North Fitzroy tram depot explained

-37.7815°N 144.9783°W

Location:Nicholson Street, North Fitzroy
Opened:1956
Closed:18 December 1993
Owner:VicTrack
Operator:Public Transport Corporation
Roads:4 (2 inside, 2 outside)

North Fitzroy tram depot was a depot on the Melbourne tram network. Located on Nicholson Street, North Fitzroy, it opened in 1956 when the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board converted part of its North Fitzroy bus depot for tramway operation when the Bourke Street to Brunswick East line reopened.[1] [2] [3] In 1976 it became a sub-unit of East Preston depot. It was the smallest tram depot in Melbourne.[4]

With the impending takeover of the Public Transport Corporation's bus services from the depot by the National Bus Company, it closed on 18 December 1993 with the remaining 10 trams that operated on route 96 reallocated to South Melbourne.[5] [6]

It briefly reopened in 2008/09 to stable W class trams used on the City Circle while Southbank depot was undergoing refurbishment. In 2020 the tracks leading to the depot were disconnected during works along Nicholson Street.[7]

Immediately to the south is a Public Transport Victoria bus depot, operated since 2022 by Kinetic Melbourne.

Notes and References

  1. "60 Years of the M&MTB" Trolley Wire issue 187 April 1980 page 3
  2. "Melbourne's Electric Trams" Trolley Wire issue 307 November 2006 page 11
  3. http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/ecohist/ecohist7.htm Fares please! An economic history of the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board
  4. "City Section" Trolley Wire issue 165 August 1976 page 28
  5. "Melbourne - Other Services" Trolley Wire issue 255 November 1993 page 11
  6. "Closure of North Fitzroy Tram Depot" Trolley Wire issue 256 February 1994 pages 24/25
  7. Web site: The recently severed connection to North Fitzroy depot on the route 96 in Nicholson Street . Vicsig . 26 January 2020.