Trams, planes and more trams at Auckland’s transport museum

Here’s a confession that may surprise all those who call New Zealand home but live outside Auckland – I really like ‘Auks’.

Auckland (KA the City of Sails) remains ‘captive’ to geography.

It has three harbours, a suburban rail system that travels to three points of the compass, a coast-to-coast walk (16km) and a volcanic field (53 volcanoes, all extinct except for Rangitoto which is a 25-minute ferry trip from the CBD).

It’s also home to MOTAT (Museum of Transport Technology) – and a collection of historic aircraft and trams.

There are quite a few things I like about Auckland; MOTAT is one of them.

I recently went back to Auckland for a quick holiday but I had an advantage: I had spent a couple of years in the city a decade or so ago and I was able to come back up to speed with the layout quickly enough not to mention I still had my Auckland HOP public transport card (two of them actually).

MOTAT is nestled in the Western Springs Reserve, adjacent to a speedway, lake and zoo.

The museum is divided into two precincts: the aviation hall with its aircraft on Motion Road and the transport precinct on the main Great North Road.

TRAMS

Both precincts are linked by a historic tram service, passing by the zoo.

It is the aviation hall that draws me to MOTAT every time (being an aircraft buff). Entry to the hall is NZ$19 and that gets me access to both sites and a free transfer to the other precinct which is where the trams come in – literally!

They have volunteer conductors who will give you a ticket then punch it.

If the aircraft catch my attention, the trams do a bang-up job of running a close second.

The trams are full on ‘rattlers’ with timber benches and seat, powered by overhead electricity cables with the driver standing upfront. I was there for one Christmas Eve function and saw them lit up in decorative lights as well.

They are, simply, quite removed from Sydney’s version of light rail. Mind you, Sydney trams are a commercial service while Auckland’s trams are more a trip back in time complete with shining furnishings, timber interior and even restored period advertisements.

Starting and stopping presents a built of a jolt. These trams are the real deal and served around New Zealand all the way back to the turn of the 20^th century when the Titanic was barely a pipe dream.

The transport precinct, to my eyes, is a lesson in making the most of what you have.  And by that, I mean cramming a lot of stuff within specific land boundaries.

There is a replica rail station and a rotunda with a working model train diorama situated beneath it. There are trams workshops, a small historic village with church, a blacksmith forge, a vintage fire station and shopfronts and children’s play and learning space.

ADOPT-A-TRAM

MOTAT is trying to attract donations to keep seven historic trams going (one is a double-decker) with an adopt-a-tram campaign.

The trams have been running as far back as the 1890s (including a rare former NSW steam tram) and lasted in service well after WWII.

The museum says parts of the tramway are built on track nearly 100 years old and designed for trains. The museum has sourced parts from the Czech Republic and Melbourne, Australia hence the need for urgent repairs and replacements.

According to MOTAT’s director of Museum Experience, Sally Manuireva, “great progress” has been made in funding the tramway upgrade.

“We’re thrilled with the response to the Adopt a Tram campaign so far with hundreds of people stepping up to adopt a tram …. We are excited to share that we’re close to reaching our target (NZ $1million) and this is giving us the confidence to soon move forward with the first stage of the works,” she says.

More than 200,000 people take a ride on the tramway each year, according to MOTAT’s website, and there is a limited service that runs to Auckland’s viaduct during certain times (think of San Fran’s cable cars but on a smaller scale.)

There is a 38-strong group (ranging in age from 16 to 83 years) of volunteers helping to maintain a travel experience that would be a fantastic addition to the CBD of any city in any country.

Let there be more historic trams, I say.

MOTAT’S TRAM FLEET

There are 10 historic trams that carry passengers on the Western Springs Tramway.

• Three restored Auckland electric trams from 1902-1938;
• Three restored Wellington electric trams from 1906-1951;
• Three unrestored but maintained Melbourne trams (two from the 1940s and one from 1925);
• An 1891 ex-NSW steam tram that was sold to NZ in 1910;
• Six more NZ trams are in storage waiting restoration.

The writer travelled to Auckland at his own expense and on his time.