Re: Melbourne - good tram book?

[Wolfgang Auer <wauer@qspr03.tuwien.ac.at>]

Dear Group, Servus Andreas,

Sorry for the very late follow-up, but I think it's just too funny that
two Vienna residents with a certain interest in Melbourne's vast tramway
system are meeting in aus.rail :-)

Andreas Schreiber <a.schreiber@lion.cc> wrote:

>Is there a good australian book of Melbourne trams?
>Can you give me some hints?

Here is the list of the books related to Melbourne's tramways which I
own, rated from an interested foreigner:

Dale Budd, Randall Wilson: Melbourne's Marvellous Trams
University of NSW Press, Sydney, NSW, 1998.
ISBN 0-86840-504-3
-------------------------------------------------------

Well, numerous people have already pointed out this very fine book --
there's not much left for me to add. Usually, I'm preferring fact books
to heavily illustrated, very colourful "picture books", but this is an
exception indeed. In addition, I admire the authors for their subtle
brinkmanship between classic and modern design, typography and layout.
Typeset in Bembo, one of the most classical (and beautiful, IMHO) fonts
ever created, it is based on a good foundation for the progressive, yet
not overly experimental overall design. Only the tram map ought to be
coloured slightly different: Yellow lines on yellow background are not
exactly easy to figure out :-) And in my very personal opinion, the
landscape format is something bad by principle. But this does not change
my recommendation for this great book.


David R. Keenan: Melbourne Tramways.
Transit Press, Sans Souci, NSW, 1985.
ISBN: 0-909338-04-3
-------------------------------------

Another landscape format book, less voluminous than the mentioned
counterpart, but a treasure box of general information, both historical
and related to the present state. Showing less pictures, it has more
touch of a fact book. Furthermore, several great maps are provided --
already a bit out-of-date, of course, given the ongoing expansion of
Melbourne's tram system --, and to me, maps are the heart of each
tram-related book. Another very fine book, it's a well-done compromise
between a too detailed and a too terse abridge.


Norman Cross, Dale Budd, Randall Wilson:
   Destination City. Melbourne's Electric Trams, 5th edition.
Transit Australia Publishing, Sydney, NSW, 1993.
ISBN: 0-909459-18-5
ISBN: 0-909459-17-7 (pbk.)
-------------------------------------------------------------

As I've been told, *the* standard book with respect to fleet and network
data. It's hardly a book to read, but rather to look up data -- and for
the latter, it's very fine. Countless tables provide exact information
on every tram type, every tram car, both historical and present, and
additional data is listed in regard to the recent expansions of the tram
network. A current, well-drawn map and numerous photos are a good
perfection for this reference book.


Furthermore, there are a few recommendable books beyond a Melbourne-only
scope, but containing rich information on this city's tram system
anyway:


Colin Jones: Watch For Trams.
Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, NSW, 1993.
ISBN: 0-86417-544-2
-------------------------------------

A general history of Australasia's tramways, chronologically written
rather than sorted by city. Told in an easy way, the stories are easy to
read and provide a very good first overview on the formerly numerous and
colourful tramway systems in Australia and its neighbours. To me
personally, the chapter on the unique, sad and brutal axing of
Brisbane's modern, progressive, popular and well-maintained tramway
system was extremely absorbing. Alas, no tram maps are provided in this
book, but nevertheless, it's recommendable indeed.


Samuel Brimson: Australian Tramways.
PR Books, Frenchs Forest, NSW, 1983, 1985, 1988.
ISBN: 0-86777-381-2
------------------------------------------------

That's not a really recent book any longer, but evidently, only
Melbourne's tramway system has changed since this comprehensive
historical overview on Australia's trams was published. Unlike the book
mentioned above, it's a city-by-city treatise with a short, yet not
terse abridge of the history of each city's tram system; these
summaries, however, are emphasizing the first years of the systems
rather than their respective declines (or, in Melbourne, expansions :-).
A great aspect of the book is the number of maps that make this book
really recommandable. On the other hand, I'm afraid that at least this
book already is out-of-print. I got my copy as a gift from a reputable
member of aus.rail, and I'm still very, very grateful for it.


Andreas, if you (or anybody else) need further information where I
purchased these books, I would be glad to treat this by means of private
emails.

All the best from Wien (Vienna, Austria), Wolfgang
-- 
Wolfgang Auer --------------------------------- ohne AUTO doppelt MOBIL
http://qspr03.tuwien.ac.at/~wauer/ --- mailto:wauer@qspr03.tuwien.ac.at