Ferrymead Newsletter of the P. O. Box 1126 Tram Tracts www ... · attend the biannual conference of...

September functionSunday 21 SeptemberOur Annual Dinner

Time: Meet at 6.00 pm to eat at6.30 pm

Where: Garden Restaurant110 Marshlands Road

Cost: Adults $29.50, Seniors (60plus) $27.50

Please let Phyllis know by14 September. Either ring 03-

3524872 Txt 0272270343 or [email protected].

This is important as therestaurant needs accurate

numbers.

Tram TractsNewsletter of the

Tramway Historical Society IncP. O. Box 1126Christchurch.

Websitewww.ferrymeadtramway.org.nz

Editorial address: Joe Pickering, P. O. Box 17, Woodend, North Canterbury 7641. Phone 03 312 2578. [email protected].

Ferrymead

September 2014

Next work partyThe next work party is scheduled for Saturday 15 September 2014 . Formal work parties are held every

third Saturday of the month and Alan Roi provides a cooked midday meal. There are also activities everySaturday and on Monday evenings.

Dave Hinman

Dave Hinman

THE CANTERBURYRailway Society (CRS) andTHS track gangs undertooka massive bridge and trackrepair job over 16, 17 and 23August. The original planwas to remove the girders ofTruscotts Road bridge andresleeper the point behindthe church which wouldinclude a new point bladeand one new closer rail.

Back in June when theplan was hatched it wasagreed that THS wouldsandblast body parts of F13in return for help from CRSon the above work. Thesandblasting was carriedout by Dave Carr whilst wehad the use of a highcapacity compressor.August was chosen for theoperation because it isnormally a “quiet” monthand we were expecting to have toclose the main line into the village forup to two weeks. However thepressure mounted as the Park Codecided to reintroduce daily runningand then Murder Mysteries came upwith some big bookings. Preparationfor the work started on 13 June whenMurray Sanders attached bond wireextensions over the drain andassisted loosening some of the fittings.By the first day we realised thatremoving the girders was not goingto be feasible because the bigcompressor had gone which meantany descaling of rust would need tobe done in situ manually (this turnedout to be a godsend). With the aid of a

CRS member’s digger the tracksetwas lifted off and our people swunginto action chipping the rust off thetop of the beams, wire brushing andslapping paint on.

Fortunately our bridgeinspector (Michael Thorne) wasdown from Hawkes Bay to help andwas happy with the procedure.Meantime the CRS team led by PeterJenkinson were busy stripping thefittings off the point. Boy, do theyhave some useful tools! The diggerlifted out the rails and rotten sleepers(recovered from Blackball 40+ yearsago?). After clearing out old ballastnew sleepers were laid and the railsof the main line screwed in place. The

A huge job completed!THS and CRS join forces on a daunting repair job. KEN HENDERSON tells the story.

track set for the bridge was then putback in place and the tracks joinedetc. By the end of the day we wereable to open the main line leaving theloop for the next weekend.

On 23rd August workrecommenced by fixing the new pointblade, bending the new closer rail andscrewing everything down. The loopwas kept closed to await ballastingand levelling the following weekend.

This was a great achievementand good example of inter societycooperation. Well done all whohelped.

Coming events

“Mind the gap.” Trackset removed fromTruscott’s Bridge 17 August.

Murray SandersMore pictures page 2

Ferrymead Tram Tracts, September 20142

Dave Hinman

Message from thepresident

IT’S BEEN some timesince I last wrote anarticle for Tracts. Ihave been asked torecommence.

The AGM washeld on the 20August and attendedby about 25members. Allexisting committee

members were re-elected. All the reportstabled at the AGM will be uploaded tothe web site for those who wish to readthem and a hard copy is available onrequest to myself, the secretary or thetreasurer.

