Mumbai: Kolkata tram parts help restore coach for display

The speed controller made of brass in the tram

Trams were taken off Mumbai's streets more than 50 years ago, but the chance to see and even sit inside one will soon be possible, when a restored version is displayed. Currently, the tram coach is getting finishing touches in a workshop in Rabale and will be set up at Bhatia Baug, next to CSMT in the first week of April. mid-day had first reported this on August 19, 2018, 'BMC to display 'tram' as citizens get ready to travel back in time'.

The most noticeable part of the restored tram is the speed controller made out of brass at one of the entrances of the structure. It was part of a tram that functioned in Kolkata between 1874 and 1907. The controller has a lever that can be turned to apply brakes or increase the speed of the tram, and the driver used a spanner as a key to operate the controller.

Two directions
Mumbai's trams were a little different from the Kolkata trams. For one, Kolkata trams operated in one direction and thus, had only one controller. However, Mumbai's trams could operate in both directions. Civic officials said that they will create a dummy of the original speed controller which will be set up at the other entrance of the tram carriage.

While A ward officials took up the initiative of restoring the tram, the research and design was prepared by Yatin Pimpale, a BEST official. The detailed drawings include several elements of the trams in Mumbai like ventilation louvres (window blinds), weather shed, advertisement boards, route indicators, headlights and destination boards. The tram will also have 16 two-seater benches with 'floating back rests.' "Since the trams in Mumbai operated in both directions, the back rests could simply be flipped once they completed a ride," said an official.

A civic official on the restoration team said that the body of the tram coach that was stored at Anik Depot when it was brought from Kolkata in 1993 was made of teak wood. However, as it was stored outdoors for several decades, the wood rotted. "We have made the body out of aluminium and the flooring will beof marine plywood and have a wooden finish for an authentic look," said an official.

Inside or out
The tram coach, which is around 3 metres high, 8.75 metres long and 2.2 metres wide, took a couple of months of work and cost around R28 lakh. Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of A ward said that once it is assembled at Bhatia Baug, LED screens will be set up inside the tram, which will display historical information about trams in Mumbai. The decision to allow people to sit inside the tram, however, is still under consideration.

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