Mrs Jessie Beardmore, wife of the Shire President, Mr Henry Beardmore, was invited to switch on the electrical current at the power house in Wodonga on 15th January 1912. This was not the official opening of the newly installed system which took place a few weeks later. Disagreement existed amongst Shire Councillors about the official opening, several of them including Mr Beardmore believing the opening should only take place when the scheme was completed. However Dr Schlink, Mr D. M. Stavely, Cr Twomey and Mr C. Holloway, Engineer for the Electric Lighting Company, arranged a small ceremony to turn lights on for the first section of the scheme. This included street lighting along Sydney Street between South Street and the Shire Hall as well as a few business houses and private establishments, with the balcony of the Terminus Hotel illuminated by over 100 lights. Other areas and buildings were connected over the following weeks. Mr Beardmore was not present at the beginning of proceedings but joined the crowd in the street. During a small number of speeches, credit for his work to instigate and further the introduction of electricity to Wodonga was given to Councillor Twomey, referred to as “the father of the scheme”. This item is significant because it records the first connection of electricity to Wodonga in 1912.A hand written letter addressed to Mrs Beardmore of Wodonga. A portrait of Mrs Beardmore is also included. A transcript of the letter is included below. Wodonga 15 -1-12 Mrs Beardmore Wodonga Dear Madam, Mr Holloway, Engineer for the Electric Lighting Company, has invited me to invite you as the wife of the Shire President to switch on the electric supply for the town at the power house not later than 8.30PM (this evening). Hoping that you and Mr Beardmore can make it convenient to attend. I remain yours sincerely, R. H. Schlinkbeardmore family, electricity in wodonga

Report - 42 pages, 3 sections, stapled on the left hand edge, titled "Report of the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into and report upon the Railway and Tramway systems on Melbourne and Suburbs" - dated 1911. Looks at the state of the Suburban rail system, finances, electrification's, costs, evidence of Mr. Merz, advantages of the electrification, power supply and standards, whether AC or DC, duplication, Glen Iris line, conclusions and recommendations. Tramway - summarises the current tramways operating, cable system and operational stats, the current tramway systems, other cities, relative merits, future tramways for Melbourne, operational speeds, use of cable conduits for electric traction, conversion, municipal control , control of the tramways by the railways, a general scheme, formation of a larger tramway trust and its management, purchase of the cable tramways and recommendations. Note: This document is available as a pdf on the Parliament of Victoria website. 2nd copy added 2-1-2019 from donation of Norm Cross.In ink in the top right hand corner "TB"trams, tramways, tramways, cable trams, finances, conversion, railways, royal commission, costs

A4 sheet printed from a pdf file of the "Howard Street Property - conversion into cable car depot". Shows the changes to the buildings in order to provide a running depot for the cable cars that worked the Elizabeth St to Abbotsford line via North Melbourne. Depot required following the closure of the Flemington Road depot when it was converted to electric in July 1925. Drawing not dated. Two current photos of the buildings provided by Mal Rowe - Photos of the front of the buildings - 27/4/2013 and the rear 10/3/2013.trams, tramways, north melbourne, cable trams, conversion, howard st, depot

Shows railways, cable and electric tram lines c1922. One of a number of maps produced by Sands McDougall of Collins St. Includes the Zoo horse tram lines. See acquisition and Research note by Duncan McAuslan. See items 2885, 6573, amd 6917 for other editions. On inside cover has current postal rates (including a war surcharge) and places worth visiting and on the rear cover, is an advertisement for Imperial ink.Yields information about Melbourne c1922 and its public transport lines. Produced by Sands and McDougall Pty Ltd of Collins St Melbourne. Folded sheet of paper 6 sections wide x 6 sections or folds deep contained within a green paper cover titled "Map of Melbourne and Suburbs showing Tramways, Railways, Streets, postal districts, Quarter-Mile Radii etc", showing both cable and electric tramways. maps, melbourne, cable trams, tramways, railways, horse trams, vr trams, sands mcdougall, zoo horse tramway, mmtb

Book - 80 pages, A4 landscape format pages including card covers, full colour printing on gloss paper, titled "Destination Waterfront City" written by Randal Wilson and Dale Budd of 2014. Covers Melbourne tram history including cable trams, early electric trams, trams in art, historic fleet, colour schemes, tram types, depots, ticket machines, maps, principally looking at the then current Melbourne fleet. Includes notes on the authors. Has a photo of E6003 on the front cover.trams, tramways, melbourne, tramways, history, e class

