Camberwell tram depot
Camberwell tram depot is located on Council Street, Hawthorn East, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Opened in December 1929, it is operated by Yarra Trams. It is one of eight tram depots on the Melbourne tram network.
History
The electric tram line from Batman Avenue in the city to Warrigal Road along Riversdale Road opened in 1917, built by the Hawthorn Tramways Trust. The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board took over the line in 1920, and in 1928, extended the line a further two kilometres to Wattle Park. With the increase in suburban development and tram use, in July 1928, the Board approved the acquisition of a number of properties on Camberwell Road, west of Camberwell Junction, in preparation for the construction of a new tram depot. A tender for £31,990 to construct the depot was accepted on 1 November 1928 by the MMTB, with the depot opening in December 1929. It was designed by the Board's chief architect, Alan G Monsborough in a restrained Georgian style. The opening of Camberwell depot ushered in a multitude of operational changes in the eastern part of the tram network, including extended hours of tramway operation. The routes using the depot eventually became primarily the Route 70 and 75.Traffic lights were installed on Riversdale Road, at the entrance to Camberwell depot in 1948, to increase safety. The traffic lights were in response to a large number of near misses, and were activated by trams.
When the Public Transport Corporation was privatised in August 1999, Camberwell depot passed to Yarra Trams.