Queensway then and now

[Mal Rowe]

The reconstruction of St Kilda Junction and related creation of
Queensway in the late 1960s was one of the key indicators that
Melbournbe's trams were "here to stay".

Arthur Stone's pic from September 1968 shows the new tramway being laid.

In my pic made today - 58 years on - a few buildings are still
recognisable.  The big brown brick building at top left is the Windsor
telephone exchange built in the 1970s.

Mal Rowe for whom the Tatra T3s were the other signs of hope.

[Andrew Highriser]

The old photo is very interesting, and it will be for a friend whose house is next to the nearest side of the two storey pale grey building on the left. It could once be seen from Queensway until a sound barrier was erected. 

Andrew. 

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[David McLoughlin]

Mal wrote:

>  The reconstruction of St Kilda Junction and related creation of Queensway in the late 1960s was one of the key indicators that Melbourne's trams were "here to stay". 

I do though distinctly recall reading that a requirement of the tram tracks being laid in Queensway was that the gradients etc be capable of use by buses should the tramway system be scrapped and the Queensway ROW paved for buses.

Modern Tramway (UK) was so joyous at this "good news from Australia" that it ran a photo of a tram on the new ROW on the cover one month back then.

Remember, 1969 was the year Brisbane's modern tramway system was closed, and Henry Bolte still reigned in Victoria. Hamer making it happen by ordering 100 new trams was still some four years off.

[TP]

That doesn't sound right as buses can tackle grades steeper than what trams can. When Sydney's and Brisbane's modern busways were built, they were designed with gradients suitable for trams.

Tony P

[Mal Rowe]

On 14/02/2026 07:43, David McLoughlin wrote:
>
> I do though distinctly recall reading that a requirement of the tram
> tracks being laid in Queensway was that the gradients etc be capable
> of use by buses should the tramway system be scrapped and the
> Queensway ROW paved for buses.
>

The grades would be no problem, but the actual junction would be rather
tight for non rail vehicles.

Mal Rowe attaching evidence.

[Peter Hyde]

but buses are so flexible   -)

Sent from BlueMail

[David McLoughlin]

I have read in several places over the years that the 1969 Queens Way layout was designed so that buses could replace trams along there. A quick search turned up an article in the September 2020 issue of Bellcord. I presume the doubters will not doubt the Bellcord's veracity.

https://www.trammuseum.org.au/downloads/bellcord/bc-047.pdf

Relevant part of the article below, from page 13:


After the Second World War, St Kilda Junction became the site for a
perpetual traffic jam during peak hours, due to the ever-increasing number
of cars. A roundabout was tried there from 1955, but it provided only
temporary relief to traffic congestion.

The Bolte Government commissioned a major project to fix the traffic
problem, by putting Queens Rd in a underpass underneath the Junction,
connecting with a new road called Queens Way that joined with Dandenong
Rd in Windsor. The project was placed under the control of the Melbourne
and Metropolitan Board of Works. Construction work began in 1967.
Initially, the tramways were to remain in their existing alignments, although
there was serious consideration of the tram lines being permanently
replaced by buses. Major-General Risson, Chairman of the Melbourne and
Metropolitan Tramways Board (M&MTB), lobbied for the relocation of the
tram lines to be an integral part of the project.

This meant the abandonment of the tramway in Wellington St, and its
replacement with a new line built to European light rail standards along
Queens Way to connect with the Dandenong Rd tramway. The new
tramway alignment was designed to be modifiable to take buses, for the
then-forecast eventual closure of Melbourne’s tram system.

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