Geelong tram back on track at Ballarat

A PIECE of Geelong transport history is back in action at Ballarat, with the Geelong number two tram taking passengers for the first time in 66 years.

Ballarat Tramway Museum (BTM) has returned the historic Geelong tram to the tracks for its first passenger journey since the 1950s.

Canberra enthusiast Warrington Cameron spent almost three decades meticulously restoring the tram with help from a host of specialists from across Australia and internationally, before donating the final product to the museum in 2020.

Mr Cameron, City of Greater Geelong acting mayor Trent Sullivan and Ballarat’s mayor Daniel Moloney were among the first passengers of the tram’s comeback voyage at Ballarat’s heritage tramway at the city’s botanical gardens.

BTM president Paul Mong and national tram historian Rod Atkins were also on board for the journey, while a host of representatives from Australian tramway museums also attended the launch.

The tram is the only known survivor of the seven original trams that opened the Geelong system in 1912.

Number two racked up 1.7 million kilometres across the city until its retirement in January 1956.

It spent decades on a Bellarine farm that stored feed that was distributed to animals via its windows, before Mr Cameron acquired the vehicle in 1991.

With remnants of Geelong’s tram system long gone, number two was donated to BTM for special occasion journeys that will replicate travelling experiences of a century ago.

The number two tram will have a second running next Sunday, February 27, which will likely be its last of the year.

It will remain in static display at the Ballarat museum’s new building, except for the rare rides.