BRUNSWICK WEST TRAMWAY SUBSTATION INCLUDING PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
196A DAWSON STREET BRUNSWICK WEST, MORELAND CITY

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Statement of Significance
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BRUNSWICK WEST TRAMWAY SUBSTATION INCLUDING PLANT AND EQUIPMENT - History
Electrification of Melbourne's Tramways
Between 1885 and 1891 the Melbourne Tramway Trust (MTT), comprising eleven municipalities, constructed the world's largest united cable tramway system, which was leased to the Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company (MT&OCo) for operation until 1916. The MTT also constructed two horse tramways in conjunction with its cable lines, three other horse lines were constructed by private companies, and the MT&OCo built its own horse tramway through Royal Park. A privately constructed cable tramway was operated through Northcote. During the world-wide era of experimentation with electric traction for tramways in the 1880s, a pioneer electric line operated between Box Hill and Doncaster from 1889 until 1896.
During 1906 the Victorian Railways opened an Electric Street Railway from St Kilda to Brighton, and an English company built electric tramways through Essendon and Flemington in conjunction with its lighting and power operations. Local councils immediately saw the advantages of electric tramways and five municipal tramway trusts (Prahran & Malvern Tramway Trust, Hawthorn Tramway Trust, Melbourne Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust, Fitzroy, Northcote and Preston Tramway Trust and the Footscray Tramway Trust) constructed them over the following decade.
A Royal Commission in 1910-11 recommended that the cabletrams be converted for electric operation, and in 1916 an interim Tramway Board was established to operate the cable tramway system and the Royal Park horse tramway pending establishment of a body to integrate and operate the majority of Melbourne's tramways. The advantages of electric tramways were considered to be lower capital costs, greater speed and flexibility, adaptability to extension and simplification of terminal shunting. In 1919 the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramway Board (M&MTB) was established to carry out this enormous task and took over all existing tramways except for two electric lines operated by the Victorian Railways.
In 1923 the M&MTB formulated a comprehensive plan (The General Scheme) for integration and development of the system as a whole, with considerable extension of the electric lines and gradual conversion of most of the cable lines. Twenty new electric lines were opened during the 1920s and between 1925 and 1940 the cable tramways were replaced with new electric lines or bus services. Many new tram depots and substations were required. Hundreds of new large electric trams were constructed to replace the fleets of smaller cars operated by the municipal tramway trusts.
Substations
Electricity to power Melbourne's tram lines was supplied from the public electricity supply. In Victoria both AC and DC electric power systems were used. [Electric current can be Direct Current (DC) or Alternating Current (AC). DC is the flow of electric charge in only one direction while AC reverses its direction at regular intervals.] In 1932 the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) decided to gradually phase out the DC system in favour of AC. This was because DC transmission lost a lot of power over long distances, and DC could not be easily stepped down to safe voltages for domestic and commercial use.
However, DC motors were well-suited to use on trams as they were compact and light and could easily be incorporated into the restricted space on the trams. Therefore, the M&MTB needed to convert (or rectify) the mains AC power to DC traction power to supply trams. Substations were constructed to hold rectifier plant. DC voltage drops quickly with distance and tram performance therefore suffers if the tram is much more than four kilometres from the power source. This meant that substations had to be constructed approximately every four kilometres along a tram route.
M&MTB substations were denoted by letters which related to their suburb, for example the West Brunswick Tramway Substation is known as 'W". Some substations were co-located within tram depots, and others were free standing buildings. By 1933 there were nineteen substations. In order to reduce labour costs, the M&MTB constructed remote supervisory equipment of its own design for its substations. Fifteen of its nineteen substations were fully automatic unattended stations. The main central control room was in Queensberry Street at Carlton. By 2013 there were fifty-five substations, with more planned. Since the 1960s new substations have been constructed behind or near some earlier substations. In other cases, new equipment has been installed in existing substations (for example Carlton Tram Substation VHR H2325). Superseded equipment was usually removed and destroyed as part of the decommissioning process.
Rectification equipment
Substations constructed before 1930 contained rotary converters (which used electro-mechanical means to convert AC to DC). These early substations were specifically designed to house the massive rotary converters. The last new rotary converter in Melbourne was installed at South Melbourne in 1931 and many were still in use in the 1970s.
