Invercargill Tramway No.15 by junge1
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
No.15 is a Birney Tram built by J.G. Brill & Co. in Philadelphia, USA in 1921. Nine Birneys were imported into New Zealand, 6 for Invercargill and 3 for New Plymouth. Birney No. 15 commenced operation in the streets of Invercargill on 20 December 1921.
After more than 30 years of faithful service, Birney No. 15 was the last tram to South Invercargill on 31 May 1952, the most southern tramway in the world. Vandalized by souvenir hunters, this was its last run and it did not survive to see the final Invercargill closure a few months later on 10 September 1952. In their day these trams were state of the art.
After being written off, the Invercargill tram bodies were sold off for reuse as sheds and sleep outs, Number 15 found her way to a farm at Waimatukuto, to the west of Invercargill, where she became a sleep out for a family with a temporary housing shortage.
Number 15 was acquired by THS in 2010 and is now fully restored and provides sightseeing service , along with tram No.178 in Christchurch.
This picture was taken on 11 June 2017, Sig...

Comments (11)
Such good news that it was restored!
Lovely light in this photo.
Excellent - too many tram systems were destroyed. Splendid livery!
Cool, great capture!
nice to know that it was saved and put back into service - great capture
Gorgeous light!
That looks like it would be a lot of fun to ride.
There's a similar one running regular service on Market Street, San Francisco. They started with several tourist trams, but they are now in regular service. Shows how peoples attitudes change with time! This is a great shot of this oldie but goodie! Keep up the good work! :-)
Very interesting story. I like these old tramways too :-) Great capture : the golden light is wonderful !
great looking tram and capture. they run similar trams here in Dallas
Superb capture my friend. God bless.
how interesting and delightful tram in warm golden sunlight 😃