The Many Lives of Tram 91
Like the axe that gets a new handle and then later has its head replaced, very little of the original No. 91 may have survived here. But as you can see there is still plenty to admire and a lot to tell about this tramcar which served the city from 1909 to 1955, and has cheated the scrap heap on many occasions.
1908 M CLASS - designed to beat the Auckland heat
Anyone who knows Auckland weather can imagine how hot and humid a full tramcar might get in the middle of a sticky summer's day. Opening a window is an obvious solution. Unfortunately passengers had a tendency to lean too far out of the lower sash window on previous classes, and this resulted in tragedy on one occasion.
The top opening fanlight of H and G class tramcars didn't allow enough ventilation, so the solution was the ‘upper rack' style windows, which were introduced on M Class trams like No. 91 and became a standard on Auckland cars right through until the end of the tram era. Only the top half on these opened, ensuring the safety and comfort of passengers.
