This is a series of ‘then and now’ photographs of trams and tramways that I published in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic had just started, I was working from home instead of in an office, and the state government was mandating various restrictions of movement. However leaving home for exercise was always allowed, so each of these tram-related photographs I took involved a walk or a bike ride to get to the destination.
This week’s photo comes to from Broadmeadow. The grand building in the background was the Broadway Hotel. It opened in 1924 and was severely damaged in the 1989 earthquake and demolished soon after.
After a rain delay this week, Time Tram Twin is back. Today is from Bridge St Waratah (near Lorna St), which was the terminus of the Waratah tram line. The building on the left was the Deaf and Dumb Institution, and is now the Bethel Aged Care Facility.
One thing I’m really noticing with this series of tram photo pairings is how many more trees there are in the city in 2020 compared with 1950.
Today’s post comes from Dan Rees St, Wallsend. From 1910 the tram line was extended out from this point to West Wallsend, but the extension was closed in November 1930. At the time this photo was taken (1940s) this was the tram terminus in Wallsend.
Old tram photo from the University of Newcastle, Living Histories.
Today’s post comes from Hobart Rd New Lambton. At this point in the road there used to be an overhead railway bridge for the rail line to the Lambton Colliery.
What’s interesting about this old photo is there is the tram line has what’s known as a “gauntlet track”. The tram line was a dual track (inbound/outbound), but in order to get through the narrow gap under the rail bridge the two tracks, while not connecting, interleave with each other. To avoid collisions, tram drivers had to collect a wooden staff from a signalling box at the site and only proceed through the gauntlet section if they had possession of the staff.
Old tram photo from the University of Newcastle, Living Histories.
Today’s post shows Howe St Lambton on 23 April 1949, and 20 April 2020. It’s interesting to note that the same garage is there 71 years later, minus the pitched roof.
This morning I snapped this photo near the Jesmond Grove aged care home. The Wallsend tram line used to curve through what is now a grass lawn. What’s interesting about this location is there’s a parchmark to be found.
A parchmark is where under the right climatic circumstances, the drying out of vegetation can reveal structures under the surface when viewed in an aerial photograph. So the October 2014 image from Google Earth shows a clear curved line of the former tram line.
