ERRS has been busy this off-season doing routine maintenance on all of our cars, including Melbourne 930.
930 is our largest car on the High Level Bridge line, and carried around 70% of the 60,000 passengers we served on the bridge in 2023.
Melbourne 930 is a W6 class tram from Melbourne, Australia. Built in 1947 and in service in Melbourne until 1998, 930 is a refined variant of the standard W-class tram that first went in to production in 1923. 930 is more modern than our wooden Edmonton cars (namely Edmonton 33), with partial steel construction, a relay-based controller system, and an elaborate air-operated door system. These features make 930 a smooth and easy car to drive, but maintenance can be more complex than on our simpler, older cars.
The current projects include repairing cosmetic dents around the body, reconstructing both sign boxes (these are wooden, and very prone to leaks and rot), replacing the windows with safety glass, and servicing the air system.
Work on the body and sign boxes has been going for a few weeks now, and is progressing methodically to ensure those areas will last once they are complete. We've had issues with the roof of 930 for years, the sign boxes being a key issue area. Under the car, we rebuilt a leaking valvebody tied to the main air system.
Work on the door system started with a routine servicing of the motorman's door controls, rebuilding the air-powered windshield wiper motor, and inspection of the air-powered 'door engines'. These door engines are specialized pistons that both open and close the doors, and hold them shut when the car is running. Keeping these in tip-top shape is important for keeping the car safe for passengers!
All of the maintenance work happening on 930 is being completed by dedicated volunteers. We hope to have 930 ship-shape and ready to run early summer 2024, if not the start of operating season.