Mercury-arc rectifiers were invented by Peter Cooper Hewitt in the USA in 1902. Hewitt's company in the UK was Westinghouse Cooper-Hewitt (later the Hewittic Electric Company). By the mid-1920s reliable industrial mercury-arc rectifiers were available from several makers including the Hewittic Electric Company which made the glass bulbs in the Brunswick West Tramway substation. This equipment was smaller than the rotary converter plant of similar capacity. A 'matching' rectifier transformer was needed for each rectifier bank. Hewittic mercury bulbs were always matched with transformers made by the UK based Hackbridge Electric Construction Co.
In Victoria from 1930, mercury-arc rectifiers started to supplant rotary converters because they were smaller and offered higher conversion efficiency. The mercury arc technology wasn't suited to locations with high power demands, such as the Malvern Tram Depot (VHR H0910) but was adequate for locations (and cheaper to run) at the outer ends of a line, like West Brunswick. As essentially 'static plant', maintenance was also minimal. The first example of Mercury Arc technology was installed at the substation in Holden St, Fitzroy in 1930. By 1935 the capacity limit for a single glass-bulb mercury arc bulb was 150 kW DC (620 V), however higher capacities could be achieved by operating two or more bulbs in parallel, as in many M&MTB substations, where up to four bulbs were typically used to create a 600 kW rectifier system.
From the 1960s the tram system slowly started to progress to solid state silicon diode rectifiers. In 1975 out of a total of twenty-six operating tram substations in Melbourne there were ten rotary converter substations, thirteen mercury arc substations (one of which was mobile) and one combination rotary converter and mercury arc substation. In addition, there were two silicon rectifier substations in operation. At that time the M&MTB planned to replace the remaining rotary converter systems with silicon rectifier systems. Silicon rectifier systems are still used today, together with electronics to control switching.
West Coburg Tramway
The West Coburg Progress Association had lobbied strongly for the building of a tramline. The Melville Road route which now forms an important north-south transport link through the western side of Brunswick did not exist until the early 1920s. The eventual construction of the tramline contributed to the development of much of the western side of Brunswick and Coburg. Major estates in the area developed all through the 1920s with the new electric tramway promoted as a feature.
The West Coburg Tram Line was initially built as a branch line to a new electric line constructed to enable the existing Essendon electric system at Flemington Bridge to enter the city via Flemington Road, Peel and William Streets as far south as Collins Street. It was constructed in four stages. The initial section of the West Coburg line, which was known as the East Brunswick Tram Line opened on 19 July 1925, left Flemington Road at Abbotsford Street and traversed Royal Park, Grantham and Dawson Streets to Daly Street, Brunswick. An additional section via Melville Road to Albion Street opened on 10 October 1925. On 15 May 1927 the line was extended along Melville Road to Moreland Road, and on 26 June 1927 it was further extended to Bell Street, Coburg (now Ascot Vale South). The West Coburg Tramway was numbered route 55 or route 56 (on weekends) from 1934 until 2017 when route 55 was amalgamated with route 8 Toorak to become route 58.
The Brunswick West Tramway Substation was constructed in 1935 to serve the West Coburg Tram Line. The sources of DC power for the trams on the West Coburg line in the period between the opening of the line in 1925-7 and the installation of rectification equipment in the West Brunswick substation in 1936 are most likely to have been two substations on Sydney Road (where cable trams were still operating). These substations were located at the Former Cable Tram Engine House and Tram Substation (VHR H2332) and the Brunswick Tram Depot (HO171). On the West Coburg tram route at Grantham and Reynard Streets, approximately aligned to these substations, are two old M&MTB steel poles with remnant DC feeder cables which may have delivered the power to the West Coburg trams.
Brunswick West Tramway Substation
The M&MTB's 1934 Annual Report records the decision to convert the Sydney Road cable tramway to electric traction. The Annual Report for 1935 records that a new Brunswick West substation was being built. It is possible that the new Brunswick West substation was needed both to provide power further along the West Brunswick route and to simultaneously free up the DC output of the substations at the former Cable Tram Engine House & Tram Substation (VHR H2332) and the Brunswick Tramway Depot (HO171) to supply the newly converted Sydney Road tram route. The other reason for the construction of the new Brunswick West Substation was probably in response to rising patronage which led to the need for larger and more frequent trams. Larger trams require more DC power. The location of the new substation at the intersection of Dawson St and Melville Rd, further out on the Brunswick West route would also have improved voltage distribution along the route.
