Peak Tram Bridges

Submitted by Klaus on Mon, 12/17/2018 - 00:54

In the Journal from 1888 it is reported that there are eleven bridges on the Peak Tram. Two of them are over roads, and the rest over nullahs and gaps. In the beginning, two road bridges over the tram were built (Bowen Road, a bit later Macdonnell Road). In 1907, the May Road bridge was built, and in 1968, the Cotton Tree Drive bridge was added.

So, let’s start at the lower terminus.

Peak Tram Lower Terminus
Peak Tram Lower Terminus, by annelisec

 

Inside Lower Peak Tram Terminus
Inside Lower Peak Tram Terminus, by Klaus

Only a few meters after start the first bridge appears, it’s from 1968 and therefore the youngest:

Cotton Tree Drive bridge over Peak Tram [1968- ]

Peak Tramway - 1, Hong Kong, 1983
Peak Tramway - 1, Hong Kong, 1983, by Leroy W. Demery, Jr.

The next one is a tram bridge:
Peak Tram Bridge over Kennedy Road [1888- ]

Peak Tram Kennedy Road 1900's
Peak Tram Kennedy Road 1900's, by Billie Love Historical Collection

When Kennedy Road was widened in 1958, the bridge had to be rebuilt. The work was completed on 17 March 1959. 

Bridge over Kennedy Road 1991
Bridge over Kennedy Road 1991, by crc001

Next bridge uphill is the MacDonnell Road bridge over Peak Tram [c.1891- ]

Probably built in 1891 when construction of Macdonnell Road was finished.

山顶轻轨 Peak Tram 1910's
山顶轻轨 Peak Tram 1910's, by China Postcard

 

MacDonnell Road overpass
MacDonnell Road overpass, by Marcus Wong from Geelong

Next is Bowen Road / Magazine Gap Road bridge over Peak Tram [????- ].

This bridge was set up during construction of the Peak Tram. Different to others, this bridge has arches instead of straight sides. It was possibly built before the construction of Bowen Road was completed.

Peak Tram
Peak Tram, by Admin

In 1963, a second arch was added to the bridge when Magazine Gap Road was rebuilt to become the major access to the Peak from Central. This part of Bowen Road was then named Magazine Gap Road.

Magazine Gap Road bridge
Magazine Gap Road bridge, by ErebosSan

Next bridge uphill is May Road bridge over Peak Tram [1907- ].

This one was built in 1907 with the construction of May Road (extension of Conduit Road).

Peak Tramway
Peak Tramway, by Admin
May Road bridge
May Road bridge, by starbreez

After the steepest part and close to the upper terminus, the last bridge in connection with a road is the Peak Tram bridge over Barker Road [1888- ]. Originally, this was Plantation Road, after construction of Barker Road in 1896, the name was changed. The bridge seems to be unchanged for over 120 years.

The Peak-Barker Road tram station-1921
The Peak-Barker Road tram station-1921, by IDJ
Downhill tram passes Barkers Road
Downhill tram passes Barkers Road, by Marcus Wong from Geelong

Upper terminus is reached in less than a minute.

Peak Tram-early image
Peak Tram-early image, by IDJ
Peak Tram and Tower
Peak Tram and Tower, by Klaus

A journey over bridges and time is over.

 

I have added an additional photo of the Peak Tramway taken in 1889 looking up towards the half-way passing loop above the May Road bridge.

The link is here :

https://gwulo.com/media/47736

This photo of the Peak Tramway was taken in 1889 by Claude William Kinder C.M.G. (1852-1936) only one year after the tramway had first opened. The camera location is believed to be overlooking the track from the bridge across May Road* [see note below]. In the distance above the closer tramcar, it is possible to see the half-way passing loop for the other tramcar (also just visible). The photo can be dated positively to between March and  September in 1889 when Kinder, then serving as the Chief Engineer of Imperial Railways of North China, was taking his first period of home leave to England having served at the railway’s engineering works and also the Kaiping coal mines in Tangshan in N.E. China since 1878. ( Photo from the P. A. Crush Chinese Railway Collection courtesy of the Kinder family)  [Note: the camera location was in fact the Bowen Rd. bridge .Thanks to marlowe for clarifying this ]