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Sydney Steam Tram Motor No.100 Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT), Auckland |
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Mark Newton kindly contributed this view of No.100 when
newly restored at MOTAT, circa 2000.
This view shows the fireman’s end – the headlight position
seems odd as it must have been blinding for the fireman as they tended the
fire!
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Builder |
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania USA |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
11665 of 1891 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-0ST |
One of 122 Baldwin-built
steam tram ‘motors’ that worked on the Sydney tramway system, this example is
an interesting survivor as it retains its original configuration for two-person
operation and hence original number ‘100’ whereas those converted to
single-person operation had ‘A’ added as a numbering suffix, such as preserved
sisters 1A and 103A.
Sydney’s steam trams
became largely redundant upon electrification of the tramway system, with many
subsequently sold to various industrial and construction users. Among these was
No.100, sold to the Gonville & Castlecliff Tramway Board (Whanganui) and
exported to New Zealand in 1910 for construction work on new electric tramway
routes in Whanganui. It seems the little steam tram didn’t see much use after
construction duties but was retained as a useful standby loco. Failure of the
electricity supply in July 1920 earned the little loco a period of local fame –
together with the nickname ‘Puffing Billy’ – as it deputised for its more
modern electric sisters until power was restored three months later.
No.100 saw another
period of use during ‘goodbye’ events connected with closure of the Whanganui
tram system in 1950, when buses took over public transport duties. Alas its
local fame was not enough to save it from being sold for scrap, remaining in a
local dealer’s yard until 1955 when discovered by members of the Steam Tram and
Railway Preservation Society of New South Wales. Alas the cost of transport
back to Australia proved prohibitive, but local New Zealand enthusiasts stepped
in and purchased the steam tram in 1958. It was donated to the Old Time
Transport Preservation League, eventually coming into the MOTAT (Museum of
Transport and Technology) collection at Western Springs, Auckland where it was
progressively restored over a 25-year period from 1971 to 1996.
The MOTAT collections
page contains a thorough history of this steam tram and how it came to be saved
for preservation on their website: https://collection.motat.nz/topics/101/the-life-times-of-a-well-travelled-steam-tram-engine-no100-celebrating-130-years-of-age.
In addition, a good history is provided in the Sydney Tramway Museum’s
‘Trolleywire’ magazine of July 2012.
MOTAT hosts an extraordinary
collection of historic transport equipment such as flying boats and other
vintage aircraft, electric trams from several systems, and steam locomotives
together with railway and tramway running lines. A dual-gauge tramway links the
original museum site at Western Springs to a large transport hall established a
kilometre or so away, and I understand No.100 occasionally gets a run on this
tramway. As a child visiting MOTAT in 1976 I was awed by their Lancaster
bomber, now displayed in the Sir Keith Park aircraft pavilion. I certainly hope
to visit MOTAT again in future years and have the chance to photograph the
wonderful of steam tram No.100, together with the other exhibits displayed
there.
References
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a |
N. Chinn
& K. McCarthy ‘New
South Wales Tramcar Handbook 1861 – 1961, Part Two’ ISBN
0959865977 |
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b |
Wikipedia page
for Baldwin Locomotive Works, |
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c |
Burke, D ‘Juggernaut!
A Story of Sydney in the Wild Days of the Steam Tram’ Published
by the Kangaroo Press, 1997 ISBN 0 86417 902 2 |
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d |
MOTAT website, collections page for Steam Tran 100: Accessed 10 July 2022 |
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e |
Information provided by Mark Newton via email, 18 February 2002. |
Page updated: 11 September 2022
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