Re: 80th anniversary of suburban electrification

["John Wayman" <trecker@bigpond.com>]

The words " Electric Tramway" was used on most tickets instead of Electric
Railway to avoid the obvious confusion at both St Kilda and Brighton Beach
terminals, which also serviced traditional electric railways in the later
years of the operation of the route.

When the line was built, it could be referred to as an "electric railway"
without confusion, as the electrification of the suburban railway system was
about two decades in the future.

In the book "The Brighton Electric Line" by Leon Marshall-Wood a photograph
is shown of an Edmonson card ticket for a circular tour issued from Albert
Park station (now mearly a tram stop). It has three portions, worded as
follows:

The first portion-
Circular ticket
Albert Park to
St Kilda or Bright'n Bh
By Railway only
Day of Issue(See Back.
Child 1st Class

The second portion
St. Kilda Electric
Railway Portion.
Available on Electric
Line St.Kilda to Bghtn.
Beach or vice versa
if not detached.
Single Journey only

The third portion
Bright'n Bh or St. Kilda
to Albert Park.
By Railway only
Child 1st Class
Day of issue. (See Back)

This ticket refers to the tramway portion as the "Electric Railway Portion",
a term that would have been confusing after the electrification of the steam
suburban network.

The line was always legally operated as a railway, but traded as a tramway,
in line with public perception,

Cheers
John Wayman


David Langley <del@ancc.com.au> wrote in message
37552212.926839BC@ancc.com.au">news:37552212.926839BC@ancc.com.au...
> MarkBau1 wrote:
>
> > BTW, I just got a photocopy of a 1964 VR annual report. It lists the
> > Sandringham to Black Rock and St Kilda to Brighton as "Electric
Tramways" it
> > notes both as "dismantled" and appears in appendix No. 6
> >
> > So much for the myth that VR could not call any of its operations
"tramways"
>
> It is of course possible that the legal requirement regarding calling them
electric
> street railways had been removed by this time to reflect exactly what they
were -
> tramways.
>
> David Langley.
>