Re: Melbourne, Christchurch

I really need to check my speeeelling before I send things, by the way, the
last car to loose it resilient wheels (823) which were "National" not MMTB
was about 1989 or 1990, I left the job in Nov 1989 and it still had them
then. "Destination City" gives the wrong dates for these (ie 1005 having
last been fitted in 1970, it was in fact 1983, I was there when it was
done!)

greg
----- Original Message -----
From: "Greg King" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 2:45 PM
Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Melbourne, Christchurch

Hi Bill,

To further clarify a few things, our reslient wheels were two types, the
Namco type which is what Brisbane used and the MMTB type based on the PCC
super relient wheel, the Brisbane type only had a rubber "sandwhich on the
bak that was quit large and none on the front, whilst the MMTB type had

the

rubber both sides in "pads", they were about evenly divided in numbers
perhaps with a few more MMTB type. You are right about any resilient wheel
being more maintenance intensive but, added to this, the Brisbane type
wheels got their rubber chewed out on some of our then, less than perfect
track where the bitumen was broken up and standing higher than the rail.

The

MMTB type suffered from the occassional "collapse) that is one of the pads
giving way, new reslient wheels were still being done in the early 80's

(in

1970, most if not all were still in use) but there was only a handfull of
cars that got them, (the run down actually starting around 1978) 1032
(again) 1027 and 1028 were amongst the last tohave truck changes and loose
there wheels, whilst the last cars so fitted were 1005 and strangly, SW5

764

and W5 823, the latter two were cars that never had resilient wheels and

823

was the last car to loose them.

The truck you spoke of in Dallas was in fact under the Birney and was made
using a W2 truck as was their Gomaco "Brill" single truck car. Tampa has
built brand new Birney trucks using Milan components.

greg

On Sun, 26 Aug 2001 02:22:05 -0000, Andrew Young wrote:

All the resilient-wheel cars lost them in favor of steel
wheels between 1965 and 1970. I have never seen a good
explanation as to why. Does anyone know?

AFAIK, high maintenance costs on the type of resilient wheel
concerned.

So far as Christchurch is concerned, when the Tourist Tramway opened
on February 4th, 1995 it was regarded as the first new tramway to open
anywhere in Australasia for nearly 90 years. Since then, of course,
the Sydney light Rail line has opened and been extended.

Geelong, a completely new system, didn't open until 1912 and strong
arguments could be made for the Glenelg line in Adelaide and the
present Bourke St lines in Melbourne being "new tramways" by the same
criteria that would need to apply to the current Christchurch
operation, as Christchurch had a previous system.

there have been a number of truck replications done where no trucks
existed, something done elsewhere in the museum world only at Fort
Edmonton (Edmonton Radial Railway Society) Canada and at the Crich
Tramway Village (the new name for the museum better known as the
National Tramway Museum) UK.

MATA in Dallas, as a well as having a W2 and using W2 trucks under
their Stone & Webster car, have fabricated a new truck for at least
one car acquired without one.... I saw it under construction in their
carhouse on a visit to Dallas several years ago.

Cheers,

Bill

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