.1 - handwritten notes - small sheet giving notes on the agreement with Mr Westcott and a letter dated 20/11/1923 from Mr Westcott to Mr Strangward giving his estimate of commission for the sale of adverting on tramcars and tickets. .2 - Report - single foolscap sheet titled "Electric cars and Northcote Cable cars", looking at the commission Mr. Westcott earns from the sale of advertising on tramcars and on the back of tickets it appears. Gives current position, Mr Strangward's and Mr Westcott's estimate based on the number of electric cars in service. Gives a recommendation as to future arrangements. Initialled "WOS 26/11/23". Also notes a Mr King at the top of the sheet.trams, tramways, mmtb, tickets, advertisements

Article - "Melbourne cable and electric tramways" - with the subheading "First Substitution by Diesel Buses", with H H Bell, MMTB Chairman as the author. Describes the current system, cable tram operation, formation of the Board, Chairman Bell, Cameron, conversion, H H Bell's tour, closure of the cable system and operation by diesel buses, the new SW6 tram, Australian PCC cars, Diesel bus development, Fare Structure and notes the Board's payments to the fire brigade etc. Has photos of Y 469, Leyland cub buses, W5 736. Has adverts for Bell Punch ticket machines, Smith's clocks and Karrier trucks. There is a report from Thomas Tilling Ltd about their operation and annual reporting.Yields information about Melbourne tramways in 1939 and the background history.Magazine cutting from Modern Transport 25/2/1939 - pages 43 and 44trams, tramways, mmtb, cable trams, buses, bus replacement, h h bell., melbourne, y class, w5 class, tram 469, tram 736, leyland cub

Booklet - 20 pages, printed on off white paper, centre stapled within a grey cover slightly larger than the printed document, titled "The Case for Electric Road Passenger Transport". The title is printed on both document covers. The title is contained within a embossed area on the grey cover. The document looks at the case for electric transport in road use, both trolley buses and trams, current developments, including PCC cars, traffic problems, Europe, financial, passengers, reserved track, health and cleanliness. Not date, early 1950's? - has a reference to a 1951 public transport conference on page 5. On the rear page states "Issued by the British Electrical Development Association" of London."4K1" in ink on front cover and AETA stamp top of cover. AETA stamp and PR Officer 14 Kenaway St, Tusmore F3111" (Tusmore is in Adelaide).trams, tramways, public transport, uk, electrical equipment, electric vehicles, trolley buses, trams, pcc

Newspaper cutting about the possibility of electric shocks from tramcars due to the application of too much sand on the tracks, and not allowing the return current. Tram becomes insulated.Yields information about the possibility of electric shocks from tramcars if excessive sand applied to tracks.Newspaper cutting from the Newcastle Herald, NSW newspaper titled "Trams may give electric shocks""NH 13.6.00"trams, tramways, melbourne, electrical engineering, tramcars, electricity, safety

One of the earliest electric trams in Victoria. This open tram design was commonly known as 'toast rack'. One is preserved , MMTB V Class 214, and resides at Hawthorn Tram Museum. Currently displayed as NMETL No. 13Yields information about the Brill built toastrack tramcars used on the North Melbourne Tramways and Lighting Co. One of 5 open toast rack trams built by J G Brill & Co Ltd for the NMET&L Co Ltd. Builders photo at their workshop in 1906tramways, trams, brill, nmetl, tram 214, tram 13, v ckass

The specification produced by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (The Met) for manufacturing, supplying, and delivering electric trams. Has three options for delivery - 200 four-axle trams, 100 four-axle and 60 six-axle or 120 six-axle articulated trams. The last was selected. Tenders closed 27/4/1984. The donor used the book to superintend the contract by Comeng Dandenong. Has many notes for future engineering reference. See htd7741doc.pdf for source details.Demonstrates a specification document produced by the MTA for the B2 class trams.Bound specification approx 300 pages, with green cover and green comb binding. Has many loose sheets.Extensive notes throughout document for future issues, and current queries.tramways, tramcars, new tramcars, b2 class, comeng, tenders