The Sandhurst and Electric Tramway Company was the first to blaze a trail when it introduced battery trams to Bendigo in June 1890. Unfortunately they had made a serious miscalculation, as the batteries quickly proved inadequate for the hilly terrain of Bendigo. After a couple of months battery trams ceased running and were later replaced by steam trams in February 1892. Steam trams were a reliable means of transport and successfully moved Bendigonians around for ten years, but the onset of the recession forced the Bendigo Tramways Company to sell up in 1899 to the Electric Supply Company of Victoria (ESCo) who continued to run steam trams until 1902. This turn-of-the-century sale led to the introduction of electric trams to Bendigo in April 1903. These were a success from the very beginning. During peak hour people would be standing in the aisles, in the doorways, even on the running boards on the outside of the tram. In addition, the trams were also the first option for deliveries. Parcels, newspapers, movie reels for the picture theatres and even mail bags found their way onto the trams; sent from outlying post offices to the GPO in the city centre. At the end of World War I the Victorian Government constituted the new semi-government instrumentality, the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC). The SEC was to take over all privately owned power generating companies in Victoria and operate as a state owned monopoly ... Bendigo's tramway system was an integral part of the deal.Bendigo Tramways 100th Anniversary National Trust 31 minute DVD. Content includes brief history of the Bendigo trams from 1890 to 1990; driver's view movies of each of the four Bendigo Lines; and the set up of the tourist trams after the closure of the lines by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria.history, bendigo, bendigo trams