Trams in New Zealand

Auckland

Auckland City

Auckland City had a private company operating horse-drawn trams from 1884. The British Electric Traction Company purchased the Horse Tramway in the late 1890s. With the blessing of the various borough councils that presided over the Auckland isthmus, The Auckland Electric Tramway Company Limited built the initial tram systems in two years and the official opening was held on 17 November 1902, but public service was delayed a week because three of the motormen, from Sydney, Australia, had been drowned in the SS Elingamite shipwreck near Three Kings Islands on 9 November 1902. Public service commenced on 23 November 1902 and was expanded until the mid 1930s and continued to 29 December 1956. Initially the trams were geared for a maximum speed of 18 mph (29 km/h), so took an average of 40 minutes for the longest route, the 7.5 mi (12.1 km) between Queen St and Onehunga.

With services running from downtown at the Waitematā Harbour, across to Onehunga on the Manukau Harbour, Auckland had the world's only 'coast to coast' tramway system. The Auckland Electric Tramway Company started as a private company before being acquired by Auckland City Council. The resulting council owned entity was required to run services outside the borders of Auckland City. By 1938, there were 44 mi (71 km) of tramways in Auckland, with termini at -

Terminus	Start	Close
Point Chevalier	27 July 1930	20 November 1953
Westmere	10 May 1931	13 March 1953
Zoo	17 December 1923	13 March 1953
Carlaw Park	5 October 1929	22 December 1956
Herne Bay	27 October 1903	23 September 1949
Meadowbank	8 June 1930	17 August 1956
Ellerslie Racecourse	29 October 1923	2 January 1955
Green Lane Hospital	23 April 1939	28 December 1956
Onehunga Wharf	28 September 1903	29 December 1956
Three Kings	28 March 1931	22 May 1953
Mount Roskill	2 February 1930	11 September 1953
Owairaka	21 February 1931	6 August 1954
Avondale	31 January 1932	13 January 1956
Farmers Free Tram, Beresford Street to Wyndham St. Farmers Trading Company siding and entrance	6 May 1936	20 November 1953

From 1949 a modernisation programme saw the electric tramway routes being replaced by trolleybuses, commencing with the Herne Bay route and with trolleybuses eventually replicating the entire network by December 1956 when the last electric tramway ran.

While the introduction of two light railway lines became a government commitment in 2018, as of October 2026 there are currently only two tramway services in Auckland, the Western Springs Tramway and the Dockline Tramway. Both are heritage systems run by the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). The Western Springs Tramway runs between the two sites of MOTAT, with an intermediate stop at Auckland Zoo. The tracks run parallel to part of the original Point Chevalier tram route on Great North Road, but they were not part of the original system. The Dockline Tramway is a 1.5 km (0.9 mi) circular track in Wynard Quarter.

Milford to Bayswater

In 1907 a group of local businessmen asked Auckland Electric Tramways Company to open an electric tramway on Auckland's North Shore, with a view to funding the scheme through land sales. Auckland Electric Tramways initially investigated the request, later declining it on the basis of a sparse population then on the North Shore. The same businessmen then formed the Takapuna Tramways and Ferry Company Limited to build and operate a ferry and tramway service. Their initial intention was for the tramway to be electrified, but insufficient capital and connections to Auckland's power grid prevented it. The company's ferry, Pupuke, was launched on 15 December 1909, with a new wharf built at Bayswater. The ferry was completed in time for the first service from Auckland City to Bayswater to meet the company's just completed steam tramway on 22 December 1910.

The company's tramway operated between Bayswater and Milford until 26 April 1927. It travelled along Lake Road, through Takapuna and circled Lake Pupuke. Built to standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in), the steam tram trailers had been built so that they could be converted to electric operation, built from the same plans and therefore to a similar design to Auckland City M and L type trams. The carriages were hauled by steam motors, built by Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia. Four were built for the tramway. A proposal to electrify the tramway in 1914 was put on hold and then cancelled due to the First World War. Instead, new steam motors arrived in 1919. The company then investigated electrification for a second time, eventually deciding to postpone any investment due to a lack of connection to Auckland's power grid or local power station. With competition from buses increasing, the tramway struggled financially and finally closed after 16 years, its ferries being sold to the Devonport Ferry Company.

