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| The Tram Restoration Group, as it was first known, was formed through the efforts of Marcus Hall. Marcus had retrieved the dilapidated shell of Tram 29 and had it moved to Westbury, then to Launceston with some financial assistance from the Launceston City Council. Finally, on 11 May 1995 Tram 29 was delivered back to its birthplace, the old Launceston Municipal Tramway depot and workshop (adjacent to the Inveresk railway site, since redeveloped into an educational and heritage precinct). The Launceston Tramway Museum Society was incorporated on 10 October 1995. Over the next few years Tram 29 was restored to full operation, and Trams 8, 14, and 26 were retrieved from ‘retirement’. In October 2008, the Society holds five of the 29 trams which operated in Launceston: Trams 1, 8, 23, 26 and 29. The reconstruction and restoration work is undertaken by between twelve and twenty volunteers at the old LMT depot at Inveresk, which closed in May 1932 due to being in an area that had been frequently flooded. Fortunately some of its original track and a maintenance pit are still in situ. With the 2004 construction of a new building as a display venue, the LTMS began the gradual transition from a purely restoration society to a museum exhibition facility. The new Museum building and its displays were officially opened on 23 September 2006. The new venue provides space to display two trams, the ‘Mary Street’ shelter, as well as room for smaller exhibitions around the edges. The new building also boasts toilet facilities, an inadequate object storage area, and a mezzanine containing a meeting room/volunteer's tea room, and a very small office. The LTMS is currently open to the public on Saturdays and at other times by appointment, when the restored Tram 29 is available to run on the Inveresk track. Opening hours are under review, with the intention to provide an extended service to the public in future. It is intended that the restored trams will run on an existing 3 foot 6 inch track within the Inveresk precinct. Other possible ventures could be a northern extension of the line to Heritage Forest, utilizing existing rail track from the precinct to the east and an extension along a redeveloped levee to the west. There is also considerable interest within the Society for a tourist service from Inveresk into the city. |
by Ian Kershaw - 19 October 2009