Tramway books now in stock at our shop

Book specials

Mind the Curve by John Keating – discounted price now $20.00

The definitive history of Melbourne’s cable trams. Our city had the largest cable tram system in the world operated as a single integrated entity between 1885 and 1940, dwarfing the survivng cable tram lines in San Francisco.

The Golden City and its Tramway by Alan Bradley – discounted price now $20.00

A history of Ballarat tramways. This city was founded on gold, and its horse and electric tramway system was one of the longest lived of Victoria’s regional tramways, only closing in 1971.

Trams and Streetscapes – Metropolitan Melbourne 1950s-1960s – a photographic profile by Emile D. Badawy and John Sargent – discounted price now $35.00

A delightful book containing high quality large format colour photographs of Melbourne’s trams in the 1950s and 1960s.

William – City Adventures by Kevin Paterson – discounted price now $16.00

Youngsters will thrill to the amazing adventures of William the Tram as he travels about the big city. This brilliantly illustrated volume based on Melbourne’s trams will appeal to young children of all ages.

Ballarat’s Heritage Tramway by William F. Scott – $4.00

The story behind the creation of the Ballarat Tramway Museum. This booklet contains excellent photographic views of the work of the volunteers in preserving Ballarat’s tramway history.

Bondi to the Opera House: the trams that linked Sydney by Dale Budd and Randall Wilson – $39.95

A photographic review of Sydney in the tramway era (1879-1961), together with contemporary views showing how much the city by the harbour has changed.

A Brief History of the Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramways Trust by Bob Prentice – $7.00

Discover the highly successful but short-lived northern suburbs tramway trust – a rattling good read that gives an insight into the development of the electric tramways in Melbourne during the second decade of the twentieth century.

Brisbane Tramway Museum Guide Book – $3.95

The Brisbane Tramway Museum is one of the major collections of Australian heritage tramcars extant. This excellent guide gives a thorough overview of the collection for both the dedicated enthusiast and the casual visitor.

Brisbane Tramways: The Last Decade – $17.95

The account of the last decade of Brisbane’s electric trams, from 1960 to 1969, including the tragic Paddington Depot fire that was the beginning of the end.

Destination Point Walter by Ric Francis – $25.00

Rare views of the Fremantle Municipal Tramway from 1905 to 1952. Perth’s port city had its own independent tramway system in the first half of the twentieth century.

Destination Subiaco by Ric Francis – $30.00

A pictorial review of the Perth electric tramway system. This extensive narrow gauge electric tramway served the Western Australian capital faithfully until 1958.

Destination West Leederville by Ric Francis – $30.00

A history and pictorial review of the Perth trolleybuses, the first such system in Australia, which operated from 1933 to 1969. Trolleybuses were an attempt to combine the flexibility of the motor omnibus with the advantages of electric traction, but rarely outlived for long the trams they were supposed to replace.

Feeding & Filling by Graeme Breydon – $4.20

Hurry to get our last remaining copies – now out of print.

A short but informative booklet on the history of the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust. This municipal tramway system in the south-eastern suburbs was one of the predecessors off the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board.

The First Electric Road by Robert Green – $14.95

The definitive history of the short-lived Box Hill to Doncaster Tramway – the Southern Hemisphere’s first electric tram line. This ill-conceived venture came unstuck due to the failure of the land-boom of the 1890s.

Goldenlines by Ric Francis – $49.50

Not many know that Kalgoorlie had its own tramway system, from 1902 to 1952. This fascinating system was essential for the development of Western Australia’s largest goldfields town.

Hobart’s Tram Trilogy by David Kirby – $60.00

A new comprehensive history of Hobart’s tramways – the southernmost in Australia. This narrow-gauge electric system ran from 1893 to 1960 under private, municipal and government control.

Last Tram at 11 by William F. Scott – $59.95

The history of the regional Victorian tramways of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. These tramways were all operated by private electricity companies, before they fell under the control of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria.

Launceston Municipal Transport 1911-1955 by Ian G. Cooper – $54.95

The complete story of one of the quaintest tramways in Australia, an essential part of the development of Tasmania’s second city for forty-four years.

Leonora Municipal Tramways – A History of Australia’s Smallest Tramway System by Ric Francis – $25.00

This short-lived eccentric electric tramway in outback Western Australia ran between the mining towns of Gwalia and Leonora for seven years (1908-1915) and only ever had one tram.

The Melbourne Tram Book, 2nd edition by Randall Wilson and Dale Budd – $25.00

A pictorial review of Melbourne’s historic tramway system, the largest in the English speaking world. This book provides a valuable insight into the neophyte enthusiast into our city’s tramways.

