Historic Photo of the Day: 2024-04-03

Today's historic photo of the day: A broad gauge Hitachi electric train from Port Melbourne to Flinders Street heads beneath the the under-construction Westgate Freeway overbridge to the east of Montague station, Southbank, Vic, July 26 1987. This Port Melbourne railway had just 10 weeks or so until it closed for conversion to a tramway. Note the earthworks in the lower foreground marking out the new alignment for the tram tracks that would replace the trains. The railway from Melbourne Flinders Street to Sandridge (later Port Melbourne) opened in 1854 as Australia's very first steam-hauled public railway line. It was electrified early in the 20th Century along with the remainder of Melbourne's suburban network, and ran continuously until October 1987. The outer end of the line was subsequently re-gauged, converted to a tramway, and integrated into Melbourne's extensive electric tram network. Today it forms part of tram route 109 from Port Melbourne to Box Hill. However much of the track from this point into Flinders Street was torn up and built over. Trams today join the street network at Clarendon Street and take a much slower route into town.