Re: Tramways in Wollongong?

["Bradley Torr" <btorr@bigpond.nospam.com>]

Barry Campbell <campblbm@ozemail.com.au> wrote in article
<DWa%3.10187$MZ.67868@ozemail.com.au>...

> There were no street tramways in Wollongong, although there was a
proposal
> for one. Hill Sixty leads on to a headland which is these days occupied
by a
> picturesque sewage treatment works. This headland was originally
connected
> to the rest of the world by a tramway of some sort. When I worked there
in
> 1972 it was only possible to drive up the dirt road in my Morris Minor
with
> a heavy sandbag in the boot. At that stage the Water Board was driving a
> tunnell through the hill using a 2 foot gauge tramway for spoil removal.

Which road was dirt? Nowadays, Military Road is all nice and sealed, with a
bitumen carpark up near the trig station up on the top of the Hill. I
believe the road down to Fishermans Beach and the attedant sewerage works
is also bitumenised now.

Can you tell me more about the proposal for a street tramway in Wollongong?
In a way, it seems almost perfect for trams.... downtown Wollongong is laid
out in a grid pattern; there was once a picturesque square in front of the
railway station (now a dreadful bus interchange) that would have been an
ideal 'hub' or terminus..... though with a railway line extending through
the entire length of the metro area, and the steelworks being well-served
by railways, there probably was never really a need for one, except perhaps
as 'feeder' routes (e.g. City Beach to Wollongong Station; one up Military
Road or Wentworth Street from Port Kembla station to Warrawong; Dunmore
station to Shellharbour Village; etc.)

Regards,
Bradley.