Hello Joseph, Bob M and others.

That's an interesting picture of the Balmain Counterweight tunnel. It
clearly shows the tracks on which the counterweight trolley travelled. I had
sometimes thought that after the counterweight system was abandoned, the
tunnel could have been acquired by the local council or water authority and
used as a high capacity storm water drain into Darling Harbour. This is
apparently not the case.

The counterweight tunnel would have had to be entered regularly (after tram
traffic hours) for the purpose of inspection and lubrication of the pulleys
carrying the cable in the tunnel and also to inspect and lubricate the
underground sheave at the top of the hill. The posting of the tunnel picture
has given me an opportunity of displaying one of my Balmain counterweight
pictures showing

"The tram of this year". Sydney R1 2010 at Darling Street Wharf terminus.
The dummy is out of the picture behind the tram but the picture clearly
shows the cable slot between the rails as well as one of the inspection
covers above a pulley .

People in Melbourne may know whether similar inspection covers were used on
their former cable tramways. They may have become evident during street
excavations along former cable lines.

Periodical replacement of the counterweight cable must have been an
interesting project. Cable replacement in Melbourne was carried out by
splicing a new cable onto the old one and hauling the cable through the
system back to the engine house. The Balmain counterweight cable would not
have been subject to wear and damage caused by frequent gripping and
releasing of the Melbourne cables but over the life of the system, there
would have been several replacements. Someone expert in cable haulage may
be able to explain.

Noel Reed.

_____

From:TramsDownUnder@... [mailto:TramsDownUnder@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of Bob Merchant
Sent: Saturday, 27 November 2010 6:49 AM
To:TramsDownUnder@...
Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Darling Street tunnel

Quite likely, Joseph. The photographer has tagged it Sydney, Tram, and
Drain, so he knows it has a tramway connection, and we know it is not a
drain!

Bob M

----- Original Message -----

From: Joseph mailto:jspinella2000@hotmail.com Spinella

To: tramsdownunder mailto:tramsdownunder@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2010 2:44 AM

Subject: [TramsDownUnder] Darling Street tunnel

Could this be the abandoned counterweight tunnel in Darling Street?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freedomdaisysunshine/4546490297/

Joseph