The W class trams are a family of electric trams built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) between 1923 and 1956. Over the 33 years of production, 752 vehicles spanning 12 sub-classes were constructed, the majority at the MMTB's Preston Workshops.
A small fleet continue to operate on the tramway network of Melbourne, Australia, where they are used on the City Circle tourist route. The W class tram is a cultural icon to Melbourne: those that remain in the city are classified by the National Trust of Australia.
As well as Melbourne, W class trams operate on tourist and heritage systems across the world. A number of older variants have been withdrawn from service and later sent to cities such as Copenhagen, San Francisco, Savannah and Seattle, and by private enthusiasts. In 2018, 134 W class trams were offered to the Australian public for new uses.
As of December 2021, only 11 W class trams remain in service in Melbourne, all of which are W8 trams operating on the City Circle tram route.
History
W class trams were introduced to Melbourne in 1923 as a new standard design. They had a dual bogie layout and were characterised by a substantial timber frame supplanted by a steel underframe, a simple rugged design, and fine craftsmanship (particularly the older models). The W class was the mainstay of Melbourne's tramways system for 60 years. A total of 752 trams of all variants were built.
The original variant (W) was a typical Drop-centre design tram, which was also used in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, and later Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong following movements of earlier Melbourne trams. The W1 was created with no centre doors, and changed to the W2 design, which all earlier Ws were upgraded to. A handful were upgraded to the SW2 design with sliding doors, which were followed by the unsuccessful W3 and W4 designs. All were supplemented in the late 1930s by 120 W5 (or "Clyde") class trams with wider cabins, and more powerful motors. However, they were notorious for being difficult to drive smoothly. After this came the SW5, initially only the last ten W5 trams fitted with sliding doors before entering service, but by the 1990s the majority of the W5 fleet, having been upgraded. The SW6 followed on, and became the most popular W class tram with crews and passengers alike, because they were fast, smooth and comfortable, compared with earlier W variants. After experimentation with a PCC streetcar, construction of Ws resumed in 1951, with more SW6 and later W6 and the final 40 W class trams (W7) emerging from Preston Workshops by 1956, when the need to provide something more capable of dealing with Olympic Games crowds than Bourke Street's buses prompted the last expansion of the network.
In April 1971, W7 1024 became the first tram to carry all over advertising livery when it was painted for the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, followed by Heinz (June 1971), Preston Market (August 1971), and Channel 0 (October 1971). It was fitted with 400 light bulbs on its roofline."1024…MMTB Revenue Earner" Trolley Wire issue 136 October 1971 page 8 It was joined by W6 900 in 1973."Advertising Melbourne Style" Trolley Wire issue 146 June 1973 page 13 In 1977 W2 546 was fitted with an experimental Siemens pantograph."City Section" Trolley Wire issue 169 April 1977 page 11
The W7 class with its pneumatic sliding doors and softer suspension proved popular with passengers. It was not until the 1990s that the W class was finally considered surplus to rolling stock requirements. Mass withdrawal came with the introduction of the B2 class (although the previous Z and A classes had enabled withdrawal of W2s), with the remaining weather blind trams being removed by 1993, all of the 1980s SW5 conversions besides no.728 (which remained in service until 2011) by 1994, and many SW6/W6/W7 classes. In 1998, all Ws remaining in service were withdrawn due to a strike, and, although unintended, this would become the end for the Ws which were not running on routes 30, 78/79 and 35. In 2014, all non-City Circle Ws were withdrawn, in 2018, the restaurant trams, and in 2019, the remaining non-W8 class trams. This left only the upgraded sliding door W class trams, modernised from 2013 onwards, which were designated the W8 class.
Removal from service In 1992, an official mass withdrawal of the W class was announced by transport minister Alan Brown. That was generally due to the fact that over 200 W class remained in service, while the newer Z trams were in storage in varying locations, after being displaced by the newer A and B class vehicles. Protests over the disappearing icons brought about a reconsideration of the withdrawal policy, and it was decided 53 Ws would be retained for tourist purposes. The popular zero-fare City Circle tourist route commenced in April 1994, using 12 of the 53 trams retained.On this Day Parliament of Victoria
When the network was privatised in August 1999, 30 W class trams were allocated to M>Tram and 23 to Yarra Trams."Melbourne News" Trolley Wire issue 279 November 1999 page 25 In mid-2000 all operating W class trams were removed from service following a series of incidents involving brake problems. Some returned to service in May 2001 on the City Circle route, with 25 operating in September 2003. The return of another 30 W classes was announced in September 2003, but on more limited routes than before their withdrawal from service. All 53 had been returned to service by late 2003."Return of W series trams" Trolley Wire issue 295 November 2003 page 21 The reintroduction followed the installation of new braking systems, speedometers, and the imposition of a speed limit. The trolley poles were subsequently replaced with pantographs.
