Restoration of heritage Hobart trams – As mentioned above, a key goal of the Society is the restoration of heritage tram 116, to full operating condition. We also plan to restore other heritage trams available to us, including the older tram 120 (built in 1936) and possibly also tram 136 (built in 1949). Some of the few other remaining heritage tram bodies may become available in future years.
Provision of a specialised Men's Shed facility – Just as important as the end-point of restored trams will be the journey in achieving that goal. We perceive the process as taking place in a 'men’s shed' kind of environment (open of course to interested ladies as well!) where a wide range of volunteers, skilled and unskilled, can join the Society and share in the learning, the pride, the satisfaction and the camaraderie arising from the restoration work. The restoration of just one tram generally takes a number of years, so work of this nature is likely to be ongoing for some time.
Offering a tourist heritage tram service – Once we have trams restored to full operational condition, it is our hope to see them operating on selected tourist routes within the city. Our initial objective is to participate in a service along the now disused rail line to the Botanical Gardens and Cornelian Bay. Ideally, this service should one day be extended across the waterfront to Mawson Place or the Elizabeth–Morrison Streets intersection, to facilitate access to the CBD and the Salamanca precinct. A further extension could be a branch line from there to the North Hobart restaurant and entertainment district, via Elizabeth Street.
Establishing a tram museum, workshop and storage facility – Central to these plans will be a depot—ideally in the Macquarie Point vicinity—that will serve as the node for the tourist services, as a tram storage facility, as a restoration and maintenance workshop, and as a museum for Hobart tram-related memorabilia, artefacts, history and static tram displays. This multi-purpose depot facility would of course be where the ‘men’s shed’ tram restoration work would take place.
