Historic Photo of the Day: 2025-11-29

Today's historic photo of the day: Exactly 38 years ago today, Melbourne L class tram no 106 runs a Sundays-only service from Melbourne Zoo on reserved track at Royal Park, Vic, November 29 1987. This might be the luckiest photo I have ever taken, because this vantage point isn't accessible on foot. This is a train over tram bridge, so this must have been taken from a moving Upfield line train, and this tram (not just any old tram either) was in exactly the right spot as I passed by. For a few years in the 1980s, these old timers, which were by that time no longer used on regular routes, ran on Sundays-only to the Zoo and to St Kilda Beach, routes that were frequented by day-trippers and tourists. Note the auxiliary destination board hanging from the rear window. The six L class trams were ordered in 1919 by the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust in the days when Melbourne's electric trams were run as separate municipal or privately-owned networks. However, the Ls were delivered in 1921 after the State-run Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board had taken over and unified the disparate networks in 1920. They were probably therefore the M&MTB's first new trams, and they were definitely the most advanced of their time. The M&MTB were so happy with the L class that they used the design as a starting point for their first new tram type, that was to become known as the W class, of which 752 were built over the subsequent thirty years and which were to become an enduring emblem of Melbourne. You can see that 106 has a familiar layout: a two-bogie dropcentre car with passenger access doors in the centre, closed saloons at each end and drivers cabins protected with bulkheads; all features that were adopted and remained in the W class design for decades thereafter. Note however the curved rocker panels on the lower sides. This was a standard coach design feature used in horse drawn stagecoaches etc that was adopted in the early days of trams (which were built by coachbuilders). The L class were, however, the last Melbourne tram type to use these curved sides, and the Ws were built from day one with straight sides. (Although the five W4 class of 1933-35 did partly resurrect the technique just for the panels between the doors in the dropcentre). Another L class feature from the earlier era visible here that was not retained in the W class design were the crown light windows - the small windows above the main side windows. Today, this tram is preserved at the Melbourne Tram Museum in Hawthorn. It can be seen on regular museum opening days but it no longer operates on the general tram network due to conversion of the overhead wiring to support pantograph equipped trams and broader legal issues with safety accreditation.