Trams Tracks & Trolleys - Excerpt (1993)

Available on DVD at umbrellaent.com.au For 70 years trams were a way of life in Tasmania. Designed and built locally, they provided the cities of Hobart and Launceston with considerable character and movement. From the early days of settlement and the necessity of horse drawn transport through to the mighty rise of steam power and electricity, Tasmania’s rich heritage of trams, tracks and trolleys is explored in great historical detail. Operating on a direct current system at 500 watts, these double-decker ‘beauties’ crafted out of Tasmanian wood carried passengers around the bustling cities from September 1893, gradually transforming into trolley buses around the mid 1930s, with the last tram making its final journey in 1952. Trolley buses lasted until 1965 as demand for transport shifted in favour of automobiles and petrol power. Incorporating archival film footage, detailed photographs and insightful anecdotes from residents, historians, conductors, drivers and engineers Trams, Tracks and Trolleys captures a fascinating era of transportation in Australia’s Apple Isle, celebrating a triumph of engineering endeavour and metropolitan development.