--- InTramsDownUnder@..., "Roderick Smith"
<rodsmith@...> wrote:
>

> Perhaps Hun reads TDU?

>

> Rail News Victoria Editor

> rodsmith@...

>

> Death rattle on tram tracks

> September 02, 2008 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' (online & print)

> Melbourne's historic W-class trams could be off the rails after

claims the
> ageing rattlers are in disgraceful condition.

> Concerns about rotting wood and peeling paint have prompted the

Rail Tram
> and Bus Union to demand the State Government save the antiques or

see them
> taken out of service.

> RTBU tram division acting secretary Doug Brady said the trams could

become a
> safety hazard.

> Department of Transport needed to commit to a rescue plan to keep

the trams
> on the road, he said.

> A department spokesman said a revised approach to maintenance of

the W-class
> fleet was being investigated.

> "However, no formal commitment has yet been made in this regard,"

he said.
> YT operates the W-class fleet, which were retired in 2000 after a

string of
> braking problems, with 53 returned to service in 2004.

> Yesterday, YT spokesman Colin Tyrus said all the W-class trams were

up to
> maintenance standards.

> "There's nothing on the road that isn't fit for service," he said.

> The fleet, which rattle along routes 78 and 79 on Church and Chapel

streets
> and the route 30 extension to Docklands, were recognised on the

National
> Trust heritage list in 1990.

> And growing numbers of Melburnians are getting on board, with the

78 and 79
> routes seeing the biggest patronage increases of all trams last

year, up 10
> per cent.

> Melbourne tram historian Norm Cross said the condition of the W-

class trams
> was disgraceful.

> "Every major city has got a landmark, and the W-class have always

been one
> of the symbols of Melbourne," Mr Cross said.

> "Yet, anyone can see, the paintwork is very much faded on a lot of

the
> trams, and they do have that unloved look about them."

> When the W-class returned to service, YT agreed to maintain the

fleet.
> Mr Tyrus said yesterday that while YT was meeting its maintenance

> agreements, keeping the 60 yovehicles looking young was a

challenge.
> "We'd welcome any injection of funding to help with that ongoing

maintenance
> problem," he said.

> "Because the trams are wooden, and some of them are over 60 years

old, they
> do require more maintenance and upkeep than the rest of Melbourne's

tram
> fleet."

> About 180 more W-class trams are in retirement in Melbourne

workshops.

Y.T need money to repaint W's, but not other trams? I guess green and
cream are expensive colours (not) - "_ _ _ _". It's very sad to see
an overseas company try to strip us of our local identity.