The carriages were sold to Wanganui and Dunedin and converted to electric trams and the steam tram boilers were sold for other uses. A single trailer, which became a Dunedin electric tram "Takapuna" No.66, is the sole survivor, with the Otago Early Settlers Museum from the late 1980s, but is being transferred to The Tramway Historical Society based at Ferrymead Christchurch to be restored for use at Ferrymead.

Christchurch

Christchurch had steam and horse trams from 1880, then electric trams from 6 June 1905 to 11 September 1954. They were replaced by trolleybuses and motor buses. A Christchurch heritage tram line was established in the city centre on a loop track in February 1995, and reopened on a limited circuit on 27 November 2013 after being temporarily non-operational following the Chistchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011, which interrupted tramway services while the CBD was cordoned off. The Tramway reopened on a combination of the original route and an extension that was in progress at the time of the earthquakes. The route was extended in 2014 to include the full pre-earthquake circuit and the extension through the Re:Start Mall and High Street which was nearly complete when the earthquake struck. While these proposals were all officially heritage or tourist lines, there was some investigation into later extension or conversion for normal transport use.

Dunedin

Dunedin's first tramway opened in July 1879 with steam and horse trams on a 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge, and steam was withdrawn in 1884. Cable trams, also 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm), followed from 1881. The City Council bought the horse tramway in 1901 and converted it to electric traction, which began carrying the public on 24 December 1903 on a 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm) gauge. The electric trams ran until 29 March 1956 and were replaced by trolleybuses and buses. A separate 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) line to Maori Hill ran electric trams from 23 October 1900 until 1936.

Gisborne

Gisborne had Edison-Beach battery-electric trams from 13 April 1913 to 8 July 1929. There were two trams from the Federal Storage Battery Car Co, New Jersey and two from Boon & Co, Christchurch. AR Harris of Christchurch was the New Zealand agent for Edison Batteries. The trams were slow; their maximum speed was 32 km/hour, and initially they were restricted by the Public Works Department to 16 km/hour. There were two inland routes: Ormond Rd, and Gladstone Rd to Te Hapara (Lytton Rd). They were replaced by buses, following a close referendum in 1928.

Auckland Weekly News had photos of the interior and exterior of trams at the 1913 opening.

Invercargill

Invercargill had the southernmost tram system in the world, horse trams 1881–1908, electric trams from 26 March 1912 to 10 September 1952. They were replaced by buses.

Construction began in January 1911 and lines to Waikiwi and Georgetown opened on 26 March 1912. Later that year two more lines opened, to North Invercargill and South Invercargill; the latter was the southernmost electrified street tram line in the world and ran to Tramway Road. The network operated as two routes: Route A between Georgetown and Waikiwi and Route B between North and South Invercargill. The Waikiwi line closed in 1947, though a section remained in operation until 1951. The Georgetown route closed on 2 July 1951, but the section to Rugby Park Stadium remained open until August 1951. The South Invercargill line closed on 31 May 1952. The last route, to North Invercargill, closed on 10 September 1952.

Napier

Napier had electric trams to Port Ahuriri, from 8 September 1913 to 3 February 1931. The system was damaged by the Hawke's Bay earthquake on 3 February 1931 and was never restored, being replaced by buses. There was considerable debate about removing the trams, and their tracks and most of the overhead power lines remained in place for five years after the earthquake, a decision to remove them only came in March 1936.

New Plymouth

New Plymouth had an electric tram service from 10 March 1916 to 23 July 1954, operated by the New Plymouth Corporation Tramways and reputedly the smallest municipality in the world to operate trams on the overhead electricity system. There were two main routes, through the town centre from the Port to Fitzroy, and from the town centre to David Street, Westown. In 1924 a short line was built to Pukekura Park (this closed in 1937) and proposals were also made for lines to Vogeltown and Frankleigh Park.

