About Us
Our Mission Statement:
Continue the development of a working museum to preserve the style of Ballarat's former street tramways and trams for the public benefit in a safe environment.
Our Purpose and Activities
The Museum was formed to preserve the tramway experience that existed on the streets of Ballarat from 1887 to 1971. Trams are operated along a public road on an original section of the track, using authentic methods of operation such as conductors, paper tickets, uniforms, tram stops, and even original style paperwork.
Our Tram Museum and depot, at the south end of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, displays some of the tramcar collection, presentations with photographs, videos, tramway memorabilia, trammie stories, souvenirs and book shop. The Museum is open for visitors from 11am on operating days A self-guided tour is possible or when volunteers are available; a formal guided tour.
Our tramcar collection includes Ballarat Horse Tram No. 1 from 1887 and a 1905 Electric Supply Company of Victoria tramcar (under reconstruction). Our operating fleet consists of many tramcars that initially operated in Melbourne around the time of the World War 1 and were sold to Ballarat in the 1930's and 1950's. Since 1975 the Museum has also acquired a number of historic trams directly from Melbourne.
Group tours can be booked and these include a tram ride and a visit to the Museum with a guided tour.
The Museum has a set of 72 solar panels providing 18kW of power for our operating activities. The Museum was the first tramway in Australia to use solar power (December 2014), joining Bad Schandau in Saxony Germany with depot roof top panels. Over a 12 month basis, the Museum is a net contributor of power to the grid after allowing for our own use and what we feed-in or back into the grid. The Bendigo Tramways also has solar panels on its depot roof. Yarra Trams Melbourne became solar powered during 2019.
The Ballarat Tramway Museum (ABN 99 802 586 755) is a not-for-profit association. All donations go towards ongoing maintenance and are a major source of funding for future projects. All donations are gratefully received. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. The Museum is a Registered Charity with the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission and holds Deductible Gift Recipient Status.
The Museum is an Accredited Museum under the Museum Accreditation Program managed by Australian Museums and Gallaries Assocition (Victoria), an Accredited Rail Safety Operator with the Office of National Rail Safety Regulator and Registered in accordance with Victorian Tourist and Heritage Railways Act 2010.
We are a member of the following organisations:
Ballarat Tramway Museum Inc. - PO Box 632 Ballarat Vic 3353 Australia - info@btm.org.au - phone +61 3 5334 1580. A0031819K
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