The Wellington Tramway Museum is located at Queen Elizabeth Park in New Zealand, near the overbridge at MacKays Crossing between Paekakariki and Paraparaumu. Trams have been in operation on a line through open countryside since 1965. The museum is 45 km from Wellington.
The museum maintains nearly 2 km of 4-foot (1219mm) gauge track in Queen Elizabeth Park, as well as four operational trams from the closed Wellington system: two double-saloons and two single-saloon "Fiducia" class trams. In addition one former Wellington Fiducia tram is currently being restored and two double saloon type, one other "Fiducia" type and one early ex-Wellington combination type tram are in storage awaiting restoration. A Brisbane "Dreadnought" class tram is displayed and some trolley-buses are also on the Museum site.
The ex-Wellington trams at the Museum are as follows:
| Key: | In Service | Under Overhaul/Restoration | Stored | Static Display | Scrapped |
|---|
| Fleet Number | Type | Builder | Year Built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Cable car grip tram | Mark Sinclair, Dunedin | 1901 | Cable car No 2 was used from 1902 until 1978 on the Wellington cable car. Donated to the WTM in 1978, it runs on 3' 6" (1067mm) gauge track and so cannot run at the museum. On static display in the tram barn. |
| 6 | Cable car trailer | Unknown | C.1880s | Cable car trailer No 6 was converted from a Palace-type horse tram to become a cable car trailer. Retired in 1974 due to safety concerns, trailer No 6 was donated to the WTM in 1978. It runs on 3' 6" (1067mm) gauge track and so cannot run at the museum. On static display in the tram barn. |
| 5 | Cable car trailer | Unknown | C.1880s | Cable car trailer No 5 was converted from a Palace-type horse tram to become a cable car trailer. Retired in 1974 due to safety concerns, it was placed on a playground at Kelburn Park next to the modernised cable car. Trailer No 5 moved to the WTM in September 2011 and is currently stored. |
| 17 | Combination | British Electric Car Company | 1903/4, rebuilt 1911 | No 17 is the oldest extant Wellington tram, arriving at McKay's Crossing in 1986 after being used as a bach at Raumati South since the late 1940s. The body is stored at the museum and funds are being raised for its eventual restoration. |
| 82 | Palace | Rouse and Hurrell, Wellington | 1911, rebuilt 1913 | No 82 was the last surviving Palace-type tram in New Zealand. Rebuilt as a double saloon tram in 1913, it survived into the 1950s as an illuminated advertising tram although such duties ended in the late 1940s. The body of No 82 is now believed to have been scrapped. |
| 151 | Double saloon (Mark I) | Wellington City Council Tramways Department | 1923 | No 151 was donated to a tramway museum in the United States after withdrawal. However, due to the cost of getting it to the museum, it was donated to the WTM and has become part of their fleet. |
| 159 | Double saloon (Mark I) | Wellington City Council Tramways Department | 1925 | No 159 was purchased from the WCCT after withdrawal in 1964. |
| 185 | Double saloon (Mark II) | Wellington City Council Tramways Department | 1925 | No 185 is the only surviving Mark II Double Saloon tram to have been fitted with heavier electrical wiring for use on the Brooklyn (Route 7) and Wadestown (Route 1) lines. Stored awaiting restoration. |
| 207 | Double saloon (Mark II) | Wellington City Council Tramways Department | 1929 | No 207 was formerly the only Mark II Double Saloon tram to have survived. Stored awaiting restoration. |
| 235 | "Fiducia" single saloon | Wellington City Council Tramways Department | 1937 | No 235 is the oldest surviving "Fiducia" tram. Stored awaiting restoration. |
| 238 | "Fiducia" single saloon | Wellington City Council Tramways Department | 1937 | No 238 was restored to operating condition in 2008, and currently sees restricted use in service. |
| 239 | "Fiducia" single saloon | Wellington City Council Tramways Department | 1937/8 | No 239 is currently operational. |
| 250 | "Fiducia" single saloon | Wellington City Council Tramways Department | 1939/40 | No 250 was purchased for spare parts. The underframe is currently used as a flat wagon for track work. |
| 260 | "Fiducia" single saloon | Wellington City Council Tramways Department | 1952 | No 260 was the last "Fiducia" built with some minor detail differences to the earlier cars of this type, and entered service on 19 December 1952. Restoration began in 2008 and is currently ongoing. |
The museum is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4.30pm, and on public holidays except for Christmas Day. After Christmas the museum opens daily from Boxing Day (26 December) to Wellington Anniversary Day in late January. The museum also opens with restricted hours throughout some school holidays (see website).
Famous quotes containing the words wellington and/or museum:
“Something is about to happen. Leaves are still.
Two shores away, a man hammering in the sky.
Perhaps he will fall.”
—Alfred Wellington Purdy (b. 1919)
“Life is in the mouth; death is in the mouth.”
—Hawaiian saying no. 60, ‘lelo No’Eau, collected, translated, and annotated by Mary Kawena Pukui, Bishop Museum Press, Hawaii (1983)