The long awaited “Land Deal”appears to finally be ready to becompleted. This will give the Societyfreehold title to the land the tram barnsare on and the parcel of land betweenTram Barn 1 and Bridle Path Road whichis where the planned diesel bus barnwill go. Our current project to providecovered storage for our road vehicles isto erect a building next to the existingtrolley bus shed. This building will beabout the same size and will cost asmuch as Tram Barn 3 and be capable ofhousing nine bus size vehicles.

The workshop remains the maincentre of activity with ongoing repairsand maintenance on the tramshappening along with the restoration ofHills Car 24. Other work also continueswith a major resleepering of the trackand rail replacement behind the church.At the same time the track set overTruscott’s Road bridge was lifted toallow a full inspection of the bridgebeams which where cleaned andpainted with rust prevention paintbefore the track was replaced. This workwas done with very much appreciatedhelp from Canterbury Railway Societymembers.

Several members are planning toattend the biannual conference of theCouncil of Tramway Museums ofAustralasia to be held during earlyOctober in Sydney. This is a greatopportunity to network with likeminded people and share ideas. The 2016conference will be held in Christchurch.

Cheers,Graeme.

David Jones

David Jones

Ferrymead Tram Tracts, September 2014 3

ONE OF OUR GIFTED volunteers

passed away on 12 August in his

76th year after a long illness. Mike

will be remembered especially for

his superb photographic record of

the Powerhouse Project, published

as a booklet by Caxton Press. He

was employed in Wool Research at

Lincoln, and while with us

arranged for T.H.S. members to visit

a wool scouring business.

One of Nature’s Gentlemen,

Mike never sought the limelight but

was a delight to know with his

quiet sense of humour. He had a

keen interest in many natural

phenomena as well as in building

up a huge black and white

photographic collection of historic

gold mining sites on the West Coast

and in Central Otago. This collection

is now to be housed in Archives

New Zealand. Its quality is

outstanding, and of great assistance

to D.O.C. records.

He was a member of the

Ferrymead Photographic Society,

and at T.H.S he was part of the teams

working on the R.T. bus, cable car

trailer 111, and elsewhere over

several years. It was my pleasure

as a neighbour of Mike’s to introduce

him as a volunteer, to enjoy his

company, and to share various

experiences with him on some of his

Central Otago expeditions.

Messages have been sent to

his widow, Kath, and their family.

Don McAra

ObituaryMIKE HAMMERSLEY

InvitationThe following invitation was recently received from Friends

of FerrymeadDear Ferrymead Heritage Park society secretariesAs well as the Stewart Street Cottage reopening and housewarming Irecently emailed you about (6th September 3:00 p.m.), The Friends ofFerrymead are also putting on an event during the 2014 Heritage Week.This year’s theme is ‘Making Connections – Experience our past-present-future’.

The Friends of Ferrymead are holding an ‘Edwardians At Home’evening on Thursday October 23rd, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

We don’t know if your society are doing anything for Heritageweek, but we thought we would spread the word amongst the Park’ssocieties, that there will be visitors in the Park on that night and thatyou are all invited to come along and see what we’re doing.

The Heritage Week booklet will be distributed around the citysoon. The Friends of Ferrymead event is as follows ...

Come and experience an ‘Edwardian At Home’ in our 1865 cottage -Edwardian games, cinema, supper, fires and candles. Visit the Brittenden’sDrapery. Gold coin donation. Experience the evenings that our great grand-parents did to entertain their families and friends.

We will have Curragh, Stewart Street cottage, the drapery andthe school open. The movie theatre will also be open.

We would appreciate it if you could let your members know aboutthe event.

Kind RegardsDeborah Westlake

SPECIAL OFFERLAST MONTH we published detailsof a new publication from GrahamStewart’s publishing company, butomitted details of Graham’s generousoffer.

