Driver's View Melbourne Tram 58 Toorak to Kingsway Part 1

19 Minutes. Nearly all of this video shows street running so common in Melbourne with the odd instance of motorists assisting the tram, and the tram assisting motorists, even if each wishes the other did not exist! This run is possibly a little less delayed than the average daytime run.

[@willcoleman2014]

Thanks tressteleg1 - it’s great to ride this tram again after so many years away from Melbourne!

[@tressteleg1]

👍😊 Virtual ride?

[@pjd2709]

Love the tram ride, thank you for sharing! I am originally from Melbourne area and now been in the USA., for some now, so it's great to get reprogrammed as it's surprising how one forgets some places etc., I'm really glad that you and a couple of other drivers have been doing these video's, thanks again! It is amazing how much things have changed since I've been gone, but I guess that's progress! I am surprised that they don't ban some of the car parking on some of the major tram runs, as it would ease some of the congestion and make your jobs a bit easier....?

[@tressteleg1]

I used to be a driver but still chat to current drivers who help keep me up to date.

[@pjd2709]

@@tressteleg1 It doesn't take long to get out of the loop either! Thanks again.

[@tressteleg1]

PJ D 😊👍

[@Colin84609]

Greetings from the UK. Great video, very interesting and informative as are all the others you do. Thank you.

[@tressteleg1]

👍

[@tims7965]

I’ve just started to watch your videos. Well done. I really like them. Interesting you say why is there a Z tram on the 58. I remember reading somewhere that when the 8 became the 58 there would be more new low trams and no old trams. I catch the 58 nearly everyday and mostly see old Z trams. As much as I love the “retro” value of tham , they’re super cold in the winter and crazy hot in the summer. Keep up the great work. I especially love the train rides to places I haven’t been too. Thanks.

[@tressteleg1]

Welcome aboard. Normally Malvern supplies the D1 cars, Essendon the B class. I could not see if that Z was in service or just a transfer to Malvern from somewhere. The Zs do have fan heaters but maybe nobody cares if they don’t work,any more. Glad you like the trains as well. More of the 58 tomorrow.

[@TheFinalMinutes]

Really cool! This is my local route and nice to see it from the drivers perspective :) Toorak Rd is a nightmare at the best of times so kudos to the tram drivers who navigate it!

[@tressteleg1]

That’s good to hear. As chaotic as the 58 can be, Chapel St is considered the worst. Very early in the morning the running time is something like 22 minutes. At worst times it is double that, and at really bad times the timetable means nothing at all.

[@TheFinalMinutes]

Lol this is why I avoid the 78! It’s a shocker!

[@tressteleg1]

I covered the 78 earlier this year. By chance, it did not get a bad run that day, early afternoon Saturday.

[@johnhome5872]

From Perth great ride ✌️

[@tressteleg1]

Just a bit far for a tram ride 😊

[@slycat1939]

I like all your videos. ?Since they are making underground trains, will the trams still run? Will be looking forwarded to your next one. Keep the videos coming however you do them. They are great. Privacy is a must now a days and understanding the drivers point of view too. Your doing great the way you do them. Thanks for sharing. God bless.

[@tressteleg1]

Thanks for your very kind words. The underground rail has two purposes. One is to create another cross city line to take the pressure of the city loop. The other is to help cope with the extremely happy loadings to and from businesses along Saint Kilda Road. The trams so I very much wider area in the southern suburbs and so will remain, probably totally unchanged.

[@tressteleg1]

That escaped before editing. It should say extremely heavy loadings to and from businesses along Saint Kilda Road. The trams serve a very much wider area....

[@sharannadeeproyroy6211]

hope kolkata peoples and traffic police understand the importacy of trams and give it place to run #kolkatatrams

[@tressteleg1]

I hope so too but unfortunately the trend there seems to be close more and more lines.

[@user-pu8ty1ki6l]

That Toorak Road section is a great demonstration of all the worst bits of tramway design rolled into one. There's an excessive number of stops, on-street parking (mostly for residential as well), lack of clearways, stops right at intersections instead of being set back, right turns allowed but no hook turns, a lack of markings and poor viability around stops, it's bad design for both the trams and the cars. I'd give credit for one of the few direct train-tram interchanges in Melbourne, but I know from experience how dangerous that South Yarra interchange is with people over crowding onto a narrow footpath.