The land for the substation was donated by Hoffman's Brickworks. The original sharp turn from Dawson St into Melville Road was changed to a smooth curve which enabled higher speeds and less wear on the tram wheels and rails. Some other streets in the area were also altered. The re-alignment of Melville Road also created a small triangular plot of land which was used for the construction of the Brunswick West substation. The name of the architect of the substation is not known but would have been one of the M&MTB architects.
The prominent location of the large, air-cooled transformer in the large central opening has been suggested as demonstrating the Futurist architecture style. However, the remainder of the building is more conventional, and the prominent position of the transformer may instead have been a reflection of the M&MTB's pride and confidence in technology. There were also practical reasons, the transformer is air cooled and needs to be exposed to the exterior air. Transformers in other substations were sometimes located outside or on breezeways for the same reason.
The new Brunswick West substation building was completed at the end of 1935 and the mercury arc equipment was commissioned in 1936. From 1938-39 M&MTB designed supervisory equipment also known as 'Remote Terminal Equipment' was built at the Preston Tramway Workshops (VHR H2031) and installed in West Brunswick. The mercury arc bulbs assemblies, transformer and most individual switchgear items were made overseas and installation of all the mercury arc equipment and on-site assembly and construction of the 600 V DC switchboard was carried out by the MMTB.
Operation of the substation
High voltage electricity to power the substation was supplied at 6.6 kilovolts (kV) AC from the power pole at the corner of Dawson and Moule Streets, about 100 metres from the substation. A cable travels down the pole then underground to the substation.
Three phase bus bars transport the AC power into the substation at three brick cells containing 6.6kV AC switchgear. The cells are numbered X, Y and Z. Cells X and Z contain circuit breakers which protected the main transformer from overcurrent situations and short circuits. Cell X contains a small transformer to step down the 6.6 kV (66000 V) mains power to standard 240 V for the non-rectification equipment in the substation.
The main transformer stepped down the AC voltage from the public electricity supply to positive AC voltage that was suitable for the mercury arc rectifiers. It also operated the ignition circuits that kept the mercury bulbs operating as well performing as other tasks. The choke inductor smoothed and passed negative AC power.
The AC currents passed to a mercury-arc rectifier bank consisting of four glass bulbs. Operation of each rectifier relied on an electrical arc discharge in a sealed glass bulb containing a pool of liquid mercury. During operation the mercury is vaporised emitting characteristic blue-violet light.
The positive DC current passes to a 600V DC switchboard which contains circuit breakers and control gear and then out of the building through insulated holes (bushes) to the tram overhead lines. The DC current passed down the tram pole to the DC tram engine then into the rails completing the electrical circuit. The power then returned to the substation via underground cables to a negative high-speed circuit breaker.
The resistance coils only operated in emergencies to stop dangerous currents.
KEY REFERENCES USED TO PREPARE ASSESSMENTAllom Lovell and Associates, City of Moreland Heritage Review, April 1998 (Revised January 1999)
- Thematic History (Volume 1)
- Building Citations Datasheets A-K (Volume 2, Part 1) , online at https://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/globalassets/areas/heritagelib-7504/moreland-heritage-review-building-citations-volume-2--part-1--datasheets-a--k.pdf
Brown, Geoff, Melbourne Tram Museum, The tram through the park: the origins of the West Coburg tramway, 2016, online at http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/westcoburg.htm
City of Melbourne, Melbourne Planning Scheme Incorporated Document (Amendment C327) Hoddle Grid Heritage Review: Statements of Significance, September 2018 https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/resource-library/incorporated-documents/melbourne/melb-C327-Incorp-Doc-Hoddle-Grid-Heritage-Review-Statements-of-Significance,-September-2018-Approval-Gazetted.pdf
Dunstan, David, Trams, Encyclopedia of Melbourne, undated, online at http://www.emelbourne.net.au/about.html
Hewittic Electric Co., Installation Instructions - Hewittic Electric Co., Hewittic Arc Rectifier Bulbs, Unpacking, Installation & Maintenance, 1944. Source: Museums Victoria, online at https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/1785566
Jones, Russell, Melbourne Tram Museum, Fares please! An economic history of the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramway Board, 2008, online at http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/ecohist/ecohist0.htm
Jones, Russell, Melbourne Tram Museum , From Rotary Converters to solid-state: tramway substation architecture in Melbourne, 2013; online at http://www.hawthorntramdepot.org.au/papers/substations.htm
Kianidis, Dimitrios, Photographic Journal - Electrical substations of inner Melbourne, 2012, unpub.
Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramway Board, Annual Report, various dates.
Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramway Board, Summary of Main Events 1868-1968, 1968, unpub.
Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramway Board, Project 3-74, Replacement of Substation Equipment, 1975, unpublished
Movie Soothsayer, Evil of Frankenstein undated, online at https://moviesoothsayer.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/movie-madness-16-evil-of-frankenstein/
Personal communications from:
. Warren Doubleday, Russell Jones and Mike Ryan, Melbourne Tram Museum
. Miles Pierce and Owen Peake, Electrical Engineers, Engineering Heritage Victoria
. Robert Green, retired Heritage Victoria staff member
. Craig Tooke, Principal Electrical Networks Specialist, Metrotrains
. Benjamin Greig, Team Manager, Power and Substations, Frank Denino, Manager, Power & Overhead and Paul Tracey, Yarra Trams
Prentice, Bob, A Brief History of the Melbourne , Brunswick and Coburg Tramway Trust, 1999
Ringwood Manor, Peter Cooper Hewitt, 1861-1921, online at http://www.ringwoodmanor.org/peter-cooper-hewitt.html
Steele, C L, A Supervisory Control; System for Traction Substations, The Electrical Engineer and Merchandiser magazine, 15 November 1933.
Vines, Gary, Melbourne Metropolitan Tramway Heritage Study, Report for Heritage Victoria. 2011, online at https://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/61449/Tram-History-final_reduced__Chapter6_Part2.pdf
Wongm's Rail Gallery, Melbourne tramway traction substations , online at https://railgallery.wongm.com/melbourne-tramway-traction-substations/page/13/
Yarra Trams, Melbourne's tram history, undated, online at https://yarratrams.com.au/melbournes-tram-history
BRUNSWICK WEST TRAMWAY SUBSTATION INCLUDING PLANT AND EQUIPMENT - Assessment Against Criteria
Criterion
The Brunswick West Tramway Substation is of historical significance to the State of Victoria. It satisfies the following criterion for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register:
Criterion A
Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria's cultural history.
Criterion B
Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria's cultural history.
Criterion D
Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects.
BRUNSWICK WEST TRAMWAY SUBSTATION INCLUDING PLANT AND EQUIPMENT - Permit Exemptions
General Exemptions:General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions. Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.Specific Exemptions:General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object. General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of works that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such works shall cease and Heritage Victoria shall be notified as soon as possible. General Conditions: 3. All works should ideally be informed by Conservation Management Plans prepared for the place. The Executive Director is not bound by any Conservation Management Plan and permits still must be obtained for works suggested in any Conservation Management Plan. General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this determination prevents the Heritage Council from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. General Conditions: 5. Nothing in this determination exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the relevant responsible authority, where applicable.Specific Permit Exemptions: The following works do not require a permit provided that they are carried out in a manner which does not harm the cultural heritage significance of the place.
Maintenance:Minor patching, repair and maintenance of the building which replaces like with like. Repairs must maximise protection and retention of significant fabric and include the conservation of existing details or elements. Any new materials used for repair must not exacerbate the decay of significant fabric due to chemical incompatibility, obscure significant fabric or limit access to significant fabric for future maintenance.
.Maintenance, replacement and installation of existing fire services where this does not impact on significant fabric.
Safety and Security:
The erection of temporary security fencing, scaffolding, hoardings or surveillance systems not attached to the building or equipment to prevent unauthorised access or secure public safety.
.Emergency stabilisation necessary to secure safety where a site feature has been irreparably damaged or destabilised and represents a safety risk to its users or the public. All works are to be reported to the Executive Director within 21 days of completion of the works.
Landscape: Mowing and weed control.BRUNSWICK WEST TRAMWAY SUBSTATION INCLUDING PLANT AND EQUIPMENT - Permit Exemption Policy
Preamble
The purpose of the Permit Policy is to assist when considering or making decisions regarding works to a registered place. It is recommended that any proposed works be discussed with an officer of Heritage Victoria prior to making a permit application. Discussing proposed works will assist in answering questions the owner may have and aid any decisions regarding works to the place.
