BALLARAT Tramway Museum is brightening a dark autumn night with vibrant multi-coloured light this Heritage Festival, as the organisation runs the Neon Tram for another year.<\/p>\n
Tram number 13 has been decked out in vibrant LEDs and will colour the cool evening of Saturday, 27 May with warm red, green, blue, and white lights.<\/p>\n
Operations manager Sam Boon said the tram will take passengers up and down the Wendouree Parade tracks from 6pm to 9pm.<\/p>\n
\u201cRiding a tram at night, and in the cold, is quite an experience, and it reminds people of the old days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see the neon tram coming down the road, it looks like a lit-up Christmas tree.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, people driving along Gillies Street saw the tram lit up in the dark over by the lake and it drew them to come over to have a closer look.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, our new museum is open, we\u2019ll have some neon lights set up in there, and visitors can have a look through at night as part of their ticket price, which is a different experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is another way for us to engage with more local people, rather than just tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n
BTM volunteers installed and programmed the LED lights on tram 13 last week, which Mr Boon said was a complicated process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe run on 600 volts, so there is quite a web of wiring,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re learning as we go each year and improving the set up slightly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The museum will open from 5.30pm to 9pm, with rides from 6pm. Bookings are essential via bit.ly\/3BDGJwK.<\/p>\n