From Survival to Revival –Auckland’s Public Transport

System since 1860 – byGraham Bush

The RRP of this new book is $59.99(GST inclusive)

A special offer to all members of theTramway Historical Society is…$46.00 (GST Inclusive) –Post and

packing FREE –Just post your cheque to Grantham

House Publishing6/9 Wilkinson Street

Oriental BayWELLINGTON 6011

– or if you prefer to pay by creditcard – Visa / MasterCard…

Just supply the following details:-Name of Card / Expiry Date / Cardnumber – with your mailing ad-

dressand e-mail to [email protected]

Graham StewartPublisher / Director

Grantham House PublishingBookprint International Limited

6/9 Wilkinson Street, Oriental Bay,Wellington 6011NEW ZEALAND

e-mail: [email protected]: +64 4 381 3071FAX: +64 4 381 3067

Mobile: +64 21 158 7111http://www.granthamhouse.co.nz

Tram driving tipFrom Motorman Training

Officer DAVID JONESA reminder to tram crews to ensurethat the tram barns are properlysecured—i.e. locked—when drivingtrams at any time when the trambarns are not occupied by otherstaff or members as is often the caseon Sundays, but applies equally atany other time during the week andin the evenings. On completion ofyour business you must ensure thatthe barns are locked, the alarm isset and that the gate on to BridlePath Road is padlocked shut.


This mint condition A B Hurst photo postcard No 8041 shows Christchurch, CathedralSquare c1959. Four British built AEC Regal IV buses can be seen in front of the

Cathedral in this lovely view from the late 1950s. Three of the buses are heading outalong old tram route: Lincoln Road, Papanui and Dallington. A small portion of the

former tramway waiting shelter, now at Ferrymead, can be seen beside the trees.Postcard from the David Critchley Collection

Two generousdonations received.

Treasurer STEPHENTAYLOR has some good

news.THE SOCIETY has been notified by theLion Foundation that is has beensuccessful in an application for adonation of $4,500 “towardsspecialist labour to repair bodyworkon Christchurch Hills Car No 24”.This will enable us to employ GraemeRichardson from the HeritageTramways Trust to work on No 24.Focus will be on getting bulkheadsremoved (starting at the enclosedsaloon end) restored and mounted onthe chassis. Progress will in partdepend on the state of the timber andamount of work required, but thereis quite a bit of rotten timber to bereplaced—refer to June 2014 Tracts—middle picture on the front page. Wehope this work will be undertakenstarting in early September, and I willreport back on progress as thisoccurs. The Society thanks the LionFoundation for their generouscontribution towards this ongoingproject.

THE SOCIETY has been notified by theMainland Foundation that it has beensuccessful in an application for adonation of $2,500 towards“Materials for building and stormwater repairs to tram barns, and therepair of the traverser deck andcontrol hut”. The Society is to obtainmaterials for repairs to some of theexterior timbers on Tram Barn 1; forguttering for the north side of TramBarn 2 (facing Tram Barn 3); and toreplace the timber deck of thetraverser, and to re-clad thetraverser’s control hut. The Societythanks the Mainland Foundation fortheir generous contribution towardsthis work.

A note on the picture from theArchives in August Tracts:This same picture appears

in the Graham Stewart book AroundChristchurch by Tram in the 20thCentury—bottom of page 29. In thatbook, it was attributed to the “JohnBettle Collection” and would havebeen a post card image. In addition,Don McAra used this as a basis forthe picture of No 24 that he did forme. To quote Don: “I repositioned thetram to get a better view of it andupdated the period to the livery youwanted. So I changed the clothingstyles too, as well as zooming in abit, and checking tree colours etc onsite. Some houses had been modifiedand shrubs and trees changed...”.Readers may like to compare thetwo images.

Last month’s archive picture.STEPHEN TAYLOR makes an observation.

Annual GeneralMeeting heldTHE AGM of the Society was held onWednesday 20 August. As usualreports were presented by thepresident, the treasurer and the HTT.In the absence of HTT chairmanCameron Lill, the HTT report was

presented by Dave Carr.Two notices of motion had been

announced and advertised in Tracts(see last issue). These were discussedand both were passed.

The election of officers was heldand, on a motion from MurraySanders, the previous committee wasreappointed.