[@tressteleg1]

Well as cable trams started there in 1889, the cars are the invaders. Anytime there is a move to cut down on tram stops people complain. Local councils mostly control parking and often refuse to allow Clearways. The biggest hindrance to tram operation is hostile traffic lights which do nothing to help trams. The Gold Coast line is (mostly) an example of what can be done but there is no heart for that in Melbourne.

[@clivebanfield6254]

I do understand your problem. It's a great pity you can't get support for what amounts to great free promotion for the service. My thinking was that if you had the camera mounted it would make the video flow a lot more smoothly when you edit out any delays to your progress. Also, a cross dissolve or a very quick fade into and out of black would make the edits look a lot better. The cross dissolve for preference because in itself it conveys a passing of time. Well done!

[@tressteleg1]

I think that with the suction cup, the quality will be more like the rail driver’s view videos. Unfortunately I don’t think management appreciates what I am doing for them but such is life. I also have to take extreme steps sometimes to disguise the driver so that they cannot be traced. If their voice is heard anywhere, I silence that bit of the video and transpose sound from somewhere else along the ride. I did that at least half a dozen times in that video but you will need to be sharp to recognise them all.

[@twah72]

Woo hoo! Thanks mate 😎👍

[@tressteleg1]

Were you the guy who asked for this a few months ago? I probably would not have done this line otherwise but I am happy with the result.

[@twah72]

tressteleg1 yes mate, I sure am. Thanks again and looking forward to part 2 👍

[@tressteleg1]

All good. It will be a few weeks as I want some subjects that are not Melbourne in between.

[@twah72]

tressteleg1 all good mate, no rush.

[@luizaugustoramos2520]

I lived on the site of the former Sth Melbourne tram depot! In a building on Dorcas St, beside the ANZ building/BMW dealer

[@tressteleg1]

I used to be a South Melbourne tram driver but since the depot disappeared I have not been back to examine the site except when passing in a tram. You never heard any ghostly trams in the middle of the night, did you?

[@luizaugustoramos2520]

@@tressteleg1 No hahahahaha

[@melbournetrainspotting9740]

Thanks again tressteleg

[@tressteleg1]

😊

[@Mike-pf1ru]

They seem to move along faster in this video than when I’m stuck behind them on Toorak Rd on my way to work! Question: what’s the yellow tag with “cut” hanging off the overhead wire mean that you see around town?

[@tressteleg1]

It was well after the morning peak. If there is a lumpy thing on the overhead wire near the cut sign it is a section insulator where the driver must Coast to avoid a big flash.

[@Mike-pf1ru]

Thanks again!

[@tressteleg1]

Look for Single Deck Electric Trains Part 1 and Part 2 as well as Petersham Station 1984 in KZbin tressteleg1. Red rattler was a media insult used only for a couple of years. Fans call them Red Sets. There are also some Sounds Only videos of them and Taits.

[@Mike-pf1ru]

@@tressteleg1 I've see it. Nice one! The stretch of track between Petersham and Stanmore from the bridge if I remember correctly.

[@tressteleg1]

Yep. Looks like you are nicely switched on!

[@melbournetrainspotting9740]

But any way can you route 109

[@melbournetrainspotting9740]

The 58 is my route 🚈🚂🚆🚇🚅🚃🚋🚞🙂🌏

[@Mike-pf1ru]

You make me late for work!

[@melbournetrainspotting9740]

@@Mike-pf1ru sorry I didn't know

[@clivebanfield6254]

Nice video but would be a lot better if the camera was suction cup mounted to the inside of the front window.

[@tressteleg1]

Front window really freaks the drivers out now and they say no. I rapidly found that even discussing the matter of any camera work made them very edgy so they declined. My only option was to essentially do it without asking. That’s how bad it is there. You have no idea how much the management intimidates its staff. But I do now have a suction cup mount for use immediately behind the driver and that was later used most of the time, but for this trip I had to stand as still as I could and also move to let passengers in and out of the front door. I think part two has the suction cup in use. Wait and see.

[@ABCD-bl5rw]

Im curious why around the 2:00 mark the tram stopped? I am not from Melbourne, so sorry if the answer's obvious.

