I'd like to point out about the trackless tram though. The trial or the idea of the trackless tram was not from the state government or Transperth, but more so from council of City of Stirling. We may not hear any noteworthy news about light rail until Metronet has finished up the majority of their ongoing projects.
There are two things that I would not about the tram network. Firstly, the majority of the network was a single set of tracks and the cost to upgrade to dual sets was prohibitive. Secondly, it’s not hard to work out where trams used to run. Streets with shops on both sides (either constantly or in certain areas) are a clear indication that trams once serviced the street.
I've been to Yanchep national park so many times since I've lived in the area for 12 years and have never seen the tram will have to go and have a look
Love the video man, there's also a tram in the basendean dome.
Great video bro. very interesting. Ive walked past them poles heaps too and never noticed them. Ill have to have a look. I live in baysie , our new traino is awesome.
As someone working on the YRE job (Yanchep Rail Extension) there is still a hell of alot of work to do, ths alkimos station was supposed to be handed over about 3 or 4 weeks ago but the paving and paths are not finished, i got no clue wher the car parks are as they are still doing earth works so yeah. I will say tho the trains are running up and down the new section of line so hopefully in a few months ill be able to jump on and see all the stuff weve done from railcar.
8:47 Love the casual driveby from a Lambo followed by a Bentley. Went tram hunting, saw $1 million+ worth of cars instead. xD
Ha yeah. Decided to film the b-roll shot for a bit longer when i saw them coming
I think Beaufort street would lend itself really well to a tram system. Theres so many single story businesses, and if that space was utilised to have an added 2-3 stories of medium density housing a long the road up until inglewood or so, the incentive for light rail would match. Wouldnt need the whack bus lane and could redo the road as sidewalk-bikelane-road island-some parking-tram
A boy can only dream tho
Is there still a tram inside Ogden's Hotel in Boswell's on the corner of Albany Highway and Fremantle Road? It used to be inside in the dining area and you could eat your meal seated inside it. Haven't been there for years so not sure if it's still there. Great video.
I have several early 1900's Perth CBD Postcards with trams and the infrastructure network visible.
I think you mean Gosnells. It's now called the Gosnells Hotel, it still had the tram last I checked. Still mentioned on the website.