Quite a few years ago I bought one of the (in-)famous Atlas tram editions. Unfortunate – perhaps because I didn’t do a proper research first – the model of a steam tram from Bern, Switzerland is narrow gauge. Fortunately it can be re-gauged to standard gauge even the model needs some alterations to resemble an Australian steam tram.
The trailer was deemed to be of no use, but a friend from the Melbourne Tram Museum provided photos of the steam trams in Bendigo. They only operated for a short period between 1892 and 1902. The trailers were of slightly various designs but all more or less like the one from Bern. The Bendigo trailers had either 8 windows and platforms with open sides or 6 windows with enclosed platforms. The Wombat Creek Tramways went for a ‘consolidated’ version. So instead of being scrapped it underwent a minor rebuild. The platforms got solid sides and longitudinal benches and the bogies got wheels from a W class tram.
