Historical information

Photograph shows a heavily loaded North Carlton-bound cable tram turning from Swanston Street into Lonsdale Street towed by a lorry. It passes a traffic policeman, pedestrians, motor and horse drawn vehicles. Another cable tram descends the hill without the aid of the cable, as was standard operating practice.

This section of cable tram track in Lonsdale Street was the scene of numerous cable malfunctions. Its design required the use of a short length of auxiliary (assistance) cable to power trams from Swanston Street up the Lonsdale Street hill to Russell Street, where they picked up the main Lygon Street/Johnston Street cable. The auxiliary cable was not powered directly by an engine house but by referred power from a sheave at the end of the main cable.

The complicated path of this auxiliary cable, its secondary power source and the lack of constant monitoring by engine house staff led to many failures. In later years when these occurred, tramway lorries used for dropping sand were frequently redirected to tow trams up the Lonsdale Street hill to pick up the main cable in Russell Street. This problem disappeared when cable trams were removed from Swanston Street at the end of 1925. The Johnston Street cable was then extended along Lonsdale Street from Russell Street to Elizabeth Street, and the auxiliary cable retired.

Significance

Yields information about problems encountered by cable trams

Physical description

Black and white photograph with no note on rear.