ferrymead t ttramramram tt t ractsractsracts p. o. box 1126 · nick smithers was our driver and he...

TTTTTramramramramram TTTTTractsractsractsractsractsNewsletter of the

Tramway Historical Society IncP. O. Box 1126

Christchurch.Website

www.ferrymeadtramway.org.nz

Editorial address: Joe Pickering, P. O. Box 17, Woodend, North Canterbury 7641. Phone 03 312 2578. [email protected].

Ferrymead

Next work partyThe next work party is scheduled for Saturday 15 December 2012. Formal work parties are held every

third Saturday of the month and Alan Roi provides a cooked midday meal. There are also activities everySaturday and on Monday evenings.

December 2012

DUE TO THE LAST two years’earthquakes the traverser pit andconcrete apron outside Tram Barn 2were both damaged. Our insurancehas paid out on this, but there wasonly sufficient money to buy

materials. Also we have long hadplans to extend the traverser into thecar park, enabling us to access thiswith road vehicles. It will also enablethe pit to be available to road vehicles,something impossible since Tram

Barn 3 was built. Thus a team havebeen preparing the extension andappropriate trenches have been dug.Reinforcing has been built up andawaits installing. Watch this space forfurther progress.

Repairs and extension to traverser get under wayALAN ROI brings us up to date

Alan Roi sent these two pictures which, by happy chance, combined rather nicely to form this view which shows repairs startingto the traverser with the reinforcing for the new concrete and a view of the extension.

Season’s Greetings

The old year is fastdisappearing and hopefullywith it the last of the vicious

earthquakes. There seems to be somecause for optimism on the tramwayfront as will be evident in this issue.

I always like to point out at thistime of year that Tracts is a wonderfulexample of team work with

contributions from many memberswho are all busy with their own areasof responsibility but nonetheless findtime to pen or send something ofinterest.

This year’s list is impressive.We’ve had contributions from PeterAtkinson, Brian Bartrum, GraemeBelworthy, Bill Cox, Bruce Dale,

Jonathan Day, Henry Deer, Les Dew,Dave Hansen, Brian Harris, AllenHarbrow, Ken Henderson, DaveHinman, David Jones, Russell Kent,Colin Loach, Don McAra, BarryMarchant, Alan Roi, Murray Sanders,Graham Stewart, Stephen Taylor. Mythanks to you all.

And don’t forget thoseindispensable backroom boys (andgirls) who with unfailingcheerfulness and willingness, fold

to page 8>>>

Ferrymead Tram Tracts, December 20122

Dear SirWell another eventful year

almost past. Greetings from your Tractsdistribution team. Like many of theTHS members, we have had aninteresting couple of years. First, Ray,our cheerful printer at AngusDonaldson Copy Services, his businesstotally destroyed, but not put off by anearthquake, now operates from theback room of a second-hand recordshop.

Like so many of you, ourmembers and friends, Barry Marchantand I are working out of temporaryaccommodation awaiting homerepairs. November Tracts was foldedand stamped in my local chemist shop(Thanks Simon).

Barry (labels and mailing list) hashad a difficult time, having had limitedcomputer access and no phone. If youreceived Tracts by email—sent out froma street-side phone booth!

But as I write this in my smallmotel, I have had the easy job.

To our editor Joe—a thousand“thank you”s. Month after month youslave away at your editor ’s deskkeeping us all informed.

Thanks Joe.See you all next year. Merry

Christmas.Colin Loach.Editor’s note: Thank you, Colin, for thosekind words. My role is a minor onecompared to those who slave at Ferrymeador do the administrative work of the Societyand to whom I tip my hat. This newsletteris supported by many good souls as Imention in my letter and I’m grateful toall of them, your good self and Barry’s goodself included!

We entered our Ferrymeaddouble decker bus in theNew Brighton Santa

Parade which was held on Saturday 1December. We were ‘float’ number 37right at the end of the parade,followed by Santa in an inflatable boaton a trailer and two fire engines. NickSmithers was our driver and he wasput to some pretty challenging lowgear driving to match the speed of theparade and pushing his way throughthe palm trees in the mall area. Thetightness of the bends and concretecurbing were added problems but

nothing that Nick couldn’t get around.Dale was up top navigating and Allenwalked alongside handing outbrochures and occasional postcards tochildren.

