Adelaide Tram Museum at St. Kilda South Australia

Discipline and adherence to rules was a characteristic of the MTT. Positions were highly sought after and high status. By 1911 the trust employed 1,077 staff. Unions were very strong in the early 1900s. The MTT was heavily unionised and was not immune to industrial disputes. In the 1911/12 annual report the General Manager reported -

In addition to traffic staff, the MTT employed a supporting staff of coachbuilders, electricians, track and tram maintenance men and office workers.
A signalman controlled tram movements at junctions by setting track points from an elevated cabin, Victoria Square, c.1950s. MTT	Marshalls and Instructing Inspectors, Hackney Depot, 1909. MTT	Motorman and Conductor, 1910. The cuff bands saved wear and tear on the jacket sleeves. MTT
Traffic staff and band, Hackney Depot, 1910. MTT
Traffic staff on B type tram, Hackney Depot, 1909. MTT	Inspectorial staff at Hackney Depot, 1909. WGT Goodman front row 5th from left. MTT


Track maintenance was hard work, never-ending and costly. In 1951 the MTT spent £103,956 on track and overhead maintenance.
A breakdown in the overhead system was treated as an emergency. Tower wagon at the gallop, c.1912. MTT	Lorry-mounted tower wagon being used on maintenance work, Fullarton Road, Parkside, 1950s. JC Radcliffe Steam roller, south park lands, 1940s. MTT
Track replacement, Young Street, Kent Town, c. 1930s. JC Radcliffe collection


In the early 1900s Adelaide society was conservative and disciplined, with a proper sense of behaviour - and so was the MTT. As did the population generally, the MTT went to church, had musical evenings, played sport, went to the races (and took race horses to the races), picnicked, worked and played and helped Adelaidians do the same.	Race goers at Victoria Square queue to board trams to a race meeting at Morphettville. 1955. Keith Kings
The MTT’s fast, clean, reliable and flexible electric public transport system meant it was integral to Adelaide’s community life and engaged with the community in many ways. Facilitating major events The tramway system was a people mover par excellence for high attendance events and the MTT ran special services to cater for events such as races, football, The Royal Show and Proclamation Day. On Proclamation Day, December 28, 1931, fully loaded trams left Victoria Square every 54 seconds - between 9 am and 11am, 134 runs were dispatched. On Proclamation Day, 1936, 88,000 passengers were carried. The 1954 Queen’s visit was the MTT’s last major crowd shifting event.	Football crowd on City Bridge, 1910. MTT	Troops boarding a ‘drop centre’ at Adelaide Oval, 1944. Australian War Memorial


Corporate participation in civic events
When employees joined for service in both World Wars, the Trust undertook to make up the shortfall between the military and MTT pay rates. This greatly facilitated military recruitment. • The MTT band predated the SA Symphony Orchestra and was an important contributor to cultural life. • The MTT’s response to Second World War effort included. - Introduction of ‘coupled sets’ as a manpower saving. - Using ‘blue dipped’ light bulbs to reduce nighttime visibility, (but the flashes from ‘arcing’ couldn’t be avoided). - Trams to race meetings were stopped to save coal. - The workshops were engaged in making lathes, dies, axles and the like to maintain the heavy demand for the war effort and the MTT’s own stretched transport services.	Busy King William Street decorated for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York, 1927. MTT
	MTT staff and decorated lorry, First World War effort, Hackney. MTT
	MTT float for a procession celebrating 50 years of Federation, 1951. MTT

	A pay parade, lamp room, Hackney depot 1920s. MTT
Originally, tickets were printed for each line (top left) but were soon replaced with section tickets, each section being about one mile. Section numbers increased as lines got longer and denominations increased with inflation. Special tickets were used for passengers travelling within the City, on return services to Glenelg and Henley Beach and for those transferring from trams to connecting buses.