Get Tracts by email• Save the Society money

• See it in full colour

• Get it slightly sooner than

the printed version.Email Barry [email protected]


Special supplement

Papanui Tram WeekTracts takes a look at a special event that happened

half a century ago this month.September 1964 was a crucial time for the fledgling Tramway Historical Society. For one whole week, the Society ranthe newly restored horse tram No 43 on the last remaining piece of exposed track in Papanui Road. It was a hugelysuccessful venture that placed the Society on a firm footing, attracting members and establishing itself firmly in the

public eye.


Let us go back to the beginning. When the Societywas founded on 8 February 1961 the horse tramand Kitty were both stored out in the open in Bill

Clapham’s yard in Southwark Street. The newly-foundedSociety’s first activity was to commence regular Saturdaymorning work parties with the stated aim of “arrestingany further deterioration to the condition of thehorse and steam trams.” It was a forlorn hope!Resting outside in the weather, anything wedid was quickly undone by the weather,aided perhaps by a little unhelpfulinterference from any passing vandals.Another option was needed.

Cheeky as ever—we were veryyoung—we wrote to John Fardell, theGeneral Manager of the ChristchurchTransport Board, asking him if thehorse tram could be returned tocovered storage in the Board’s formertramway paint shop. To our delight—and just a little tiny wee bit to oursurprise—Mr Fardell agreed!

A letter was dispatched to Mr A RGuthrey, a local cartage contractor and laterMayor of Christchurch—to his homeaddress!—asking if he could help us with transportas we were a new organisation and were ambitious, buthad no money. A few days later, his transport managertelephoned and asked me to call on him, which I did. Themessage was simple—Guthreys were delighted to assist.They continued to do so generously and without cost tothe Society for the next five years.

Shortly after this, the horse tram was safelydelivered back to the CTB workshops for storage for aperiod of “up to six months” according to the approvalletter from Mr Fardell. Five years later, the horse tramand a mass of other items stored at the CTB, went to thenew tram barn at Ferrymead!

A few days later a reproachful letter arrived fromMr Fardell saying that he had expected the steam tram tobe returned and that we had only returned “the oldtrailer.”

Guess what? Shortly after that, Kitty was returned

Tram Week at PapanuiIncredibly, it is now 50 years since the fledgling

Tramway Historical Society—in those days anorganisation of enthusiastic but inexperienced kids—

ran a successful horse tram operation in the middle ofbusy Papanui Road for a week in the school holidays—

from Saturday 29 August until Saturday 5 September1964.

How did this amazing event come about?

THS founder JOHN SHANKS shares the story.All photos by John Shanks except where otherwise credited

to the CTB, with transport provided this time by the MED.Mr Fardell was always very protective of the steam tram.There can be little doubt that, without his determinationto retain it and to keep it here in Christchurch, it wouldnot now be gracing Ferrymead.

These tram manoevres had attracted the interest ofthe media, with the result that we received an

approach from the Papanui Central BusinessAssociation—a business promotion

organisation for the shops in Papanui—inessence saying, “You have the tram, we

have the tram line here in Papanui, canwe do a deal?”

Now here was a possibility wehad not even thought of at that time –running the tram in the street. Thetram, though more or less complete,was very dilapidated. Suddenly, we

were facing the prospect of restoringthe tram—and we had no idea what to

do! However, Chris Chaston was surewe could do it and convinced other active

members like Bruce Fleming and RogerStanton—and, suddenly, we had a project.

At the same time, the Society’s future directionwas suddenly made clear.After earnest discussion, we advised the Business

Association that we were too new to tackle this project atthat time—the tram, after all, needed restoration—but thatwe would make a start and perhaps in the future—say inanother year’s time—we might be far enough ahead toconsider such a venture. We would certainly like to talk tothem again. To such youthful chaps a year seemed like aninfinity. We simply could not have imagined ourselves 50years hence!

