Trams in Brisbane

Brisbane tramway network
Trams and buildings in Adelaide Street decorated for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1954
Operation
Locale	Brisbane, Australia
Infrastructure
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Horsecar era: 1885–1899 Status Closed Operator(s) Metropolitan Tramway and Investment Company Propulsion system(s) Horses
Electric era: 1897–1969 Status Closed Operator(s) Brisbane Tramways Co Ltd (1896–1922) Brisbane Tramways Trust (1922–1925) Brisbane City Council (1925–1969) Propulsion system(s) Electric Electrification 500 V DC catenary (later 600 V DC catenary) Route length 109 km (68 mi) (max, 1954)

The Brisbane tramway network served the city of Brisbane, Australia, between 1885 and 1969. It ran on standard gauge track. The electric system was originally energised to 500 volts, and subsequently increased to 600 volts. All tramcars built in Brisbane up to 1938 had an open design. This proved so popular, especially on hot summer nights, that the trams were used as fundraisers and often chartered right up until the last service by social groups.^[1]

Most trams operated with a two-person crew – a driver (or motorman) and a conductor, who moved about the tram collecting fares and issuing tickets. The exceptions to this arrangement were on the Gardens line (Lower Edward Street) where the short duration of the trip meant it was more effective for passengers to simply drop their fare into a fare box as they entered the tram; and the "one man cars" which operated in the early 1930s (see below).

The peak year for patronage was in 1944–45 when almost 160 million passengers were carried. The system route length reached its maximum extent of 109 kilometres (68 mi) in 1952. The total track length was 199 kilometres (124 mi), owing to many routes ending in single, rather than double, track. Single track segments of the track were protected by signalling which operated off the trolley wire. By 1959 more than 140 kilometres (87 mi) of track were laid in concrete, a method of track construction pioneered in Brisbane.

The last track opened was in O'Keefe Street Woolloongabba, in May 1961. However, this track was not used in normal passenger service and was merely used to reduce dead running from Logan Road back to Ipswich Road Depot.

Of the Australian capital cities which closed their networks between the 1950s and 1970s (only Melbourne and Adelaide retained trams, although Adelaide only had one line in operation), Brisbane was the last capital city to close its tram network. Despite the decision to shut down the network, Brisbane's trams were held with great affection by locals, and one commentator described their removal "one of the most appalling urban planning mistakes in the city’s history".^[2] There have been ongoing proposals since the early 1990s to reinstate a functional tram network.^{[citation needed]}