North Melbourne No 4
The
reconstruction of the frame and the repanelling of the tram are
now complete, and the re-wiring is almost complete.
Controllers,
switches and grids have also been fully overhauled, with Stage 1
works expected to be complete by the end of January.
Brussels
Trucks
The
overhaul of the first of the Brussels trucks for use under
Sydney J 675 has been completed, and the truck has been placed
on display in front of the depot under a temporary roof. Overhaul
of the second truck, which will be placed under Geelong No 2,
has commenced, with the side frames being shortened to 8 ft
wheelbase.
Bendigo
No 35
After
the repairs were carried out to No 33’s trucks, the trucks
under No 35 were removed after one of the motors showed
excessive wear in the armature bearings.
To
enable No 35 to remain in traffic, a truck swap was carried out
with No 31, with No 31 being placed temporarily out of service.
The
trucks from No 35 were then fully overhauled, utilising some
components from trucks previously acquired from the M T P A at
Haddon to speed up the overhaul.
Once
the trucks were completed, they were placed under No 31,
returning it to service.
Bendigo No 21
Work on No 21 has progressed, with the majority
of the interior timberwork now scraped back and being
revarnished. Particularly
impressive is the drop-end ceilings – those that
have scraped ceilings in the past knowing the effort
needed to achieve a good finish would appreciate the workmanship
that has gone into the ceilings.
The exterior has also been scraped back, and is
currently being undercoated and filled prior to the final
painting being carried out.
Cabin
Fronts for E 118
The completed cabin fronts for E type No 118
were transported to Adelaide and installed on No 118 in
December.
J
Class No 675
After loading in Sydney the previous Friday, J
Class No 675 arrived in Bendigo on Sunday afternoon 16th
January 2005, being unloaded early on the Monday morning. Accompanying No 675 were two 77E trucks and an O class truck
which will also receive some attention in Bendigo.
Lake
Extension
At its meeting on Wednesday 19th
January 2005, the City of Greater Bendigo voted to scrap the
proposed extension around Lake Weeroona, rejecting consideration
of alternative proposals presented by The Bendigo Trust.
Part of the motion to scrap the project also
included a commitment from the Council to look at other ways of
improving the operations of the Tramways and The Bendigo Trust
over the next couple of years, so hopefully some of the
essential upgrading of the existing tramway will still
occur.
Gasworks
Depot Clean-up
Over the Christmas-New Year period, a forklift
was hired for a discounted rate and a tidy-up of the Gasworks
Depot yard carried out.
By stacking up a large number of items, shifting
others, and sending off over 10 tonnes of scrap, the Gasworks
Yard is now looking much neater.
Christmas
Holiday Services
2004
Between 26th December and 26th
January, 20 min services were again operated during the day,
with hourly services operating into the evening from 5 pm to 9
pm. Once again our
crews rallied to the cause to ensure all services operated to
time, and all roster positions were covered.
Running a 20 min service stretches our traffic and
maintenance crews to the limits, and they are to be
congratulated for their efforts in making sure the services ran
seamlessly.
Annual
Tram Cavalcade
The Annual Tram Cavalcade was held on Saturday
11th December 2004, with 18 trams lining up in Pall
Mall.
The two stars of this year’s Cavalcade were
ESCo No 8 and VR No 41, which we received special permission
from DoI to operate for the Cavalcade. The 18 trams, in order from North to South, were
Nos 33, 28, 16, 5, 19, 30, 466, 7, 9W, 15, 35, 25, 41, 8, 441,
44, 31, and 36.
Christmas
Trams
This Christmas, No 30 was chosen by Myer again
for Santa Tram duties. It
was joined this year by three other decorated trams, Nos 15, 36,
and 441, with their sponsors donating the cost for materials for
decorating each of them.
The four trams were used heavily in the weeks
preceding Christmas, and were also used to operate a special
service to the carols at Lake Weeroona.
