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MOTAT's Tramway is Auckland's only operating tramway and only one of four in New Zealand. The collection of operating tramcars is representative of the North Island cities of Auckland, Wanganui and Wellington. Also complimented by examples from Dunedin and Melbourne, Australia covering 120 years of steam, cable and electrical tram traction.
Choose from the links below for more information on
MOTAT's Tramway:
 Newly restored Auckland No.44.
THE TRAM SERVICE:
The tram service runs
approximately every 30 minutes from MOTAT's Great North Road site, past
Western Springs Park, via Auckland Zoo to MOTAT's Motions Road site and return, 1.72km
each way. Tram stops are situated at MOTAT's Great North Road Entrance,
Motions Road Corner, Auckland Zoo and MOTAT' Motions Road site. A request stop is also
situated midway along the Western Springs Park edge on Great North Road.
Download
Tramway Map
Hours of operation 7 days
a week:
MOTAT Great North Road-
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First departure:
10:00am
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Last departure: 4:30pm
MOTAT Motions Road-
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First departure:
10:15am
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Last departure: 4:45pm
Trams leave every 30
minutes. A return trip takes 25 minutes.
The Tram service is closed
Christmas Day and Pacifica Festival weekend in March.
Tram Fares:
MOTAT admission includes
a return tram ride.
Off the street tram
fares:
Family pass $5
Adult return $2
Adult one way $1
Child return $1 Child one way 50 cents
Under 5 years are free
A BRIEF
HISTORY OF MOTAT’S TRAMWAY
The tramway collection at MOTAT represents over 100 years of urban
transport in New Zealand.
The idea of a national museum of transport began to take shape in 1957
soon after closure of the electric tramways in Wanganui, Invercargill,
New Plymouth, Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland during 1950–56.
Beginning with Auckland tram No.253, the Old Time Transport Preservation
League began to assemble examples of our national transport heritage at
Matakohe, 150km north of Auckland.
With the establishment of MOTAT at Western Springs in 1963, the vision
of an operating museum tramway approached reality. Operation began on 16
December 1967 over the first length of track (inside the museum grounds
from the Pumphouse). The 1.1km line along the Park boundary to the
Auckland Zoo opened in 1981. Construction of a 900m extension to the
Aviation Museum at Meola Road was completed in May 2007.
Visitors have made over 4 million trips on the tramway since 1967. Our
trams are restored, operated and maintained by volunteers. They have
become unpaid professionals in the art of returning decaying body-work
and worn-out running equipment to the ‘in-service’ state you see today.
Much of this effort has been self-funded.
In 2000 the MOTAT Act was passed by Parliament. For the first time in
MOTAT’s history this gives us certainty for our future work. It will be
possible to put up buildings to properly house and display our
collections. But we will still depend upon volunteer expertise and
labour in preserving and demonstrating these important reminders of our
lost ‘clean-green’ transport triumphs.
Please consider joining us in a task that gives an enormous sense of
lasting satisfaction. You don’t need to be expert in anything – just
willing!
TRAMWAY EQUIPMENT OPERATING, ON DISPLAY AND IN STORAGE AT MOTAT
AUCKLAND 4ft-8½in (1435mm) gauge
No.11 (1902) ‘Combo’. Brush Electrical Engineering Co Ltd, England, built 19 combination (open/saloon) cars. No.11 was first of the original 43 Brush ‘kitset’ tramcars to be erected at Ponsonby Depot. 1902–12 saw it with an open front and no air brakes. Restored by the Western Springs Tramway in 1976 to its 1912 form and colour scheme. Present equipment: Brush type D1 bogies (now-unique examples); 2–50hp GE Witton motors; GE K11 controllers; air brakes. NZ’s oldest operating electric tram, used for special events.
No.17 (1902) ‘Double Decker’. Also built by Brush as part of the first order. The six cars were converted to single deck in 1923 and withdrawn in 1948. The body is in storage, but is a restoration priority.
Recently Restored:
No 44
'Dinghy'.
Similar to the eighteen
1902 Brush single-saloon cars
on 4-wheel 21E trucks,
but built by Auckland Electric
Tramways Co at Ponsonby.
Built with an open front and
no airbrakes. Later the
Motormans' ends were rebuilt
with windscreens and
airbrakes fitted 1910-12
respectively. Coupled with No.49
in 1918. Due to the
requirement for two conductors on the
coupled "twins", they were
replaced by larger trams, No.44
was withdrawn from service 8th
June 1931.
Stripped of mechanical and
electrical equipment, sold and
used as a garden shed in Royal
Oak until 1963.
Restored over four years and
completed late 2006.
Click tram number for history
and photographs.
