AUSTRALIA’s oldest operating tram, the Ballarat Horse Tram No. 1, has seen many uses over nearly one hundred and forty years.<\/p>\n
It has transported people and bikes, been a bedroom and a garden shed, and in more recent years it has been on permanent display at the Ballarat Tramway Museum.<\/p>\n
This Sunday, the tram which dates back to 1887 will be taking passengers at Lake Wendouree, pulled by Clydesdale horses from Sandy Creek.<\/p>\n
Peter Waugh, facilities manager at the Ballarat Tramway Museum, said the event is an exciting opportunity to experience what transport was like in the late 1800s.<\/p>\n
“I think it’s important that we don’t forget our history,” he said.<\/p>\n
“When you ride on the horse tram, it’s a totally different feeling to riding on one of our old trams and totally different to being on a bus.<\/p>\n
“It takes you back to a much simpler, quieter time.”<\/p>\n
Ballarat Horse Tram No. 1 was first purchased from South Australia in 1887 and operated with other horse trams in Ballarat until 1913, when electric trams were implemented across the city.<\/p>\n
It was then used as a trailer behind electric trams to hold more passengers, and for workers’ bikes to be taken from one end of the line to the other.<\/p>\n
In the 1930s, the tram was sold to a family who used it as an extra bedroom and garden shed.<\/p>\n
“Because it was outside they put a roof over the top of it and the wheels and the metal work got sold off for scrap,” Mr Waugh said.<\/p>\n
“It sat in their backyard until the 1980s when one of our members looked up the driveway and said ‘that looks like a horse tram.’<\/p>\n
“We said ‘can we have it,’ and they said no because they needed to keep the mower and spades in it.<\/p>\n
“The museum said, ‘how about we buy you a new garden shed?’ Which they were delighted\u00a0with.”<\/p>\n
Mr Waugh said it was because the owners put a roof on the tram that it still survives today, although it took seven years to be returned to working condition.<\/p>\n
“It is very light timber,” he said.<\/p>\n
“There are a couple of other older horse trams in existence, but they are in very fragile condition and will never come out in operation.”<\/p>\n
The event will be on Sunday 13 April at the Ballarat Tramway Museum from 11am until 3pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AUSTRALIA’s oldest operating tram, the Ballarat Horse Tram No. 1, has seen many uses over nearly one hundred and forty years. It has transported people and bikes, been a bedroom and a garden shed, and in more recent years it has been on permanent display at the Ballarat Tramway Museum. This Sunday, the tram which […]<\/p>\n