[@johnriley2721]

AB CD To pick up Passengers

[@tressteleg1]

Yes, you can clearly see 2 people on the footpath walk forward as the tram slows down.

[@tressteleg1]

I used to drive B class. You soon get to recognise who wants to get on and who does not. Just as the girl with grey slacks walks behind the pole you can see her put her arm out to signal the driver. I edited out the sound of the doors opening and closing 9 seconds later. If they were not getting on, the driver would quickly see that in the rear vision mirror and drive off much quicker. If they wanted to cross the road they would be standing up at the corner where the lights are. Take another look...

[@Zyxak]

@Alexander Dunn Both people are waiting at the rear of the tram stop, nowhere near the pedestrian crossing. It would be clear to any regular tram rider/driver that they are both waiting for a tram (if not this tram) and not waiting to cross the road.

[@tressteleg1]

True. Just as I said. I used to be a Melbourne Tram driver. Drivers soon learn to ‘mind read’ people loitering near a tram stop.

[@Mike-pf1ru]

What time of day was this recorded. Hard to tell by the overcast sky. Guessing mid afternoon? Also, are you the one who takes all the footage in your videos?

[@tressteleg1]

From memory it started around 10:30 on a weekday. A train driver or two take the train ones. I take the rest unless someone is named at the start as the cameraman. My first movies date from 1965.

[@Mike-pf1ru]

tressteleg1 Do you also do the videos on the red rattlers in Sydney or am I thinking of someone else?

[@Bobrogers99]

In heavy traffic, a motorist doesn't lose any time by being courteous and allowing a right-turn vehicle. For the first part of this route, I feel sorry for motorists who have few opportunities to pass a tram and must move at tram speed, making all those stops, for quite a distance. The cost of land-taking to widen the road would be prohibitive (and unpopular!)

[@tressteleg1]

True, courtesy costs nothing but still some motorists are thoughtless. E.g. those who queue across intersections. The inner part of this line opened with cable trams in 1889, so who is invading the street as the newcomer? 😊

[@melbournetrainspotting9740]

Did you know that tram at Chapel street the tram was d1 not a c1

[@tressteleg1]

Yes as another viewer pointed out. A Seniors Moment...

[@PhlanMichellePurss]

The woman at 0:30 looks like she might be on a mission! 😂😂😂

[@tressteleg1]

😊😊

[@sharannadeeproyroy6211]

whats its maximum speed

[@tressteleg1]

Trams there are governed to 60km/h but don’t often get the chance to go that fast.

[@ongie9736]

@@tressteleg1 ' +40 ... I live on Brighton Rd & the trams use to fly down that Street. and Nicholson Street Fitzroy.

[@tressteleg1]

If they are running late, some drivers will ‘have a go’ at catching up time 😊

[@alvingeng7733]

why they didn't build a platform in the middle of the road? that so dangerous....

[@tressteleg1]

At what location?

[@alvingeng7733]

Strat from Moonga Rd.

[@tressteleg1]

To put Central platforms would require lane closures which would not go over real well without widening the road, and the wealthy living along there would not permit the government to prune land off the front of their properties. And of course these platform stops cost a lot to build and there are probably much more deserving tram works to be done.

[@alvingeng7733]

that is a good point. last time，I came from adelaie to melbourne, i always afraid i wil crash when i cash the tram

[@tressteleg1]

Always look carefully that the traffic has stopped whenever you get on, and especially get off a tram. It is only people who don’t look who get whacked by the odd motorist who does not stop.

[@loudsubwoofer8492]

so people get on and off in the middle of the road? danger danger

[@tressteleg1]

That has been the case in Melbourne and many older world tramways for at least 130 years. While cars are supposed to stop, only fools get on and off without checking that it is safe to do so.

[@Mike-pf1ru]

Tram commuters know they can trust Melbourne drivers with their lives. They are the best in the world. We go for years at a time without so much as a single minor road incident. Ok, end of sarcasm!

[@tressteleg1]

If you do not make sure the cars have stopped before getting off, don’t expect my sympathy. Same with people who cross the road without looking as soon as the green man appears.

[@dallelassaad5883]

Melbourne got better trams system than Sydney