For the next few weeks of our worldwide tram series we will be “down under” as we head to somewhere which will keep even the most picky of tram enthusiasts interested – Melbourne.
Melbourne is a city who have truly committed to trams with 250km of double track and a fleet of around 500 trams in operation of seven main different types including the three main types of tram constructed in recent years around the world – Citadis, Combino and Flexity.
In this first photo we see B class tram 2087 at the Flinders Street/Spencer Street with a service on route 75 to Docklands. This nearly 23km route starts off from Vermonth South Shopping Centre and travels via Burwood, Camberwell, Hawthorn, Richmond and the city. It is also one of the routes which operates overnight on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
As for the tram the B class trams were first introduced in 1984 (the two prototype B1 class) with the main production series (B2) following from 1987. Upon their introduction they were the first articulated trams to run in Melbourne and were built by Comeng (who later became part of ABB). The B2 class remain still all available for service.
2087 was captured on camera on 2nd February 2020.
Photograph by David Maxwell