According to the Hong Kong Tramways website, the enclosed double-decker trams came into service in the 1930s and replaced the former double- decker canvas roof types.
Thanks Moddsey - I should have thought of the tramways website as a place to find out about trams! Must be having a senior moment.
There's a lot of info there. Though it's a pity they don't say when older generations of trams were finally phased out, as that would help us with pinpointing dates. Also on their timeline page for the 1920s there is this entry for 1925:
Newly designed tramcars with fully enclosed upper-deck were in service. The new tramcars were improved further by giving more rooms for the passengers. The upper deck carried first class passengers while the lower deck carried the third class passengers.
Which conflicts with their 'Generations' page, which says:
Fourth-generation tram was designed with enclosed upper-deck which has been in use since 1930s (prototype of the present fleet)
Anyhow, I think we can say the above photo is likely to have been taken in the 1930s.
The photo could have been taken in 1953 as stated by the reader who uploaded it. I remember seeing these trams and have taken a ride in them. On one rainy day ride, there were tarps around the upper deck which presumably were unrolled from the roof; and still some rain water got in because of the high wind. I would place these memories around the late 1940s.
The figures of the official website is room for improvement as it sourced wrongly. The date for enclosed double decker is 1925. The pictured date is possibly 1925 onwards as the wooden-roof cars still running. Also trams still have not got the sided destination screen until 1927.
With reference to my new edition "Hong Kong Tramways', open-top cars were progressively fitted with canvas roofs from 1913 and some with wooden roofs from 1923. Trams were fully enlcosed from 1925 onwards. Hence, it's less possible to figure out the exact date of the last service on earlier trams.
Comments
Date for this photo?
The person who uploaded this photo to flickr dates it to 1953, but it looks older to me.
One reference I can see is that the second tram in the photo still has the open top deck. Does anyone know when the top decks were all enclosed?
Re: Date of photo
According to the Hong Kong Tramways website, the enclosed double-decker trams came into service in the 1930s and replaced the former double- decker canvas roof types.
More photos: http://www.hktramways.com/en/museum/index.html
Re: Date of photo
Thanks Moddsey - I should have thought of the tramways website as a place to find out about trams! Must be having a senior moment.
There's a lot of info there. Though it's a pity they don't say when older generations of trams were finally phased out, as that would help us with pinpointing dates. Also on their timeline page for the 1920s there is this entry for 1925:
Newly designed tramcars with fully enclosed upper-deck were in service. The new tramcars were improved further by giving more rooms for the passengers. The upper deck carried first class passengers while the lower deck carried the third class passengers.
Which conflicts with their 'Generations' page, which says:
Fourth-generation tram was designed with enclosed upper-deck which has been in use since 1930s (prototype of the present fleet)
Anyhow, I think we can say the above photo is likely to have been taken in the 1930s.
Canvas-covered tram
The photo could have been taken in 1953 as stated by the reader who uploaded it. I remember seeing these trams and have taken a ride in them. On one rainy day ride, there were tarps around the upper deck which presumably were unrolled from the roof; and still some rain water got in because of the high wind. I would place these memories around the late 1940s.
re: Canvas-covered tram
Thanks Oldtimer, I thought they'd have all been replaced by the enclosed trams quite quickly, so it's good to get your correction.
Re: Canvas-covered tram
From the 1920s.
I've changed the date from
I've changed the date from 1953 to 1925, based on the appearance of the trams, see:
http://gwulo.com/node/19084
Regards, David
Date
The figures of the official website is room for improvement as it sourced wrongly. The date for enclosed double decker is 1925. The pictured date is possibly 1925 onwards as the wooden-roof cars still running. Also trams still have not got the sided destination screen until 1927.
With reference to my new edition "Hong Kong Tramways', open-top cars were progressively fitted with canvas roofs from 1913 and some with wooden roofs from 1923. Trams were fully enlcosed from 1925 onwards. Hence, it's less possible to figure out the exact date of the last service on earlier trams.
Regards, Joseph
website hk trams
History of HK Tramways is now found here.