Preston Workshopsis the heavy maintenance facility for theMelbourne tram network.The workshop is located on a block surrounded by Miller Street,St Georges Road,Oakover Road and theMernda railway lineinPreston,a suburb inMelbourne,Victoria,Australia.Following a major redevelopment in April 2016, it also became an operational depot under the nameNew Preston Depot,taking over fromEast Preston.
 Miller Street entrance, March 2018 | |
 | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Miller Street,Preston |
| Characteristics | |
| Owner | VicTrack |
| Operator | Yarra Trams |
| Rolling stock | 48E Class 24E2 Class |
| Routes served | 11,86,96(shared withSouthbank) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1926 |
History
edit
The Preston Workshops were erected by theMelbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board(MMTB) in 1924-26, to provide manufacturing and maintenance facilities for Melbourne's trams in conjunction with the introduction and production of theW class trams.
The earlier tram maintenance workshops were located on the corner of Holden Street andSt Georges Road,Fitzroy,where today only a tramways substation remains, following demolition and sale in 1937.[1]
In the mid-1920s, the MMTB sought a suitable place to build its own tramcars, having previously manufactured the steel chassis and truck frames at the Cable Repair Workshops atNicholson Street,Fitzroy North,built the wooden bodywork in temporary sheds behind the Fitzroy cable car shed, done painting and varnishing at Preston andGlenhuntlydepots, and let tenders to private companies for completed bodies. The running maintenance and overhaul was conducted at workshops attached to theMalvern,Hawthorn,Coburg andEssendondepots.[2]
A single comprehensive workshop was desperately needed, and a site was ultimately chosen opposite Thornbury depot on St Georges Road adjacent to the Miller Street line, covering 17 acres. Tenders were let progressively for each building - the paint and car erecting shops and first traverser completed early in 1925; the main store and sub-station in 1925/26; the large truck, wheel, machine, fitting and electrical shops and second traverser to the car shop in late 1926; the timber storage racks, office block, blacksmiths and plate shops, foundry and pattern shop in the next few months; and finally the mess hall and amenities.[2]
Preston became the most modern tramway workshop in Australia and took over the maintenance, overhaul and new construction tasks for the whole system. W-class cars were built to replace cable trams for the cable conversions, and subsequently W1 and W2 types were built at the workshops.[2]
A distinctive workplace culture grew up around the workshops, evident in the oral traditions and characters of the workshops, such as Norm Cross, who may have been the inspiration forMalcolmin the film of the same name byNadia Tass.[3]
TheTudor style“Melbourne Room” which provided a ball-room, theatre, concert and lecture hall for tram events, still features the gaily decorated stage that hosted 3DB'sLunchtime FuntimewithBill Collins.[2]
In the 1990s, part of the works was leased toA Goninan & Coto refurbishZ1 and Z2 class tramsas well as fit out light rail vehicles for theHong Kong Light Railsystem.[4][5]
In 2014, a project commenced to revitalise the workshop. The heavy maintenance facility was reconfigured, a new servicing facility for theE-class tramsbuilt and seven kilometres of track relaid. It was officially reopened in 17 April 2016 as New Preston Depot, replacingEast Preston.[6][7][8][9]
Rolling stock
editAs of May 2024, the depot has an allocation of 72 trams: 48E1-Classand 24E2-Class.[10]
Routes
editThe following routes are operated from Preston depot:
References
edit- ^K S. Kings ‘50 years of the M&MTB’Running Journalvolume 6 no 3 December 1969
- ^abcd"Vines, G. 2010Melbourne Tramway Heritage Study,report to Heritage Victoria ".Archived fromthe originalon 1 May 2013.Retrieved28 November2012.
- ^Kevin Murray, “Preston Tram Workshops, Life after Malcolm, Atlantis Found in Preston,”
- ^"Other Melbourne News"Trolley Wireissue 269 May 1997 page 21
- ^"Z Series Cars - Overhauls & Modifications"Trolley Wireissue 273 May 1998 page 16
- ^New Preston depotArchived13 May 2013 at theWayback MachinePublic Transport Victoria
- ^Coleman Rail Awarded Preston Tram Workshops RedevelopmentColeman Rail
- ^"Tender awarded for Preston Tram Depot redevelopment"Railway DigestAugust 2014 page 25
- ^"Past meets future at new home of E-Class trams".Yarra Trams.18 April 2016.Retrieved18 April2016.
- ^Preston DepotVicsig
- ^Route 11Yarra Trams
- ^Route 86Yarra Trams
- ^"Route 96".Yarra Trams.Archived fromthe originalon 9 September 2015.Retrieved6 November2013.
External links
edit
Media related toPreston Workshopsat Wikimedia Commons- Heritage Listing
- Culture Victoria, Oral history interview
- Railpage Tram Photo Gallery
