How a historic tram from Hartley found new life and a new home in South Australia

The curiosity was started when Lithgow Mercury columnist, The Saint, put the call out for the story behind an old Bondi tram that 'once provided shelter for workers on the Facchina apple orchard at Hartley'. Readers of the column were quick to deduce that the tram was an R1 class number 1971 that was subsequently preserved at the Sydney Tramway Museum.

We later learned that this particular tram is currently housed at the St Kilda Tramway Museum in South Australia on long-term loan. Quite the journey for a humble tram from Hartley.

Thanks to the team at the Sydney Tramways Museum, we can shed some light on the fascinating journey of the iconic Hartley tram to its current home in South Australia.

In the early years of the 20^th century, the predominant type of tram car used on the busy Sydney tram system was what was known as a crossbench tram. By the 1930s however, passengers were looking for something more comfortable and newer models were built to a featuring a 'drop centre' design which appeared in cities like Melbourne and Adelaide.

According to the Sydney Tramway Museum, these trams were designated as 'R' class. But a lack of seating compared with the crossbench trams resulted in the three separate compartments of these trams being replaced by one long saloon in the next version of these trams to be built which were designated the 'R1' class. They had a central entrance door and were known as Corridor trams (in reference to the long saloon). 50 of the 'R1' trams were built in 1936 and another 100 were built in 1952.

At the end of its life in operation following the closure of the Sydney tramway system in 1961, the carriage was sold complete to a retired Tramways Inspector named "Spike" Jones who had a sentimental attachment as it was the first electric tram that he ever drove. He was previously a steam tram driver.

It was then transported to a rural property at Little Hartley where it sat on a short length of track, admired from a distance by some and became a sort of local icon. Over the years it deteriorated badly in the weather and was heavily vandalised.

A Sydney Tramways expert tells us that these traditional trams had wooden roofs covered with heavy canvas which needed frequent painting to remain waterproof and most trams sold to private buyers did not receive attention to their roofs resulting in water damage to the roof structure, to internal linings and to the thin ceiling lining boards.

When its owner Mr Jones passed away, the tram languished beside the busy highway for years before the Sydney Tramway Museum took notice and negotiated its purchase from the owner of the property. It was moved to 'the Old National Park' site in 1979 where it lived for a time.

When the museum relocated to its current home in Loftus in 1989, the tram was able to be put undercover for the first time.

'At that time we had received a state government heritage grant to cover some of the restoration costs and it was moved into our workshop building,' a Sydney Tramways Museum staffer wrote to the Lithgow Mercury.

'As this was before we had the traverser to routinely move trams in and out of the isolated workshop tracks it was skidded sideways on greased steel plates both going in and later coming back out.

'We engaged Geof Spaulding, a highly skilled woodworker and joiner to strip and recanvas the roof, to fit new fascia boards, re-line the ceiling with new specially-milled tongue and groove lining boards and replace water damaged plywood lining panels.'

Volunteers re-wired the electrical systems, replaced stolen motor leads, repaired vandalised controllers, repainted the bodywork, re-varnished the interior and had the seats reupholstered by outside contractors.

Humming back to life, on July 27, 1992, the tram was moved under power for the first time since about 1960 and out of the workshop for further testing.

'The short branch railway from Loftus Junction into the Royal National Park had closed in 1991 and the Museum was able to successfully negotiate the use of the disused railway to add to our 1.7 km line that runs north towards Sutherland,' a Museum staffer wrote.

The National Park tramway was officially opened on May 1, 1993, by the then Minister for Transport, Bruce Baird who drove 1971 as the first official tram on the line.

Since December 2005 the tram that began almost ended its journey in Hartley before loving restoration has been on loan to the Australian Electric Transport Museum and regularly runs on their tramway at the beachside Adelaide suburb of St. Kilda.

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