Dunedin Tran Memories

摘要

As the 1950s began, speed restrictions were placed on some tram routes.Trams on the Tahuna line were allowed to travel at a maximum of 8 mph due to the state of the track in the final months before closure in 1952.Travelling by tram on the remaining major routes after 1952, especially to the Gardens, Caversham and on the beach lines to St Kilda and St Clair, was always an adventure, with plenty of fresh air, especially in the Dunedin winters. The trolleybuses were comfortable and warm, with heaters, but they were not nearly as fast as the trams in traffic I can recall my first job as an eleven-year-old message boy, working for a Dunedin toyshop. It was the last Christmas of trams running along George Street, 1954. The trams, which ran to the Gardens and had numerous short workings to Frederick Street, were fast and frequent. When trolleybuses started running along George Street, my workasa messenger for the toyshop the following Christmas was harder. The trolleybuses were much slower at loading and edging in and out of traffic. My boss became concerned about the slow delivery of parcels when I travelled by trolleybus. I became a tram fan when a packed trolleybus, appearing to empty and refill with passengers at every stop along George and Princes Streets. It took twenty minutes to travel seven blocks from St Andrew Street to the Chief Post Office at the Exchange -while I held onto a heavy and urgent parcel!