Horse Will Tread Old Tram Line

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30531, 28 August 1964, Page 15

Horse Will Tread Old Tram Line

Some citizens are quite happy about the tram tracks in Papanui road—-the ones that were set in concrete just before trams were abolished. Motorists and cyclists may curse them at times, but the Tramway Historical Society is glad to have a half-mile of track left.

On Saturday it plans to mark the tenth anniversary of the demise of tram transport by resurrecting a horse-drawn tram and giving free rides up and down Papanui road. As well as Saturday, the horse and tram will run from 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day next week, ending on Friday.

The tram to be used was built in 1887 by John Stevenson and Company of New York and shipped out to the Canterbury Tramway Company, which had been running steam trams in Christchurch since 1880.

Steam trams had proved too expensive with the small amount of patronage Christchurch could then provide, and the horse-drawn tram was an economy car.

It was a trial vehicle, and four more were built in Christchurch. But even with this measure, the company went bankrupt in 1891, and the Christchurch Tramway Company took over.

Since electrification in 1905 the New Yorkbuilt tram has been on the retired list, except for occasional outings for celebrations and anniversaries like the one planned for Saturday.

Its restoration has been done by. the society with financial help from the Papanui Central Businessmen’s Association and some business firms. A 28-seater, it has a centre saloon with seats running along the walls and open platforms at each end with seats running across the car. The society has restored it in the original colours of the Canterbury Tramway Company—rich green on the sides, dull yellow at the ends and thin lines of red and black.

On Saturday it will be drawn by a half-draught horse lent by Mr A. L. R. Barwell, of Ohoka. One member of the society will drive the horse and the other will operate the brake.

Special guests for the first run at 2 p.m. on Saturday will be representatives of the Christchurch Transport Board, the Papanui Central Businessmen’s Association, the Railway and Locomotive Society, the Tramway Preservation Society of Wellington, and the Canterbury Museum of Science and industry which will eventually house the tram.