Sure enough, in twelve months time they wrote tous again to propose running the tram at Papanui, thistime offering to provide help.

They provided materials where needed and Duluxprovided the paint needed to spruce up the tram. We didthe work. Saturday morning by Saturday morning wescraped off old paint to reveal the original lettering“Canterbury Tramway Company Limited” and the


original number “51”, sign written on to the car in theworks of the John Stephenson Company in New York in1887. We were mystified by the number 51, for we hadlittle appreciation of the car’s history in those early days.We knew that it was CTB No 50 and we discovered itsChristchurch TramwayCompany number, 43, whichit now carries, but it was notfor many years, as a result ofBarry Marchant’s research,that we appreciated that 51was its original number.

The Papanui CentralBusiness Association provedgreat partners in thisventure—and, with ouryouthfulness, we were veryglad of such support. Theyhelped to sort out thearrangements with theChristchurch City Council. Ihave vivid memories ofsitting in the Councillors’Lounge in the old MunicipalChambers in ManchesterStreet and trying to explainto Mr P G Scoular, the CityEngineer, what this projectwas all about and how wewould do it. I was verygrateful to have a real grownup man from the BusinessAssociation sitting besideme backing me up! One ofthe questions was, “Will thewheels fit the tracks—is it thesame gauge?” I assured themthat it was indeed the samegauge —hoping like madthat this really was so andthat the track gauge inChristchurch hadn’t beenslightly altered when no-onewas looking. Wesubsequently ran a tapemeasure along the axles fromflange to flange, just to makesure! We need not haveworried—the wheels fittedthe track perfectly.

Restoration proceededslowly. Being novices, wedid not dismantle anythingwe did not need to. Essentially, we made minor repairswhere there was no alternative but to do so and did a“Dulux” restoration—but the result looked great!Advertising boards covered split body panels that weretoo difficult to repair. Our original access to the workshopson Saturday mornings only, while workshops staff werepresent, soon extended into Saturday afternoons and theninto free access at any time.

As the time drew near, a work party armed withpickaxes cleaned the grooves and chipped the tar sealpatches off the head of the rails in Papanui Road—aninteresting exercise in the middle of a busy arterial road.There were no road cones in those days!

Great media publicityheralded the forthcoming“Tram Week” at Papanui.Every CTB bus carriedinterior advertisementspromoting the event—sponsored by the TransportBoard. Flags were hungacross Papanui Road. TheSociety printed 3000 copiesof its first booklet, By Tram toPapanui and sold these in thestreet for two shillings in aidof Society funds. The printingcosts were paid for by theadvertising for the Papanuibusinesses carried in thebooklet.

The great day arrived.Guthrey’s shifted the tramfrom the workshops toPapanui Road, circling twiceround Cathedral Square inhonour of the trams which,until just ten yearspreviously, had used it as agrand tram station. Hurdlesto put round the tram atnight, to protect it frompassing cars, were providedby the Council, which alsoprovided red kerosene lightsto hang on the hurdles. Atnight, the tram was parkedoutside the then PapanuiPolice Station for security.

After a brief openingceremony, with speechesand a procession of veterancars, and in front of a vastcrowd, we were under way.It was really the first timethat our Society hadperformed for the public—and we performed ratherwell. Thousands came forthe ride—and thousandswere turned away. At one

stage the queue extended from Harewood Road, along thefootpath in Papanui Road, and as far along Perry Street asthe eye could see, or so it seemed!

