Author(s): Christopher Cameron

Railway & Trains

In this new book published by the Museum of Transport and Technology Society, you will learn of the incredible saga and near failures that the Baldwin Steam Tram No100 endured on its travels from Philadelphia, USA to New Zealand via Australia. This certainly is a Wonderful Story of the tram's trial, tribulations and successes over 131 years. For some 40 years, the tram successfully served the communities of Sydney, Rockdale and Wanganui. After spending another 30 years either in storage or awaiting the scrappers torch, in 1958 it was purchased by two tramway volunteers who donated it to the Old Time Transport Preservation League (OTTPL). The OTTPL who arranged for the tram's storage in Auckland, was one of the forerunners of Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). Meticulous record keeping by people who have been involved in its life, particularly tramway historians and specialist museum restoration volunteers, has enabled this book to be written. It follows the tram's life in detail, from its construction in 1891, to the Western Springs Tramway, some 131 years later, where it now happily runs.