Thursday, November 20, 2014

Roslyn electric tram, Dunedin

A Brill-built tram car from 1899.
The Roslyn electric tram was NZ's first public electric tramway, officially opening on 23 October 1900, in cape gauge, to replace a short horse tram route. This was operated by the private Roslyn Tramway Company Limited which purchased two electric trams built by J.G. Brill and Co. of Philadelphia, USA, to open the service. An order for a third identical tram was placed in October 1900 with Brill.

The Roslyn tramway was taken over by the Dunedin City Corporation Tramways in 1921. The three Roslyn trams were renumbered: 1 to 88, 2 to 89 and 3 to 81. The line closed on 1 July 1936 and the service was replaced by buses.  Car number 1, restored in 2012 by the Ferrymead Tramway, is now in the Otago Settlers Museum and car number 3 is in the Ferrymead Tramway of Christchurch.

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