Our first ceremonial trip and the first passenger tripwent the full length of the available line, from theHarewood Road corner to Hawthorne Street. It’s quite along way. We also complied with the Council’s request of28 seated passengers only—its capacity in those days—

Guthreys crane loading the tram on to the trailer ready for the tripto Papanui, and the tram on the way passing Christchurch’s nice

(almost) new railway station—now sadly no more.


and no standing passengers.Then we looked at the crowd of

thousands waiting for a ride—and likely tobe disappointed—and took de facto unilateralaction. The ride was shortened to a few clipclops—don’t know how far that representsbut not far, only a few yards. We welcomedthe passengers aboard with welcomingsmiles until the car was so packed that theycould hardly breathe—there was noalternative without our being lynched byangry mummies—then trundled a tinydistance, turned the horse and returned tothe Papanui loading point where, while thehorse was turned, we smiled at thepassengers on board and said, “Would youcome this way, please?” and they allobediently left the tram, while at the otherend of the car another smiling person said“Please come aboard at this end” and theydid. When the risk of suffocation became toogreat we stopped the flow of entering peopleand moved off for another mini tram ride. Sounds terribly harsh and ruthless 50 yearslater, but it worked a treat—we simply hadno option—and our public loved it andabsolutely raved about trams. It was, afterall, a long bleak and dreary ten tramless yearssince they had been able to experience thisaesthetic pleasure. The whole effort made ourSociety recognised and socially acceptable.

When things were less frantic, whichwas not often, we sometimes would treatourselves to a longer run.

I hope from this that you can get amental picture of this amazing performance. No fares were charged, of course, as it was acommunity effort and the Papanui CentralBusiness Association had sponsored ourrestoration costs. Cash came from bookletsales and every booklet contained amembership application form. I reckoned thatfor every 100 booklets sold we netted oneuseful member.

Victor, the horse, was provided by MrA L R Barwell, who was a friend ofmember Peter Armstrong, who drove

the tram for the week. Victor could not workall day and so a morning stint was run from10.00 to 11.30 a.m. and a similar afternoonstint from 2.00 until 3.30 p.m. Victor wastaken at lunch time and in the evening to aholding paddock off the Main North Roadwhere he was fed and rested.

One day—Thursday, I think frommemory—dawned cold and wet. When thetram team assembled at Papanui, there wereno passengers waiting. Roger Stantonsuggested we climb into his Morris Minorand he would show us a trolley bus he had

Into Cathedral Square with a ceremonial run round the Godley Plot. Note inthe top picture the partially completed—now partially demolished—BNZ

building in the background. In the middle picture is the Square Shelter, now atFerrymead. Then (bottom picture) up Victoria Street past Knox Church.


discovered at Kaiapoi. It was a turning point for theSociety! The trolley bus Roger had discovered was 210.

Finally, the week was over. We returned to workexhausted. Most of us had either taken time off work orwere enjoying school holidays. It was a remarkable teameffort. The Council’s traffic officers were on duty for thewhole week, guiding cars around our passengers loadingand unloading and keeping the crowds waiting for ridesunder control and on the footpaths until it was time toboard. It was, after all, a very busy street. Stuart Hobbssold booklets, very persuasively, to would-be passengerswaiting on the foot paths. Brent Efford lubricated axleboxes and checked brakes and draw gear. Everything ranlike clockwork. We hoped that the businesses in Papanuibenefited from the huge crowds since that, from their pointof view, was the point of the exercise.

For us the Society was, over night, known andrecognised by everyone. That group of crazy kids whospent all their time raving on about trams, had pulled itoff successfully. Membership boomed, talented peoplejoined our membership and the organisations weapproached for support were suddenly willing—indeedeager – to help.

It was a major milestone in the Society’sdevelopment.

John Shanks20 July 2014

Journey complete and we’re in business. Bruce Fleming (left) andPeter Armstrong (right) are seen in front of the tram in the pictureabove. Have we seen that Morris Minor in the top picture before?


Top left and right: The shots weretaken by Dave Hansen’s father. The

young Dave Hansen can be seen in theleft picture on the front platform with

his back to the bulkhead.Centre: Victor must have known hewas being photographed. As AlanRobb says, “What a wonderful

sight—no high-vis jackets, no orangeroad cones, no strobe lights flashing atmotorists—just another legitimate onehorse-power road user making its way

along a public road to the delight of theyoung boys on bikes.

