Re: Re: Workmates
  Richard Youl

Interesting thanks Kirraly.

The gent on the left is Don Storey, cartographer extraordinaire who produced a series of Melbourne tram maps, each being a decade or two apart and which showed the gradual evolution of the electric network starting with the VR line based at Elwood and the North Melbourne line based at Essendon Depot and starting in 1907. New expanded maps continued until 1990.

I hope that Don does not mind me mentioning this, but he had a terrible thing happen to him one night while driving a W on Route 10.

In Collins St some deranged lunatic boarded, opened the cab door and held a knife to Don’s throat. Later in Collins St they got off the tram and Don was held at knifepoint on the footpath.

The shock of this saw Don withdrawn from passenger traffic and he got the job of transporting trams between depots. He was later the Manager of Bendigo Tramways and the last I heard a Driver for Metro trains.

Up to that time, anyone could open a cab door from the saloon, but afterwards locks requiring the special tramways PE1 key were fitted to all Ws still in service.

I recognise the other guy, but not his name.

(I thought I had a newspaper report of Don’s abduction but could not find it but did come across a lot of other interesting tramway related reports, many around conductor abolition and Metcard ticketing problems. Maybe some will feature here later.)

Regards,


> On 31 Mar 2020, at 21:19, Kirrily kirrilyferngrove@...> wrote:

>

> Richard, just had a quick look and found this one pic from a tram party. My uncle wasn't big on the pic thing (still isn't), so he wouldn't have many others, if any. I will have a Captain Cook and see what I can dig up. Roberto might have more pics, or Alistair Fincher. It was pre-mobile days so 'selfies' and Instagram weren't a thing yet.

>

> Steve Bell - you should have seen the look on my uncle's face at the mention of that name! He says Bell was "strange", often arrogant, rude and intolerant, but could also be very nice and helpful depending on his mood. Bell had a "my way or the highway" attitude, he would be very easy to get along with until you said or did something that rubbed him up the wrong way. Bell was at South for a very short time, he was "Louie's lapdog" (the union boss Lou DiGregorio) and "didn't have an original thought in his head". South was a very independent depot and Lou couldn't control it, Bell was sent to South in a "pathetic attempt to get us under Lou's control". When it didn't work Bell "(expletive deleted) off back to Essendon".

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> <South Depot 676.JPG>