Melbourne tram routes 55/56

[Andrew Highriser]

This below is from Wikipedia. I cannot remember route 55 travelling from West Coburg to St Kilda Beach in the early 1980s. Is my memory defective? 

Until November 1986, route 55 operated from West Coburg to St Kilda Beach via William Street, St Kilda Road and Fitzroy Street.^[2][3] Route 56 offered a truncated service that ran from West Coburg to Domain Road. Following the opening of a terminating platform at Domain Interchange on 14 November 1986, through-routing to St Kilda Beach was discontinued.^[4][5][6]

[Peter Bruce]

 Andrew your memory is not defective, the service only operated southbound as route 56 to the Domain Road crossover. Route number 55 was available for a service beyond to St. Kilda Beach but I don't recall it ever being routinely operated and I started on the job at South Melbourne/Hanna St in November 1966. I think cars were supposed to show 55 running northbound services and 56 southbound. I don't remember but possibly there were some peak Beach services but that could have varied when a new block was introduced, perhaps an AM service running into Hanna St to go on the wheel grinder. That's just a guess though. I finished up on the Australia Day holiday 1977 at Camberwell. See attachment.

Regards,

Peter Bruce

On Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 20:52 Andrew Highriser <andrewhi...@gmail.com> wrote:

This below is from Wikipedia. I cannot remember route 55 travelling from West Coburg to St Kilda Beach in the early 1980s. Is my memory defective? 

Until November 1986, route 55 operated from West Coburg to St Kilda Beach via William Street, St Kilda Road and Fitzroy Street.^[2][3] Route 56 offered a truncated service that ran from West Coburg to Domain Road. Following the opening of a terminating platform at Domain Interchange on 14 November 1986, through-routing to St Kilda Beach was discontinued.^[4][5][6]

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[Andrew Highriser]

Thanks very much Peter. You did remind me that 55 was supposed to be used in one direction and 56 in the other. I am not sure if that happened or not. 

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[Mal Rowe]

 I certainly recall the occasional 56 in Melville Rd and even managed a pic some 57 years ago!

Mal Rowe - local lad

[Mal Rowe]

On 29/07/2025 11:27, Mal Rowe wrote:
>
>  I certainly recall the occasional 56 in Melville Rd and even managed
> a pic some 57 years ago!
>

Found a pair of pics from a week later that show the practice.

344 has Domain Rd on both destinations, with route 56 on the south end
and route 55 on the north end.

Simple.

Mal Rowe still learning

[Bob Pearce]

Hi all,

 

Trammies were certainly an innovative bunch.

 

In the west, there was a route 28 Como, and a route 29 Mends St SP (South Perth) until the lines closure when 29 was used for 4th Avenue.

 

The blind had the number (large) at the top and the lettering below i.e.

 

               1

       Town Hall

 

The trammies would show the run between Mends St Jetty and Mary St Como as:

 

               COMO

        29

by rolling the blind so that it could be seen from outside as above.

 

I am sure there would have been other examples of such ingenuity.

 

Bob in Perth

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[Mal Rowe]

A bit more searching shows that a southbound route 55 did run at least once!

554 is showing a destination of St Kilda Beach via Balaclava Rd,
southbound in William St.

The route number is nor readable, but the destination is clear.

The photo is one of many sold by TMSV sales in the 1970s.

Mal Rowe - not knowing who made the image.

[Peter Bruce]

Mal and all, I reckon 554 is northbound on William St having just crossed Little Lonsdale, the pub visible on the SW corner of Little Lon is the Metropolitan Hotel currently closed I think. Perhaps 554 has come from the Southside via Balaclava Rd and St Kilda Beach final destination City/Dudley St to form a southbound service . Maybe the driver has just forgotten to alter the destination!! St Kilda Beach via Balaclava Rd makes no sense southbound out of the City. I can't lay my hand on a Depot allocation but I think 554 might have been a Glenhuntly car. Thoughts?

Peter Bruce.

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[Hal Cain]

I'm sure Peter is right, that 554 is northbound, approaching La Trobe St.  "General Credits" (sign behind 554) was at 277 William St, west side, between Little Lonsdale St and William Sts; the sun is shining from the east, so it's a morning shot.

As for the destination, that's a mystery to me!  Malvern, Glenhuntly, Camberwell, South Melbourne and Essendon destination rolls all included City via William St.

Hal Cain

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[Mal Rowe]

Hi Peter,

You are clearly correct.  The building behind the Metropolitan Hotel is
still there and 554 was a long term GH car.

Thanks.

Mal - apologising  for my misleading speculation!

[Peter Bruce]

It's all fun Mal. 

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[Mick Duncan]

Gday  Peter, All

The last day is strange,It didnt really hit me for a few days that my
tram days were over,then years later,tram museums

918 was once a very noisy spur gear tram

Last tram I drove was 898 at Malvern on Tooraks in 1974

Cheers,   Mick

[Mal Rowe]

Indeed!

[Peter Bruce]

Mick by the time I finished up, January '77, there were very few spur geared cars left and all from W5 on, big cars, had been converted to helical gears.

Peter B.

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