Bottom: With a traffic officer inattendance. Would he be wearing a

black uniform today?

Alan Robb

B Hansen B Hansen


Above: John Shanks and Peter Armstrong on the front platform. The aerial flags were part of the event.

DLA Turner

DLA Turner

DLA Turner


Tram Week was itself an anniversary celebrationJOHN SHANKS explains why September 1964 was so important

The eleventh of September has taken on anew meaning in recent years, but for some of

us older hands it can mean only one thing—

the Last Christchurch Trams.

The Last Trams

Yes there were two—no, four really, because bothends of the last tram line, that from Papanui toCashmere, were provided with their very own last

trams.Hills car 165 with double decker trailer 72 went to

Papanui while 162 and trailer 201 went to Barrington Street.The Cashmere line had been cut back from the Hills Terminusat the Takahe to Barrington Street in 1953. The Papanui linehad been cut back from Northcote—outside St Bede’s College—to the Papanui shops at Harewood Road in 1930. Bothsets of cars had been “sort of” cleaned for the occasion.

Both sets of trams were accorded photographs anddue ceremony at the suburban termini before returning toCathedral Square for a formal farewell by the Hon. RobertMacfarlane, the Mayor of Christchurch. The time keeping

was perfect—162 and trailer 201 from Barrington Streetwere rolling gently through the loading zone in front of theGodley statue as 165 and 72 swung into the Square from thenorth and glided round to the west to fall into positionbehind the Godley plot for the final ceremony. The pointshad been pre-set. The cars from Cashmere glided gently inbehind.

After the brief ceremony both sets of cars left the Squareby way of the “Bottleneck” and headed down High Street tothe depot for the last time. The tramway era in Christchurchwas over, or so the Christchurch Transport Board thought!(Then—ENTER the Tramway Historical Society! But that isanother story!)

The date was Saturday 11 September 1954 - exactly 60years ago.

Two footnotesRegular passenger services finished with the last trams

out of the Square the previous night, Friday 10 September,when two Boon trams ran the last services to Papanui andBarrington Street, leaving the Square at 10.55 pm. Roy Gay

This montage appeared in the glossy centre section of the Weekly News. 22 September 1954. Picture supplied by Dave Hansen


recorded the occasion on film.A light bulb from the ceremonial “last tram” from

Cashmere somehow strayed from the car during the lasttrip and now reposes in the Society’s historic light bulbcollection along with carbon filament indicator lamps from1905 from the Falsgrave Street power house and other

treasures.The Sydenham shop keepers gave 162 and 201 a

deliciously noisy send off by placing several detonators onthe tracks in Colombo Street near Wordsworth Street. Theeffect, with echoes from the shop fronts in the confined spaceof the street, was suitably dramatic.

The two sloping ended Hills cars were used on the last tram services to Papanui and Barrington Street. Top: 162 and trailer 201 get asend-off from the Sydenham shop keepers on their way to the Square. Above left: It wasn’t often that passengers got to ride round theloop at Papanui—especially in a double deck trailer. Above right: The last tram journey to Papanui is complete as 165 and 72 arrive in

the Square. THS Archives


*Editor’s note: John Shanks was indeed the prime mover behind theTram Week project but not, of course, behind the tram itself whichwould have been putting the cart before the horse. This rôle wasassigned to Victor who performed it at the front of the tram. I have thisfrom the horse’s mouth.

Another reminiscenceBRENT EFFORD was also involved in those heady days

I joined the Tramway Preservation Association, as it wasthen, early in 1963, the year before the big event inPapanui. I had always had a fascination with trams since

early in my Papanui childhood. I rode the trams often as apre-schooler and went with my father to see the last tramoff in 1954, shortly after starting atWaimairi School.

Anyway, on a train excursion toOtira in early 1963 I got talking withanother young fellow – Stuart Hobbs –and mentioned my tram interest. Inshort order I was whisked into thepresence of John Shanks, also on thetrain, and recruited into the Saturdaymorning work parties in Bill Clapham’syard. The Kitson and the horse tramwere stored in the yard at the time, butwere returned to vacant space in the oldtramway workshops shortlyafterwards.