We got good publicity for theTramways and Ferrymead from theevent and, after the parade, we didtrips for families around the Brightonarea, bringing in a bit of revenue forthe Society. We present here a photoof the double decker in the paradewith a bit of Christmas decoration onthe front. The crew were suitablyattired wearing their Santa hats.

Message from thepresident

To all membersand friends.D e c e m b e ralready, anotheryear has slippedby.

Last monthI mentioned theletter relating tothe “Land Deal”.

Well it seems to have gone quiet again.We will keep pursuing the matterwith the hope of a satisfactory

THS bus in Santa paradeALLEN HARBROW and some friends showed the THS flag

resolution early in the new year.Work on extending the traverser

pit is continuing and the first lot ofconcrete could be poured beforeChristmas.

It is intended to start the repairsto the earthquake damaged track in thevillage. This work will be lead by theHTT staff and assisted by THSvolunteers. Outside contractors will beused for specialist tasks. It is hoped tostart this project early in the new year.

The Society has received agenerous grant from the ChristchurchRotary Earthquake Charitable Trust tocomplete the concrete floor of Tram

Barn 3 so a huge thank you to them.I would like to personally thank

Mr and Mrs Beardsley of Brighton forthe generous donation of coke. Withclose down of the various coal gasproduction around the country thesupply of coke dried up. To continueoperating the Kitson steam tram wewill gratefully accept any we areoffered. Again a big thank you.

I would like to take thisopportunity to wish everyone a veryMerry Christmas and a Happy andprosperous New Year.Graeme BelworthyPresident

Letter to the editor

Ferrymead Tram Tracts, December 2012 3

ON 30 JULY LAST the Governmentannounced its final version of itsChristchurch Central Recovery Plan.This had been developed from theCentral City Plan as signed off andsubmitted by the City Council inDecember 2011. The transport chapter“An accessible city” was limited inscope and it was advised that a morecomprehensive transport plan was stillunder development and that it wouldfollow as the second “100 day plan”.While the Council’s plan had madesome mention of the city tramway,including a plan of the existing line andstage 1 of the extension, the July plan,as prepared by the Central CityDevelopment Unit of CERA (CCDU)was completely silent on the tram andsome of the key transport issues suchas the future of the one way streets.

In mid November CCDUpublished a revised and expandedtransport Chapter, and this version of“An accessible city” increased from 5pages to 20, plus a further 25 pages ofamended transport related rules.

This time there was mention ofthe tram, but far removed from theearlier CCC documents which spokeboldly of light and commuter rail andpossible links to the heritage tram.There is now no mention of rail as anoption for public transport forChristchurch, although it should benoted that this document does focus onjust the central city (i.e. within the fourAvenues) and not the wider city. Thetram gets a single brief paragraph onp. 14 but is not shown on any plans.

“Heritage tram“The Christchurch City Council willconsider repairing and reintroducing thepre-earthquake heritage tram system as avisitor attraction, as part of the reopeningand reconstruction of the central city’s keyattractions. Some of the destinations on thepreviously planned route have beendamaged due to the earthquakes, so the routemay need to be reviewed.”

Key features of the new plan arethe two-waying of Kilmore andSalisbury Streets, swapping Lichfieldone way east bound to Tuam Street, anda 30kph speed limit within a core area

of the CBD. Greater emphasis is alsogiven to cycling and pedestrians. Busroute changes include focussing onManchester Street rather than ColomboStreet as in the past, including streetwidening between Armagh andLichfield to allow for two central bus-

only lanes.The CCC when it established a

temporary bus exchange on the thenproposed new site (between Lichfieldand Tuam, west of Colombo) gavesome hint of the possible future byrenaming it “Central Station”. TheCCDU documents, which relocate itone block to the east and reduce it insize, refer to it as the “bus interchange”.

