“Hold on while rounding the curve”

The Melbourne cable tramway system was a cable pulled tram public transport system that operated between 1885 and 1940.

By the 1890s cable trams crisscrossed suburban Melbourne, including carrying workers, day-trippers and holidaymakers to South Melbourne from the city through what is now Southbank.

This line was a key part of the city’s early tram network, which was the largest cable tram network in the world operated by a single company.

The construction of the cable tramway required the excavation to a depth of nearly four feet (1.2m), plus tunnels to carry and house the cables and maintenance teams who lubricated pulleys, sheaves and the cable pick-up mechanism.

There were 11 engine houses across the network, including one in City Rd in South Melbourne. They supplied the power to run the cables, which needed constant repair by skilled teams of tradesmen.

Trams operated by being connected to cables laid beneath the road with the connection from the tram being operated by a motorman or driver. The front section of the tram was called the dummy (roofed but not enclosed). This is where the driver (or gripman) stood to control the tram. The second section was like a trailer, called the saloon or the car, enclosed with windows and seating 22 passengers.

A cable tram’s crew consisted of a driver, or “gripman”, and conductor. The gripman’s job was skilful, as he had to learn how to pick up and release the cable without sudden jerks.

Regulations also required gripmen to give warning by calling, “Hold on while rounding the curve!” Gripmen were mostly big men with powerful shoulders as it required physical strength to pull and release the grip and brake levers.

The tram was under the control of the conductor and could not move without his signal. They were not to allow themselves to get angry, nor enter into any altercation, nor use uncivil language, even under the greatest provocation.

But there were occasional episodes of violence, such as the gunfight in 1936 between P.C James Cairns (later the Federal Treasurer) and an armed criminal called Bill Cody.

The network was replaced by electric trams by 1940. Some cable houses were demolished, whilst others have been preserved. But that’s another story! •