Nos.89, 91 & 147 (1908-12) M Class. Auckland's most numerous type (99 built) running until the early 1950s. Used on the famous Farmers Free Tram service. No.89 (in storage) will be restored to 1950s form. No.91 was acquired for parts only. No.147 (in storage) will see service as a steam-tram trailer (being not unlike the cars used on the Bayswater-Takapuna line 1910-27) returning to electric power in longer term.
No.203 (1926) ‘Semi-Steel’. The striking ‘art deco’ appearance of these trams, combined with innovative structural design, represents a significant milestone in Auckland’s fleet. Designed and built in Auckland. In storage awaiting total reconstruction.
Nos. 248 (1938) & 253
(1940) ‘Streamliner’. The last type of Auckland tram, built by the Auckland Transport Board at the Manukau Road workshops. Equipment: EMB L5 bogies; 4–35hp MV109 motors; GE K6 controllers; manual-lap air wheel and track brakes. No.253 (the ‘Queen Mary’) was the only tram in the fleet to be fitted with regenerative control gear - unfortunately removed in 1951. No.253 opened the MOTAT tram service in 1967, but is now in storage awaiting a major body rebuild. No.248 was first restored and painted in the 1938 livery by WST in 1980 . Continues to run in regular museum service.
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Interior of the “Smoking Compartment”
of restored Auckland tram No.44 which dates from 1906. Photo
by: David Pitt. 14 May 2006 |
Wellington No. 47 in the Newtown,
Wellington car sheds in the early 1960s. Restoration of this
tram is now underway. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the
Bob Merchant collection. |
WELLINGTON 4ft-0in (1219mm) gauge
Under
Restoration:
No.47
(1906) 'Big Ben'. Built by Rouse
and Black, Wellington. One of six bogie double-deckers, No.47 is the
only survivor. It was kept for maintenance of the overhead wire in the
Hataitai tramway tunnel. Brought to Auckland after Wellington system
closed in 1964. Equipment: Brill 22E 'maximum-traction' bogies; 2-40hp
GE67 motors; GE B18 controllers. Hand and rheostatic/magnetic brakes.
Under restoration - Commenced 2006. Click
tram number for history and photographs.
No.135 (1921) ‘Double Saloon’ Built by WCCT at Kilbirnie workshops. One of 69 of the type. Withdrawn in 1957. Restored by WST to the open centre section design and painted in the original chocolate/cream colour scheme. Equipment: Brill 69E bogies; 2–50hp GE 203P motors; GE B35 controllers; manual-lap air-brakes; rheostatic/magnetic electric braking.
Nos. 244 (1939) ‘Fiducia’. Built by WCCT as modern ‘one-man’ cars (though rarely used without a conductor). The upholstered seats and bus-type windows were popular. Westinghouse safety-car control equipment equipment, ‘deadman’s handle’, air-operated doors & steps. Other equipment: Brill-type 69EW bogies; 2–BTH-510 controller/50hp motor sets. Self-lapping air-brakes; rheostatic/magnetic electric braking. No.244 opened the last new tramway extension in NZ via Bowen Street in 1940.
In storage awaiting major restoration.
Under
Restoration: No. 252 (1940) ‘Fiducia’. Same as 244 above. No.252 was the
last ‘first generation’ tram to run in NZ streets in a ceremonial parade
on 2 May 1964.
No.257 (1950) ‘Fiducia’. Completion of the last four Fiducias (257–60) was delayed by WWII. Post-war materials available caused minor modifications to the design. Other details as for Nos.244 and 252. No.257
has been running MOTAT since 1967 and has been rebuilt twice during this
time.
No.301 (1911) Freight Car. One of two built for a parcels service in central Wellington and suburbs. Converted to a rail grinder when parcels service ceased in late 1920s. Equipment: Brill 21E truck; GE B18 controllers; 2–25hp GE54 motors. Hand brake; rheostatic electric braking from controller. The car retains its rail-grinding gear and has a DC arc-welding supply. On display. Bodywork to be restored.
Click tram number for history and photographs.
WANGANUI 4ft-8½in (1435mm) gauge
No.10 (1912) California Combination. Built by Boon & Co., Christchurch. In service until closure of the system in 1950. Original equipment: 4-wheel Brill 21E truck, GE B18 controllers, 2-25hp BTH GE54 motors, hand and electric braking. No.10 is typical of the small 4-wheel combination-type tramcars (saloon with open-air end sections) used in the provincial town tramways of Wanganui, New Plymouth, Napier and Invercargill. To be restored to running order using a Brush 21E truck salvaged and re-gauged from the Napier 3ft-6in gauge system.
In storage.
Under Restoration No.21 (1921) Toastrack Trailer. Built by Boon & Co., Christchurch. Towed behind the electric trams. Unmotored 4-wheel Brill 21E truck.
