Types of Trams: Four Motor Cars. Officially referred to as drop centre saloon cars, or four motor cars, they were popularly referred to as 400s, FMs or silver bullets. They were the first class of trams built in Brisbane with airbrakes. 155 were constructed by the Brisbane City Council between 1938 and 1964, with a maximum carrying capacity of 110 passengers. Trams 400–472 were built with wide centre doors, 407 was altered to narrow centre doors and renumbered 473 (and the tram to be numbered 473 entered service as 407), trams 474–554 built with narrow centre doors. Through the 28 years during which they were built, many innovations were introduced, such as fluorescent lighting, helical gears, resilient wheels, remote controlled controllers and streamlined construction techniques. Early versions had canvas blinds in the doorways, while later versions had sliding doors. Admin Note: The big advantage these Trams had was their four motor design. Each axle was driven therefore much better traction in all conditions. Image 1. Four Motor (FM) 524 Cavendish Road in 1954. Courtesy Noel Reed. Image 2. Brisbane Four Motor Tram 1938. Courtesy State Library of Queensland. Image 3. Four Motor Tram 400 undergoing restoration at the Brisbane Tramway Museum. Bogies removed. 28/09/2014. Courtesy Paul Campbell. Image 4. Bogies removed from FM Tram 400. You can see each axle has its own motor, thus 4 motors per tram. This give ideal traction. 28/09/2014. Courtesy Paul Campbell. Image 5. FM Tram at the Brisbane Tramway Museum. 14/09/2014 Courtesy Paul Campbell. Image 6. Interior photograph of FM Tram at Brisbane Tramway Museum. 14/09/2014. Courtesy Paul Campbell
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 02:31:12 +0000
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