Plans for the seemingly absurdidea of running the horse car on the lastbit of exposed tram track inChristchurch emerged. This track wasat the end of Papanui Road, laid in massconcrete in 1952 when the politicalbalance on the Christchurch TransportBoard briefly favoured retainingthe Cashmere-Papanui tramroute. It was where we hadfarewelled the last tram in 1954and, being through the middle ofa shopping centre that was feelingthe competition from the newNorthlands Mall, was ideal for abusiness-led promotion.

John Shanks, the primemover behind the Horse TramWeek project*, and what soonbecame the THS, told the story inTramway Topics 240. Twomemories of my own part in theproject stand out, though:1. We published a littlebooklet By Tram to Papanui tomark the occasion, as noted inJohn’s article. I contributed alittle bit of the text but my mainrôle was to canvass the localbusiness supporters for theadvertising content. While anaïve and crude publication to21st century eyes satiated by the quality works producedby Graham Stewart, it was one of the first one-offenthusiast-produced booklets devoted exclusively totrams (The New Zealand Railway Observer had carriedtramway material from time to time, and of courseTramway Topics had started as a periodical two years

earlier).Re-reading it 50 years later, what stands out for me is

the page at the end which John wrote pointing out that,although trams may be dead in Christchurch (theChristchurch Tramway was to us then inconceivable),

modern trams were thriving in Europeand were still an attractive option forurban transport in NZ. 50 years laterthis ‘light rail advocacy’ has yet to bearfruit in NZ but we keep trying! (And tosee how, you can get on the KiwiTramnewsletter list by [email protected].)2. One of the necessary tasks inpreparation for the event was cleaningup the track in the middle of PapanuiRoad, which hadn’t seen a flangedwheel in a decade. Not only did thegroove in the track have to be clearedof compacted stones and like crud butthe sprung turnouts for the passingloop at Blighs Road had to be madeoperable. A gang of us turned out onthe weekend before the big day withcrowbars, picks, brooms andwhatever other relevant tools wecould muster.

It was raining heavily andwe wore the wet weather gear ofthe day: black parkas. Hi-vizvests hadn’t been invented then,let alone any of the traffic controlprocedures which are nowmandatory for any work on anarterial road. I don’t recall anyprotection at all. It says a lotabout the increase in trafficvolumes over the last half-century that we got away withit unscathed—and no onethought anything of it! Thephotos show the relative paucityof traffic.

Top: Three thousand copies of thebooklets By Tram to Papanui

were sprinted and sold during TramWeek. Every copy contained a

membership application form. Left:In this group, Brent Efford is in the

middle flanked on the left by Societysecretary Roger Stanton and

Murray Efford, and on the right byPeter Armstrong, Bruce Fleming and Russell Kent.


It couldn’t have happened unless...

Shortly before the tramway

system was abandonedthe Christchurch Tramway

Board had relaid some of the track atthe northern end of the Papanui line,anticipating as Brent has pointed outin his article, that the Papanui -Cashmere line would be retained. Thephoto to the right shows the work inprogress.

Had this not happened there isno doubt that the original sleepertrack would have been ripped upwith the rest of the track and PapanuiTram Week would have beenimpossible. The gods must have beensmiling on those young boys at thattime.

The lower photo shows threetrailers (a Standard Boon trailer

sandwiched between twoDreadnoughts) at the temporaryterminus. It is interesting to speculatehow the trailers got there. They areon the single track, so presumablythey were uncoupled on the loop fromthe tram which then ran round themand propelled them on to the straightto allow room for other traffic oneither side.

Graham Stewart

Graham Stewart


Tailender...The sponsored postcard below was issued at the time of the event.

Ferrymead Newsletter of the P. O. Box 1126 Tram Tracts www ... · attend the biannual conference of...

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