No.100 (1891) 0–4–0 Steam-Tram Motor. Built by the Baldwin Locomotive works, Philadelphia, for the New South Wales Govt Tramways, Sydney, Australia. Brought to Wanganui in 1910 for construction of the Gonville & Castlecliff Tramway Board’s electric tramway extensions of the Wanganui system. Used rarely after 1912, but most famously during a 3-month failure of the Wanganui power supply in 1920 and again during the closing weeks of the system in 1950. No.100 was fully restored to working order by WST over the period 1971–96. The engine is unique: of the roughly 500 similar tram-motors built for street railways throughout the world, No.100 is the only one still operating and with limited modification to its original form and equipment. Runs 4–6 times per year
MELBOURNE 4ft-8½in (1435mm) gauge
No.321 (1925) W2 Class. Built by Holden, Adelaide, South Australia, for the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board as a W class. All of this class were later (1928–33) converted to W2 form with three entrances on each side. Withdrawn in 1980 and presented to MOTAT by the Victoria Government in 1981. Ran at MOTAT until 1998 when complete refurbishment began. Returned to service October 2002, now in its 1972–80 form. Length 48ft (14.6m); weight 17 tonne. Equipment: M&MTB 1A bogies; 4–35hp BTH motors; GE K35JJ controllers: hand- and self lapping air-brakes.
No.906
(1945) SW6 Class. Built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways
Board’s Preston Workshops. Fitted with steel window frames and Motorman
controlled, pneumatically operated sliding doors. Withdrawn after 52
years service in 1997 and placed in storage at the former Preston
Workshops in the back up fleet, but never utilised. Selected from
hundreds of stored trams by MOTAT volunteers and kindly donated by the
Victorian Department of Infrastructure in 2006. Length 46’6 ” (14.17 m)
weight 17.7 tonne. M&MTB No.15 trucks. 4-40hp GE motors, License built
RC2 controllers: hand- and self lapping air-brakes.
DUNEDIN cable-car gauge 3ft-6in
No.4 (later No.107) (1883) Cable Car Trailer. Built by Jones Car Co., New York. Only survivor of a disasterous 1903 fire which destroyed all other rolling stock of the Mornington Tramway Co just hours after purchase of the assets by the Dunedin Council. Exterior paint scheme restored to original, but the car requires recreation of its running gear. The trailer’s construction is also very typical of the horse-drawn trams of the pre-electric era (1870s–1900).
TOWER WAGONS
The tramway has three tower wagons used for maintenance of the overhead system.
No.4 Leyland model C 3-ton (1924). Supplied complete by the Leyland Motor Co, England. Solid rubber tyres; cardan-shaft foot-brake, hand-braked on rear wheels; 3-section tower raised by mechanical power take-off. In use until 1951 and donated to MOTAT in 1964. Restored by apprentices at the Auckland Regional Authority central workshops (the old tramway workshops) to its original condition and paint scheme in 1990.
No.5
Bedford model OWB 58 (1946). O Model Wartime built bus
chassis shortened by ATB during war shortages. Bedford 28hp engine.
Purpose built to maintain the tramway and newer trolley bus overhead to
replace aging trucks. 4 man crew cab built by the Auckland Transport
Board. Originally fitted with 3-section hydraulic wooden tower. In
service with Auckland Transport Board / Auckland Regional Authority 1946
– 1980. Stored, but without tower.
No.501
Bedford model J4 (1974). The ARA fitted an extended crew cab for use on the former Auckland trolleybus system. Has a 3-section hydraulic tower from an earlier model O Bedford. In current use.
TRAMWAY POWER SUPPLY
Mercury Arc Rectifier, Distribution Panel & Circuit Breakers. The power supply for the tramway is via a Hackbridge step-down transformer, Hewittic mercury-arc rectifier, distribution and fault-protection panel. Input is at 6600volts AC and output is at 550volts DC. The supply has a capacity of 675kW (approx 900hp) and can be seen in operation next to the Pumphouse. It was formerly installed (in 1951) at the Dominion Road sub-station of the Auckland Electric Power Board to supply trolleybuses in the Mt Roskill area.
OTHER ITEMS
IN THE COLLECTION
We have a very large collection of other tramway-related items of every type. Most is not able to be displayed. However when visiting the museum look out for the blacksmith’s equipment (All day & Onions, 1902) originally at Ponsonby Depot, now in the Forge, the hydraulic wheel/axle press used 1902–55, and the 1920s mobile maintenance-workers’ ‘smoko’ hut (on solid rubber tyres).
The above are only some of the larger items in the Western Springs Tramways’ extensive collection. Most of the collection is normally inaccessible to visitors. Volunteer tramway staff are pleased to assist with special
enquiries – particularly on Tuesdays and Sundays when conservation and maintenance work is in progress at the workshops.
DONATIONS TO ASSIST OUR WORK ALWAYS WELCOME.
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