The Westown route was replaced with a fleet of 4 Crossley trolleybuses in 1950, in turn being replaced with diesel buses in October 1967. The Port-Fitzroy route was replaced directly by diesel buses in 1954.

There were 10 trams, 4 single-truck Boon cars (No.s 1–4), 3 Double-truck Boon cars (Nos 5–6 and 10) and 3 Birney Safety Cars introduced in 1921 (Nos. 7–9). These all lasted until closure of the system, at which time the bodies were auctioned off and sold. Only one tram body survives (Birney No 8) and is currently in Whanganui.

Whanganui

Whanganui, then known as Wanganui, had electric trams from 11 December 1908 to 24 September 1950. The service went two ways from the city centre, inland to Aramoho and out to Castlecliff and the Port (from 17 October 1912). The Castlecliff route competed with the Castlecliff railway and the success of the trams at winning patronage led to the cancellation of passenger trains in April 1932. The trams were replaced by buses.

Wanganui tram No.12 was restored in West Auckland by Dave Harre and his team and gifted to the people of Whanganui. The Tramways Whanganui Trust has united the body onto a former Brussels Brill 21e type four-wheel truck, and plans to renovate Wanganui tram No.8, New Plymouth Birney No.8 and Brisbane No.133. 120m of tramline has been laid alongside the Whanganui river between the new tram shed towards the berth of the PS Waimarie and runs regularly for the public. Further extensions have been mooted into the city streets.

Wellington

Wellington had steam and horse trams from 1878 to 1904 and electric trams from 30 June 1904 to 2 May 1964. Trolleybuses and buses replaced them. Wellington now has the only funicular cable car line operating in New Zealand.

The Wellington Tramway Museum preserves and operates a collection of Wellington trams at the Kapiti Coast Electric Tramway, located in Queen Elizabeth Park near Mackays Crossing on the Kāpiti Coast.

There was a plan for a light rail system in Wellington to be underway, but in mid-December 2023, the Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, ordered the New Zealand Transport Agency to cease funding.

West Coast

Other horse-drawn tram systems were built on the West Coast of the South Island, where a gold rush started in 1864. The main towns, Greymouth, Westport, Hokitika and Ross, and smaller settlements like Brighton, Charleston, Kamiere and Kumara had wooden tramways. Publican John Behan of Charleston, now a ghost town, petitioned the Canterbury Provincial Council in 1870 for compensation after the rerouting of a wooden tramway along a branch road removed most of his stalwart drinkers. The 'bush tram' from Greymouth to Kumara took three hours, and during the trip passengers had to cross the Taramakau River in a cage or 'flying fox' riding on two wires. These tramways were for freight and passengers. There were few roads on the coast, and tramway owners were entitled to charge a toll to pedestrians walking along the tracks. The gauges varied from 3 ft (914 mm) to 4 ft (1,219 mm), with 3-inch (76 mm) wooden rails (see Stewart and May). Some of these were bush tramways, similar to other systems used to carry timber out of the bush.

Tramcar designs

Several distinctive types of tramcar were used throughout New Zealand:

• Boxcars were fully enclosed saloon cars, generally mounted on a single four-wheel truck. They formed part of Dunedin's original electric fleet, introduced in 1903.
• Californian combination cars had an enclosed central saloon with open-sided passenger sections at either end. They were used on several systems, including Christchurch, Dunedin and Whanganui.
• Toastrack cars had open sides, with transverse seating and roofs supported by upright stanchions. Dunedin's original electric fleet included both Californian combination and toastrack cars, alongside the enclosed boxcars.
• Drop-centre cars featured a lowered central section between the bogies, reducing the number of steps required for passengers to board. Christchurch introduced locally built drop-centre tramcars in 1906, designed by tramway engineer Scott Symington and constructed by Boon & Co.
• Double-deck cars provided additional passenger capacity, with open upper decks on early examples. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch operated powered double-deck electric trams. Christchurch also used double-deck trailers, including former horse and steam tramcars adapted for haulage behind electric cars.

Not all electric tramways drew power from overhead wires. The Gisborne tramway, which opened in 1913, used cars equipped with Edison storage batteries. Initially two cars were supplied, with another two subsequently added. Gisborne was the only New Zealand tramway system operated entirely by battery-electric cars.