The condition of the W class fleet was criticised by the Australian Rail Tram & Bus Industry Union in September 2008, with a demand for the State Government to repair or withdraw them. A Yarra Trams spokesman said that the fleet met maintenance standards, but required more cosmetic work than other trams due to their wooden structure and age.
In January 2010, it was announced by transport minister Martin Pakula that the 26 W class trams operating the inner city revenue services would be phased out by 2012, claiming that they were no longer suitable for revenue service and would be replaced by more modern trams. This prompted a new campaign from the National Trust of Australia to retain the W class trams in service. It was also proposed that unused W class trams could be better utilised by refurbishing and leasing them as "roving ambassadors" to other cities, with the claim that this could generate revenue for investment into the public transport system.
Heritage operations Following a change in government, in May 2011 $8 million over four years was allocated for the restoration of eight W class trams, with options for new routes to be considered. The restoration is occurring at Preston Workshops (where many W class trams were originally built), with the resultant tram being dubbed W8s, they are receiving full rebuilds and many upgrades, including modernised braking and suspension. The first, W8 946 entered service in March 2013, while the second, W8 959 returned from 18 months of work performed at Bendigo Tramways in June 2013.All class: Bendigo restores grand Melbourne tram The Age 20 June 2013 These have since been joined by W8 957Third restored W-Class tram back in Melbourne Yarra Trams 22 May 2015 and W8 1010."W class tram" Railway Digest September 2015 page 50 As at February 2017, 981 and 983 were under overhaul in Bendigo."City Circle cars" Trolley Wire issue 348 February 2017 page 28
As at March 2017, 12 W class trams were in service on the Melbourne tram network,W-Class Yarra Trams All run on the zero-fare City Circle tourist route at any time during operating hours. The last examples on routes 30, 78 and 79 were withdrawn in late 2013.
Three W6 class trams were converted for use on the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant service which operated three meal services daily. As of October 2018, Yarra Trams has declared the restaurant trams to be too unsafe for use on the network.
Preservation The W class tramcars are highly popular trams in preservation, both throughout Australia and around the world.
W class trams were used in the filming of the HBO mini-series The Pacific, including W3 class tram number 667.
A number of W class trams have been sent overseas, including five that were sold to Seattle between 1978 and 1993, where they operated as Seattle's own heritage streetcar line, George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line, between 1982 and 2005. Since 1990, public outrage has forced an embargo to be placed on the sale of these trams to any overseas interest. Three of these trams have been sold to Loop Trolley for use in St. Louis.
In February 2004, after some years of negotiation, a W6 class tram, Melbourne 930, was shipped to Edmonton as an ambassador for the City of Melbourne. The tram, which is owned by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society, operates as part of the High Level Bridge Streetcar fleet, connecting Old Strathcona to Downtown on of track."Melbourne tram goes to Canada" Trolley Wire issue 296 February 2004 pages 10–16
The Dallas MATA and the Memphis MATA both run W class trams on their downtown streetcar services. A highly modified W class tram began running in 2009 along River Street in Savannah, Georgia, its AC motors powered by biodiesel-fueled generators. Memphis MATA Trolley has 10 W-2 and 1 W-5 cars. Dallas' system has a single operating W-2, nicknamed "Matilda", along with operating other models of streetcars and trollies.
In the 1980s, W2 520 was bought by the musician and composer Elton John in what he described as one of "my drug-induced moments". John exported the tram to England where it stands in the grounds of Woodside, his country house in Berkshire.
In 2005, W6 965 was restored at a cost of $25,000 and given as a wedding present from the Victorian Government to Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. Shipping line Maersk transported the tram to Denmark free of charge, waiving the estimated bill of $40,000. It was placed in the custody of the Skjoldenæsholm Tram Museum."Tram for Denmark's Royal couple" Trolley Wire issue 303 November 2005 page 15"Destination Denmark" Trolley Wire issue 304 January 2006 pages 3–15
In October 2016, the government announced the formation of a reference group to formulate a strategy for the over 237 in store at Newport Workshops."Breathing new life into Melbourne's historic W series trams" Trolley Wire issue 348 February 2017 page 22
In 2018, the results of the condition audit were published as part of the Daniel Andrews State Government's Retired Trams Strategy. The audit found there was 237 W class trams in storage in 2018, with most not in a suitable condition for tourist operations. Of the 237, 17 were operational for use on the City Circle line or the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, 25 were in good overall condition and suitable for W8 upgrading, six were privately owned, 11 had historical significance, 20 were former Transporting Art trams, and 24 were of poor or incomplete condition but suitable for donors and spares. Trams with historical significance were to be kept and made available to museums, augmenting the 34 W class trams already on display throughout Victoria. Five trams were kept for potential gifting and nine for other potential future uses. Former art trams were to be kept in storage for future public display.