Tracks By the Swan: The Electric Tram and Trolley Bus Era of Perth, Western Australia (PETS-01)

Product No.: PETS-01

Title: Tracks By the Swan: The Electric Tram and Trolley Bus Era of Perth, Western Australia

Author(s): Cukpeffer-Cooke, Tony; Gunzberg, Adrian & Pleydell, Ian
Illustrator(s): N/A
Publisher: Perth Electric Tramway Society
ISBN: 9780980757705

Condition: New

Binding: Hard Cover
Dust Jacket: Yes
Edition: 1st Edition
Publication Year: 2010

Features: 312 Pages with Colour & Black/White Photos.

This book follows the rise, heyday and decline of electric street transport in Perth, to an ever-changing backdrop of the city and its people. The text traces the social, political and technical history of Perth's trams and trolley buses; including early tramway proposals from 1885, the introduction and spread of trolley buses and the eventual closure.

There are details and photographs of all routes, with opening and closure dates. Extensively illustrated, including drawings and photographs of the main types of Perth trams and trolley buses, the development of tram liveries and the Nachod system. With personal contributions from people who worked in and travelled on the tramways. Electric trams were the latest in modern technology when they came to Perth at the end of the nineteenth century.

The small town on the banks of the Swan River had been boosted economically by recent gold discoveries in Western Australia and, in an era where private transport was limited, the trams were essential to link the expanding suburbs with the commercial centre. Electric trolley buses were introduced in 1933 as a perceived modern extension of the trams, and this system rapidly expanded into the 1950s. In their heyday the trams and trolley buses served a large proportion of the developed Perth area, providing vital transport for work and leisure and carrying over one million passengers per week. Seller Inventory # PETS-01