Later developments included Wellington's Fiducia class, first developed in the 1930s. These fully enclosed tramcars incorporated air-operated doors, folding steps and improved passenger accommodation, with later examples featuring upholstered seating and bus-style windows. Although designed to permit one-person operation, the cars continued to operate with both motormen and conductors.

Birney Safety Cars

In 1921, Birney Safety Cars manufactured by the J. G. Brill Company were supplied to Invercargill (six cars) and New Plymouth (three cars). These lightweight, steel-bodied trams were designed for operation by a single motorman without a conductor.

Their safety features included an automatic emergency braking system, known as a dead man's control, which operated if the driver released the controller handle. Interlocking mechanisms prevented the tram from moving while its doors were open or its folding steps lowered.

During a demonstration in New Plymouth, Gordon Coates, then Minister of Public Works, was reportedly thrown from his seat when the driver activated the dead man's control, bringing the tram to an abrupt stop.

Napier also considered acquiring lightweight American single-operator tramcars in 1920. However, the manufacturer supplied cars designed for a wider track gauge than Napier's 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) system, presenting an obstacle to their introduction.

Auckland tramcar development

The Auckland Electric Tramways Company initially imported tramcars from Britain, with the earliest vehicles supplied by Brush Engineering as kitsets for local assembly. Subsequent cars were increasingly constructed by Auckland coachbuilders, including Cousins & Atkin, and later in the tramway's own workshops at Royal Oak on Manukau Road.

Early designs. The initial fleet included small four-wheeled A-class cars, nicknamed dinghies, with rear entrances, as well as open toastrack cars and B-class Californian combination cars. The latter established a general layout with entrances at either end and boarding steps contained within the bodyline of the tramcar. A small number of C-class open-top double-deck cars were also introduced, although the type proved unsuitable for long-term operation and was eventually converted to single-deck use.

Enclosed saloon cars. Successive designs incorporated windscreens and improved protection for passengers and motormen. The M-class cars, introduced from 1907, included separate driving compartments and accommodation for 52 seated passengers. A total of 99 M-class cars were constructed, making them the most numerous class in the Auckland fleet.

Semi-steel and larger cars. During the 1920s, Auckland experimented with semi-steel construction, incorporating riveted steel framing and updated body designs. The N-class cars introduced Art Deco styling and revised passenger door arrangements. Thirteen semi-steel cars, numbered 191–203, entered service during 1925–26.

A distinctive feature of Auckland tramcars was their paired destination indicators, arranged in a V-shape at each end of the vehicle. The angled displays enabled destinations to be read even when tramcars stood close together. These indicators remained characteristic of the fleet until closure.

Wooden body construction was retained for the larger cars introduced in 1929–30, commonly known as the Big Cars, which incorporated further refinements to passenger accommodation and seating arrangements.^{[citation needed]}

Streamliners. The final major development was the Streamliner design of the 1930s, distinguished by rounded ends and curved body sides. The later 1937-class Streamliners, designed by Victor Gibbon, featured bodies widening from approximately 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) at chassis level to 8 ft (2.44 m) at window-sill level, before narrowing again towards the roof.^{[citation needed]} Despite their more modern appearance, the cars retained wooden seating and traditional half-drop windows.

Six later Streamliners were fitted with imported EMB L5 bogies, manufactured by the Electro Mechanical Braking Company in Britain. These incorporated improved suspension, roller bearings and modern braking equipment, while other cars retained Brush-designed bogies. The EMB-equipped cars had smaller wheels, allowing their bodies to sit closer to the track.

The Streamliners represented the final generation of tramcars built for Auckland before the system closed in December 1956.

Track gauges

New Zealand's electric tramways used several different track gauges, with most operating on 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in).

The gauges shown are those used by the electric tramway systems. Earlier horse and steam tramways sometimes operated on different gauges. For example, Dunedin's original horse and steam tramways used 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm), while the municipal electric network adopted 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm). Wellington also changed its track gauge when the system was electrified in 1904.

Citations

Bibliography