Melbourne’s Colourful Trams – Illuminated advertising trams in the streetscapes of Melbourne by David Clark and John Sargent – $40.00

A collection of high quality photos of Melbourne’s trams displaying illuminated advertising schemes used during the 1970s. The M&MTB was an early adopter of all-over themed advertising of public transport vehicles, and this collection of high-quality images shows the design skills of the local adverstising industry of the time.

More Trams and Streetscapes – Metropolitan Melbourne 1950s-1960s – a photographic profile by Lindsay Crow, Colin Pike and John Sargent – $40.00

An excellent companion volume to Trams and Streetscapes containing high quality large format colour photographs of Melbourne’s trams in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Northern Lines by Neville Smith – $6.00

Discover the role trams played in the development of Adelaide’s northern suburbs. A useful source of information for the dedicated tramway enthusiast.

Over the Viaduct to Henley Beach by Neville Smith – $6.00

Read about Adelaide’s Henley Beach route, which travelled over the longest timber tram viaduct in Australia, between the city and the sea.

Parade to Kensington by Neville Smith – $6.00

A fascinating short review of the history of Adelaide’s Kensington & Norwood tram routes, an essential part of the tramway system of the city of churches.

Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust: Melbourne’s foremost municipal tramway by Ian A. Brady – $59.95

An exciting new history of the largest of the pre-M&MTB municipal tramways trusts of Melbourne.

Shooting Through: Sydney by Tram by Caroline Butler-Bowdon, Annie Campbell and Howard Clark – $20.00

A beautifully illustrated short history of Sydney’s trams from 1861 to 1961. Written for the Shooting Through exhibition at the Museum of Sydney in 2009.

A Short History of the Victorian Railways Trams by David Frost – $9.00

The two tramlines operated by Victorian Railways in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne are long gone and forgotten. This booklet provides an interesting historical sketch of a distant time and place, when the latest in urban public transport was the electric street railway.

The Southern Lines by Neville Smith and John Radcliffe – $6.00

The transition from horse trams to electric trams is only part of the story of Adelaide’s southern routes. Discover how they influenced the development of the southern suburbs.

The Sydney Tram – A Pictorial View – $14.95

A collection of historic black & white photographs displaying the Sydney tramway system – once the largest in the southern hemisphere – in all its former glory.

Tasmania’s Trolley Buses by Ian G. Cooper – $69.95

From 1935 in Hobart and 1951 in Launceston, electric trolleybuses provided urban public transport to Tasmania’s two cities. This definitive work from transport historian Ian G. Cooper tells the story of the trolleybuses from their beginning until their untimely demise.

Tracks by the Swan by Tony Culpeffer-Cooke, Adrian Gunzberg and Ian Pleydell – $95.00

The definitive account of the rise, development and decline of electric street transport in Perth, to an ever-changing backdrop of the city and its people. This well-researched and comprehensive volume traces the social, economic, political, industrial and technical factors influencing the tram and trolley bus systems which served the people of Perth for almost seventy years from 1899.

Tram Images by Hugh Ballment – $39.95

A nostalgic photographic journey on the tramways of Australia and New Zealand in the 1950s and 1960s, by noted tramway enthusiast and photographer Hugh Ballment.

Tramcars & Trolleybuses In & Around Port Adelaide by Neville Smith – $6.00

The story in pictures and words of the Port Adelaide tram and trolleybus system. Electric traction provided public transport to this gritty workingman’s suburb for decades, before it fell to the domination of the diesel omnibus.

Trams of Australia – Volume 1, Revised and Expanded – $11.95

Trams of Australia – Volume 2 – $11.95

A colourful pictorial review of Australian trams in two large format volumes.

Tramway by the River by Bob Prentice – $5.00

The story of the short-lived Hawthorn Tramways Trust, the organisation responsible for the construction of Hawthorn Depot, now the home of the Melbourne Tram Museum.

The Tramways of Adelaide – Past Present and Future – $5.00

Reproduction of a 1909 booklet celebrating the opening of Adelaide’s first electric tramway. Relive the pride the citizens of Adealide felt at the inauguration of the most sophisticated form of urban transport in the early twentieth century.

Tramways of Sydney by David R. Keenan – $23.95

A photographic history of one hundred years of Sydney’s historic tramways, from its beginnings in 1861 as Australia’s first horse tramway, through its peak as one of the world’s largest electric tramway systems, to closure in 1961. A valuable reference work for any enthusiast.