This smaller size site fits with thevery recent (3 December) changes tothe bus system introduced byEnvironment Canterbury which haseliminated many smaller direct busroutes into the central city, and has

Major public transport changes for Christchurch: CERA andECAN initiatives—but not a tram in sight!

DAVE HINMAN has the inside runningfocused on just seven routes with allother services linking into a series ofhubs and requiring change in bus forthose wanting to access the central city.

Its first new “high frequency”route, the “Blue line”, operates every15 minutes between Belfast andPrincess Margaret Hospital.

This is probably the biggestchange ever in the way the publictransport operation is organised inChristchurch as until now the largelyradial bus system continued to evolvefrom the early steam and horse tramand then electric tram network. It hasbeen introduced because of loss ofpatronage to the earthquake devastatedcentral city and the rapid growth ofsuburban centres includingemployment. Details of the changesand the reasons why ECan isintroducing them can be found at http://www.metroinfo.co.nz/news/Pages/Setting-a-new-direction-for-public-transport.aspx How successful thenew system will be in retaining andgrowing public transport patronagehas yet to be seen.

Having said that, the trunk route,spoke and hub system could form thebasis of conversion to light rail in thefuture with the Manchester Street buslanes providing a tram only right ofway very close to the heart of the CBD.

If anyone wishes to makecomments on the Accessible Citychapter it is open for public submissionuntil 1 February. Details, including theoption for on-line submissions can befound on the CCDU web site:http://ccdu.govt.nz/the-plan/an-accessible-cityhttp://ccdu.govt.nz/the-plan/an-accessible-city/comment-on-an-accessible-city


GOOD NEWS FROM the CityCouncil. At its meeting on 22November, the Council unanimouslyvoted to expedite repairs to the city’stram tracks, overhead system andtram shed so that tram operation canresume as soon as practicable. Costsare expected to approximate $1.6Mwith most of this being met byinsurance claims. This is just inrelation to the existing 2.6 km loop,with a report and decision on thepartially completed extensionsdeferred for the time being.

Some of the challenges includehaving to work around ongoingbuilding demolitions and quakerelated road and service repairs, withsome parts of the route not yetaccessible. Current no-go areasinclude Worcester Street outside theClarendon tower (demolition

proceeding), Victoria Square (Victoriaapartments to be demolished but nostart made as yet), New Regent Street(major repairs in progress), CathedralJunction (repairs in progress),Cathedral Square (containers on tramtracks along side cathedral). There area number of areas where the overheadwas attached to adjacent buildings,now gone and the preferred solutionin most cases will be to add additionalpermanent steel poles as it may be aconsiderable time before thedemolished building are replaced.CTL are keen to get back into the tramshed and to get under way withrepairing the restaurant tram, stillsitting the shed, but a damaged wallfirst needs to be made safe and CERAaccess negotiated. At this stage theearliest projected opening date is June2012, when Cathedral Junction is

scheduled to reopen.While no decision has been

made on generally resumingconstruction of the extension (stage 1almost completed) the Council hasagreed that the point work inCathedral Square and at OxfordTerrace joining the extended line tothe existing should go in now to avoidfuture disruptions to the tram service.It is expected that a further report onthe extension will go to the Councilin the new year, once the newtransport chapter of the ChristchurchCentral Recovery Plan (see article onthis elsewhere in this Tracts) has beensigned off by the Government.

The photos show the damage on twosites in Armagh Street where the track

has fractured.Photos: Dave Hinman

City tram repair gets go-aheadGlad tidings of great joy from DAVE HINMAN


Top: Containers on the track inCathedral Square.

Above left: Damaged wall in tram shed.Above: Severed overhead.

Left: Track subsidence in RollestonAvenue.

Photo: Dave Hinman

Photo: Dave HinmanPhoto: Dave Hinman

Photo: Joe Pickering


On 21 November acombined meeting washeld with the CRS folk.