The extent of registration of Brunswick West Tramway Substation in the VHR affects the whole place shown on Diagram 2397 including the land, all buildings (exteriors and interiors) and other features. Under the Heritage Act 2017 a person must not remove or demolish, damage or despoil, develop or alter or excavate, relocate or disturb the position of any part of a registered place or object without approval. It is acknowledged, however, that alterations and other works may be required to keep places and objects in good repair and adapt them for use into the future.
If a person wishes to undertake works or activities in relation to a registered place or registered object, they must apply to the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria for a permit. The purpose of a permit is to enable appropriate change to a place and to effectively manage adverse impacts on the cultural heritage significance of a place as a consequence of change. If an owner is uncertain whether a heritage permit is required, it is recommended that Heritage Victoria be contacted.
Permits are required for anything which alters the place or object, unless a permit exemption is granted. Permit exemptions usually cover routine maintenance and upkeep issues faced by owners as well as minor works or works to the elements of the place or object that are not significant. They may include appropriate works that are specified in a conservation management plan. Permit exemptions can be granted at the time of registration (under s.38 of the Heritage Act) or after registration (under s.92 of the Heritage Act). It should be noted that the addition of new buildings to the registered place, as well as alterations to the interior and exterior of existing buildings requires a permit, unless a specific permit exemption is granted.
Conservation management plan
It is recommended that a Conservation Management Plan is developed to manage the place in a manner which respects its cultural heritage significance.
Aboriginal cultural heritage
If any Aboriginal cultural heritage is discovered or exposed at any time it is necessary to immediately contact Aboriginal Victoria to ascertain requirements under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006.
Other approvals
Please be aware that approval from other authorities (such as local government) may be required to undertake works.
Archaeology
There may be buried cables on the south west side of the site which carried AC power from the public electricity supply into the substation and on the north east side which carried DC power to and from the tram rails into the substation. Any works that may affect historical archaeological features, deposits or artefacts at the place is likely to require a permit, permit exemption or consent. Advice should be sought from the Archaeology Team at Heritage Victoria.
Operation
The substation was in operation until early 2019 but it has now been decommissioned and replaced by a solid-state rectifier installation at another location. Because the mercury rectifier bulbs and their matching transformer as well as all the interconnecting cabling are still present, it would be possible to operate the mercury bulbs to demonstrate the operation of the equipment without outputting DC power to the tramway.
Objects integral to the place
All of the fixed and movable objects and interconnecting cables are integral to the significance of the place and should be retained at the place in their original positions so as to preserve the original operating environment of the place. Any external or internal alterations are subject to permit application.
Hazardous materials
It is recognised that some of the objects integral to the place contain hazardous materials and/or are hazardous in operation. These properties are important characteristics of these objects and should be retained. Procedures should be developed to minimise risk to anyone visiting the substation. Any external or internal alterations are subject to permit application.
. Standard personal protective measures around high voltage/ high amperage equipment should be followed.
. Each of the mercury arc bulbs holds several litres of mercury, but this is contained within the sealed glass bulbs. The mercury vapour generated during operation cannot escape. These items only become dangerous if the glass is broken. Accordingly, all access to and works in the place must be designed to reduce the risks of breakage.
. When the mercury inside the Mercury arc bulbs vaporises during operation, a small amount of ultraviolet light is emitted. Viewers may need to wear eye protection.
. Asbestos is found in the substation as panels and the corrugated Fibrolite (fibre asbestos cement sheet) roof.
. Asbestos is found in equipment as panels and on the arc chutes on some of the circuit breakers.
Security
The building should be secured to prevent access by vandals. Graffiti is also likely now that the substation is no longer being used.
Landscape
The lack of plantings appears to be a deliberate land management strategy and should be continued. Small areas of grass and weeds are visible which are likely accidental growth rather than deliberate plantings.
Cultural heritage significance
Overview of significance
The cultural heritage significance of the Brunswick West Tramway Substation lies in all of the registered building and all of the fixed and movable objects including the building with its external Moderne design, brickwork, the prominent display of the transformer at the front entrance and all of the fixed and movable objects comprising the mercury arc rectification system and associated items still connected and in their original locations.
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