Motat launches million-dollar appeal to keep heritage trams rolling

The Museum of Transport and Technology (Motat) is allowing New Zealanders to adopt one of its seven heritage trams to help keep them on the tracks at Western Springs.

The Adopt a Tram campaign officially opens on October 10. Donations are set in four tiers, starting from $25, with all donors receiving an adoption certificate and a spot on the digital supporters’ wall. One tram can be adopted per transaction.

James Duncan aboard Tram 11, which is New Zealand’s oldest running electric tram. Photo / Alyse Wright

Motat’s tram project co-ordinator James Duncan is one of the longest-serving volunteers at the museum, having worked there since he was 15. He now looks after the track and the overhead wire infrastructure of the tramway.

“This tram line was never envisioned to be as it is today. It was supposed to be just a nice quiet museum tramway, but we’ve now become a vital link between our two museum sites and the Auckland Zoo,” he told the Herald.

They are now the No 1 attraction at Motat and cross the 2km track every 12 minutes, 24 times a day.

The trams have been running for more than 40 years. Some parts of the track are over a century old and made out of redundant street tracks and old railway lines.

Motat’s $1 million fundraising goal will go towards the essential upgrades needed for these tracks. Without the upgrade sections of the track face being shut.

James Duncan is one of the longest-serving volunteers at Motat, having worked there since he was 15. Photo / Alyse Wright

Each of the seven heritage trams available for adoption has a unique history and will be available to view and ride on October 20 at the museum’s 60th-anniversary Live Day.

Tram 47, the restored 1906 Wellington double-decker tram, is the last survivor of its kind. It’s a favourite for many including Duncan. His other favourite is Tram 11, New Zealand’s oldest running electric tram and the first Auckland tram built in Britain and reassembled in the Ponsonby depot.

The trams are free to use, so for those who can’t afford to donate, Duncan said the most important thing “is to keep coming here and have a tram ride”.

Boosting the numbers and proving they are popular all goes to help keep one of Auckland’s rail legacies alive.

To get involved with the Adopt a Tram campaign and to find out more about the history of each tram, visit https://www.motat.nz/Adopt-A-Tram/

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