Lines
The first tram line in Wellington opened on 24 August 1878. The line was 4.5 km in length, and ran between the north end of Lambton Quay and a point just south of the Basin Reserve.
After 1900, when the tramway was bought by the city authorities and electrified, a major extension of the network took place, with lines to Aro Street, Oriental Bay, and Tinakori Road in operation in 1904. The following year, a line was constructed through Newtown and Berhampore to Island Bay, and the year after, from the Te Aro line to Brooklyn. In 1907, a dedicated tram tunnel to Hataitai was completed, allowing services to reach Kilbirnie, Miramar, and Seatoun. The Tinakori Road line was extended westward towards Karori, reaching Karori Cemetery.
Construction of new track then slowed, but did not stop. In 1911, a line was built from Kilbirnie to Lyall Bay and from Tinakori Road to Wadestown. By this time, the Karori line had been extended to Karori Park. In 1915, a line was built to connect Newtown with Kilbirnie, via Constable Street and Crawford Road. Finally, in 1929, the last new line was completed, a branch of the Karori line through a tunnel to Northland.
Wellington's more northerly suburbs, such as Johnsonville and Tawa, were not served by the tram network, as they were (and are) served by the Wellington railway system. The Wellington Cable Car, another part of Wellington's transport network, is sometimes described as a tram, but is not generally considered so. It was opened in 1902, and is still in operation.
Wellington's electric tramways had the unusual gauge of 4 ft (1,219 mm), a narrow gauge. The steam and horse trams were 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge, the same as New Zealand's national railway gauge.
Read more about this topic: Wellington Tramway System
Famous quotes containing the word lines:
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—Jane Austen (1775–1817)