W5 800 Bourke st.
  Graeme Farrar

W5 800 on a tour with Graeme Bennett as the driver and organizer is in
Bourke street at Spencer street terminus.

The destination showing East Brunswick and route number 96 would be
appropriate for trams departing from this terminus.But the destination
displayed by trams operating on the 96 route was officially East
Brunswick Blyth street.at the time.

The East Brunswick destination would be the third type that would have
been displayed over the years,but as 800 was a Brunswick depot tram with
a Brunswick destination roll fitted this East Brunswick destination
would have been displayed by trams in Swanston street terminating at
Moreland road coming from St Kilda or South Melbourne Beach's.(Refer to
Ron Scholtons earlier postings on destinations).

The East Brunswick destination would be later displayed on Z3's
departing from here on route 96 many years later.

Other things to note is that 800 is on the siding that was seldom used
by Bourke street trams,with the small section of cable car track, just
visible behind 800 and the large model of the Victorian Railways B Class
locomotive is just visible in the window at Spencer Street Station.

800 being a W5 would not have been used in service on Bourke street
lines only W6's ,W7's and PCC 980.

The Tavern is visible to the left and Spencer street station has been
rebuilt from the early photo's posted by Noel Reed.

This scene has changed a lot since then with direct tramway connections
now going left and right from Bourke street into Spencer street,first
being the left hand turning track connection for the Light Rail and in
later years the right hand turn for Docklands.

The siding is now a through track,the last remnant of cable tram track
in Bourke street removed.

Trams no longer use this terminus as a main terminus anymore as the
route 96's run through to St Kilda on the Light rail and the route
88's run through to terminate at Docklands.

Spencer Street Station has been rebuilt and renamed Southern Cross Station.

How things have changed,G.Farrar.


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