The first Adelaide car to be fitted with air brakes was E type 105 which according to the Adelaide Advertiser on 13 August 1921 entered traffic experimentally with air brakes “a few days earlier to train motormen in their use”. This was after what became the E and D type maximum traction cars had been in traffic with magnetic brakes for over ten years (see picture). It may be noted that the MTT newspaper cutting book included a story from the Melbourne Argus 24 April 1919 that “magnetic brakes are unreliable”. The Advertiser recorded on 22 January 1924 that new F type cars and 35 D and E type cars (of which there were 70) had been fitted with air brakes at a cost of €290-0-0 each;
John Radcliffe
[cid:image003.jpg@01D72A2D.FE4441A0]
E type 117 with magnetic track brakes about 1920
From:tramsdownunder@... tramsdownunder@...> On Behalf Of Tony Galloway
Sent: Monday, 5 April 2021 10:35 AM
To: tramsDownUnder Roderick Smith via tramsdownunder@...>
Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Ron # 71 - L101. F201
On 5 Apr 2021, at 10:05 am, Mal Rowe mal.rowe@...mailto:mal.rowe@gmail.com> wrote:
The L was built by James Moore and Co. The company was a large timber merchant based in City Rd South Melbourne and were the first company to build electric trams in Melbourne.
They were very proud of their work and their timber - using the highest quality and the most complex joints to show it at its best. They aimed to impress - firstly with what became the B class and then the Ls.
Those joints were largely due to the complex curves in the body. See the pic attached, showing the drop centre of L 103 at MTPA, Haddon.
That high quality carpentry is a legacy from building wood bodied road coaches that were robust enough not to self-dismantle when weight was a consideration for horse drawn vehicles operating on rough roads.
My #2 son Rory has recently finished a carpentry and cabinet making apprenticeship where he was fortunate to learn a lot of the old techniques as his boss did a lot of restoration and accurate reproduction of older furniture, shop fittings etc.
And just a comment regarding the never built Adelaide F class - I note the 27G trucks in the drawing have magnetic track brakes, an interesting feature on a large four motor car when air brakes were generally the preferred option.
Tony
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