Wombat Creek Tramways

The signal box is operational. Only signage is missing. To the left is the ladies’ toilets. Mr. James is on his way to relieve himself in the gentlemen’s’ toilet to the left. The position of this toilet made the job upstairs quite unbearable. The stench of urine in the real world signal box was quite strong despite the ‘stink pipe’ going through the signal box. Daisy and Matilda are gossiping on the bench in front of the building.

The access to the signal box is via the steps on the side of the building. ‘Health and Safety’ wasn’t around in the early 1900. I have included a mid 1930’s photo from the website Trams Down Under (www.tdu.to).

Apart from the stench the inspectors’ job must have been very warm on hot summer days. Awnings were not put on the building until later. The door under the signal box leads into a room for all the ‘mechanics’.

Sunday was a rainy day in Wombat Creek (and Melbourne), but the builders managed to get a roof on the signal box and toilets.

Better get a roof up before the winter rains set in. We can’t have a wet inspector in the signal box!

Windows and a ‘boxy’ structure added to this heritage listed building from Melbourne’s CBD.

This rather unusual structure of a building will, when finished, be very important for the tramways running trams to and from the explosives factory. As seen on the photo the workers has got the walls up and the doors installed. The building is situated in a very tight spot. The footpaths around the building will need to be widened,

In 1962 ten Mr. Whippy ice cream vans were imported to Sydney from England. They were an instant success, and rumours of the vans soon reached Wombat Creek and Mr Di Mascio. With a talent for business and a love of Italian Gelati Mr Di Mascio went to Melbourne and bought an Oxford ice cream van. Back home in Wombat Creek Mr Di Mascio took the vehicle apart, cut out the middle window on one side and installed posters of various ice creams behind the other windows.* Realising a middle-age balding man probably wouldn’t attract a lot of customers he place himself in the driver’s seat and engaged his better looking daughter as the ice cream seller. Judging by the length of the queue the business concept seems to be right – or the ice creams simply too good!

* Of course Mr Di Mascio didn’t take the van apart. He is a fictional figure in fictional Wombat Creek. I did the altering myself!

After a couple of months working at the mine railway I got time to do some work at the Tramways. A new shelter (stop) has been erected opposite the terraced houses in the Golden Mile. The shelter is inspired by a heritage listed shelter in Kew, Melbourne. The original cast iron tram shelter was designed by the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust and erected in 1916/17.

Tram shelter ver. 1.0 was scrapped being too tall and too narrow, but I think this one has the right proportions/dimensions. I even got the ‘wonky’ benches in place.