We travelled to the township inTram 26 and joined the railwayfolk firstly for a visit to the CRSworkshops. Here we were able tosee progress on F13 “Peveril”. TheCRS spend a lot of time keepingtheir carriage fleet looking smartand we were able to see anotherrefurbishment under way, alongwith their latest wagon

restoration—a sheep wagon.A short walk took us over to

the National Railway Museum sitewhere the pit for the new turntablehas been dug. Screw piles have beenfitted and await final heightmeasurements to be taken before theconcrete work is undertaken. (As anaside our HTT folk are fitting thesleepers and rails to the turntable beforethese measurements are taken.)

A railcar ride followed in RM56. This was certainly a trip down

memory lane for a good many participants.Upon arrival at the Ferrymead station theopportunity was taken to visit the trambarns and to inspect progress. After a returnride in RM 56, a return trip in 26 was held.A return to the CRS workshops allowed usto participate in supper before we returnedaboard 26 and after a thoroughly enjoyablenight headed home.Below left: Members inspect the piles for the

turntable.Below: A ride on No 26.

Photos: Alan Roi

Successful combined CRS and THS eveningALAN ROI went along

Prize winner!Congratulations to craftsman Colin Loach who took first prize in the arts and crafts section of the Harvest Festival competitionat his local church with this superb model of a Brill and two double deck trailers. Colin says he was competing against sewing

and embroidery and reckons the only reason he won was that his entry was different. But we know better.

Photo: Colin Loach


Trolleybus 79’s cab nearly completeThese photos from JOHN ATKINSON

As part of the Labour Weekend eventthe Morris Owners’ Club visitedFerrymead. Their collection covers all

Photo: Alan Roi

eras and there were cars from the1930s upwards. Two of the oldest carswere posed with 210 trolleybus

(pictured) and looked really great.Their owners appreciated a chance tosee our collection of trolleybuses.

Morris Owners’ Club visits FerrymeadALAN ROI hosted them


and post: Barry Marchant, keeperof the mailing list, and Colin Loachand his wife Win andgranddaughter Evelyn. What ateam!

So from all of us, have a greatChristmas and we’ll be back inFebruary next year.

Joe PickeringEditor

TRACK. WE HAVE now extendedthe check rail at Church Corner whichwas the site of a recent derailment ofNo 1. Drivers have been required toensure the outside rail has beengreased but the extension of the checkrail will hopefully eliminate the riskof derailment at this point.

Thanks are due for the help givenby Murray and Larry over two daysand also to Peter Jenkinson from CRSwho sawed the rail for us. Grass cuttingis still in full swing—any volunteers?We hope to be progressing the trackdamage caused by earthquakes in theforeseeable future.

As previously reported we took delivery of bus 505. This vehicle is being dismantledfor spare parts with the scrap metal recycled being used to cover costs in the retrievalof the bus. Dave Carr has made a start and with help from other members has already

sent away a quantity of scrap. The photo shows Dave Carr and Dale Glendinningpulling things apart.

Trolleybus 210 has finally had all its windows refitted. 2 days work from theprofessionals at Instant Windscreens saw 210 once again completely glazed. It ishoped that we can organise the signwriting on this bus shortly. We hope then to

repair a suspension spring bus, do some other minor tidying including roofdownpipes and then 210 can be made operable again.

On the busesALAN ROI sent these photos

Ken’s track reportfrom track officer KENHENDERSON

Season’s Greetingsfrom page 1

Restoration of 24takes step forwardfrom the man in charge,STEPHEN TAYLORProgress on Hills Car 24 hasprogressed to the stage where the nextmajor step is to separate the bodyfrom the chassis. We are planning todo this early next year. But first weneed to make a more permanent homefor 24 as the work to going forwardsmeans it will not remain mobile as itcurrently is. So, the intention is to“swap” locations of 24 with 118. Butfirst we need to concrete the floor inthe area of the tram barn currentlyoccupied by 118 as this has never beendone. This will require a clean up alot of material (and rubbish) that hasbeen stored in that space. We arehoping this work will start beforeChristmas and be completed before 24makes its move.

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