Re: [Geelong] Free bus, maybe trams

[Chris Brownbill <cbrnbill@enternet.com.au>]

Actually it wasn't so much the opposition which kept the tram open in Ballarat
and Bendigo for so long - it was the Country Party who voted with the labour
opposition.  It was only when the Liberals got a majority in their own right
that they could get the closure bill through both houses of parliament without
the support of the Country party.

As for Sovereign Hill, if this proposal ever gets going the route would be quite
different from any of the old tram routes because they didn't run that direction
(although Mount Pleasant was close), and as Johm McCallum says Bridge Street is
now a Pedestrian Mall. 

It would be lovely to see such an operation - Ballarat is such an elegant city
and it's hard to imagine a better setting for Edwardian era trams, but I fear
the project is just a bit too ambitious, and it may founder on the rocks of
finance.

Lineman wrote:
> 
> "David McLoughlin" <davemcl@AXE*THISiprolink.co.nz> wrote in message
> 387e25f4@news.iprolink.co.nz">news:387e25f4@news.iprolink.co.nz...
> > Chris Brownbill wrote:
> >
> > > Actually there's quite a lot of agitation in Ballarat to re-institute
> Trams as a
> > > tourist service to connect the railway Station, downtown and Sovereign
> Hill.
> >
> > Now it's a long time since I was in Ballarat. Which former line is
> > Sovereign Hill on? Was it Sebastopol or Lydiard St North  (or another
> > altogether) ?
> >
> > What's happened to the museum tramline around Lake Wendouree?
> Still going strongly,they have a web page somewhere.
> >
> > > The argument goes that since the highway bypass was opened four or five
> years
> > > ago the trams would no longer be an impediment to road traffic (which
> was one of
> > > the stated reasons for their abandonment in 1971).
> >
> > There wasn't any traffic to speak of in Ballarat in 1971, whether on the
> > roads, or on the trams. They ran so empty that I marvelled they lasted
> > so long (though I do recall riding once on a packed single trucker to
> > the Gardens, but there was some special tourist event on).
> Yes, Ballarat was pretty quite on a Sunday /Saturday afternoon back in
> 1971(almost as quite as Auckland) but even by the standards of the time main
> street was chock a block with semitrailers etc at most other times .
> I think the trams lasted so long because the opposition had the numbers in
> the state upper house for a considerable time(dont quote me on this) and
> where able to bring pressure to the gov. to block the plans of the evil
> empire (S.E.C)
> >
> > David McLoughlin
> > Auckland New Zealand