Types of Trams: Brills. Brills - Courtesy Wikipedia These 20 cars were officially bogie open tip-over cross-bench cars. They were a standard design tram built by J. G. Brill and Company of Philadelphia, although two were built by the Brisbane Tramways Company, presumably under licence from the Brill Company. They each had 4 fixed back-to-back benches and 8 tip-over benches. The first 8 had clerestory roofs, the remainder had plain roofs. The first 8 were also fitted with couplings for trailers, but the trailers were eventually motorised (see light twelve bench cars below.) As these trams only had hand brakes, operating a coupled set was physically demanding on drivers. In later years these workhorses were very dilapidated and had diagonal cross bracing on each bulkhead to reduce body sway. One tram was involved in a bad accident in 1944 and was converted to centre aisle design (see Special Dreadnoughts). They were gradually withdrawn from service between 1937 and 1952. Light Twelve Bench Cars. These eight cars were originally built as trailers between 1901 and 1903, but were motorised in 1912. They had 12 fixed back-to-back benches and could carry 66 passengers. They were all withdrawn from service between 1948 and 1951. Stepless Car. Known as big Lizzie, also sometimes referred to as a New York type tram, tram 301 was intended to be the first of a fleet of inter-urban trams. It was built by J. G. Brill and Company in 1912 and imported in 1914. It was unusual for a Brill stepless car in that it was partially made of timber, rather than the normal all-metal construction. It was the first fully enclosed tram in Brisbane. Heavy and troubled by poor road clearance, it usually only saw service on the West End – Ascot line and was withdrawn from service in 1935. Image 1. Brill at the Toowong terminus – note the trailer coupling at the front of the tram. Courtesy State Library of Queensland. Image 2 & 3. Brill Stepless Car 301 Big Lizzie Courtesy State Library of Queensland.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 00:19:24 +0000
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