Trams in Geelong

There had been proposals to build a tram network in Geelong as early as 1888. Two companies, the Geelong Electric Light, Electric Motor, Electric Tram and Omnibus Company, and the Geelong and District Electric Tramway Company Limited, attended a meeting to get support for their plans in June 1888. Construction began in December 1910, and part of the line was first tested on 10 January 1912 in front of a large crowd. At each municipal boundary permission was asked for the trams to enter, and a ribbon was cut. ==Line openings==

In 1930 the tramways were taken over by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC). This was part of the SEC taking over the supply of electricity for Victoria, and it included the tramways in Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat. A tramway extension to Eastern Beach opened in October 1940 along Bellarine Street to cater to beach goers. During World War II, passenger traffic increased as a result of petrol rationing and people employed in munitions factories around Geelong. In 1943 the trams carried 6,500,000 people. ==Closure==

In 1949, H.H. Bell jnr., the son of the chairman of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board, He found that the trams were obsolete, and could not be run profitably in a city with only 52,000 people. The Council accepted his findings by nine votes to one. alleging that they were 16 times more likely to be involved in accidents than motor vehicles. Bolte described the Geelong tramway as being outdated and hopelessly inadequate. The SEC argued that the cost of tickets did not cover the cost of wages, and certainly did not meet the cost of maintenance or electricity. Tramway union members argued that the SEC had let the system run down, and that it was losing business by not extending the network into new suburban areas. The Geelong Chamber of Commerce supported the closure of the system, with the president saying they would be glad to have the trams off the streets. The last tram ran from the city to Belmont and back on 25 March 1956. Thousands of people were in the streets to celebrate the event. but the idea has never been looked at seriously. ==Routes==

Immediately following World War II, the following services were through-routed: • Newtown – Railway/Beach • West – Railway/Beach • Belmont – North • East Geelong – Chilwell After a timetable reorganisation in December 1952, the pattern was altered to: • North – Belmont • Newtown – Eastern Park • West – East • Chilwell – Station/Beach ==Tram fleet==

, Ballarat The original fleet of Geelong trams was made up of seven single-truck cars, with bodies made by Duncan & Fraser of Adelaide using Brush trucks. the Ballarat Tramway Museum, the Bendigo Tramways, and the Sydney Tramway Museum. Several are also privately owned. • No. 2 (1912) built in Adelaide, South Australia, by Duncan & Fraser, on Brush trucks, now restored at the Ballarat Tramway Museum. It is a so-called butterbox model. • No. 9 (1915) built in Adelaide, South Australia, by Duncan & Fraser, on Brush trucks, now at Bylands. It is a so-called butterbox model, and is in need of restoration. • No. 14 (1924) built by JG Brill Company, transferred to Bendigo in 1948, now at Bendigo as Tram 11. • No. 15 (1924), at Bendigo • No. 22 (1924), at Bylands. Built by A Pengelly & Co in Adelaide, this tram is in need of restoration. • No. 28 (1925), body stored at Ballarat • No. 29 (1915), built by Meadowbank Manufacturing Company for the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust and sold to Geelong Tramways in 1928. Moved to Ballarat in 1936 as Tram No. 14 and now in the Ballarat Tramways Museum. • No. 29 (1925) built by JG Brill Company for the Municipal Tramways Trust, Adelaide, as G class number 302. Operated in Geelong from 1936 as Tram 29 and then transferred to Bendigo in 1947 as Tram 29. Now at Bendigo Tramways, repainted in Adelaide livery and renumbered Adelaide tram 302. • No. 30 (1915), at Ballarat • No. 30 (1925), at Bendigo • No. 32 (1916), at Bendigo • No. 33 (1916), at Bendigo • No. 34 (1916), at Bendigo • No. 35 (1916), at Sydney Tramway Museum • Mo. 36 (1913), at Bendigo • No. 40 (1914), at Bylands ==References==