Author(s): Brian Andrews

Australiana

The story of the MTT's Adelaide to Glenelg tram line has never been told before in such detail. It is the largest and most extensively researched work ever produced on the subject. 'City & Glenelg' begins with the story of the railway operations that served Glenelg which eventually proved inadequate and outdated as reliable transport to serve this outstanding residential suburb and holiday destination. The result was conversion in 1929 to Australia's most-up-to-date electric tram service. Never before has so much research eventuated in such detail of the concept, construction and operation of this successful electric tram service, operated for 46 years by the Municipal Tramway Trust. Beyond the MTT era the story concludes by showing with great pride the rejuvenation and operation of the tram service today. As South Australian an institution as pie-floaters and Balfour's frog cakes, the Bay Line as it is commonly known, has survived several near-death experiences over the past eighty-five years and now enjoys the status of a tourism icon as well as a highly effective Adelaide transport asset.
Written by Brian Andrews in conjunction with Trevor Triplow, 'City & Glenelg' is a quality 290 page large format hard cover book com-plete with dust jacket and printed on quality art paper. It has more than 250 images with a special emphasis on its human side, the employees who operated and maintained it and the people who rode it. There are excellent maps, electrical distribution diagrams, press cuttings from across time and nostalgic advertisements. Most of the photo-graphs have never been seen before culminating in an excellent production which vividly brings to life a significant era in Adelaide's transportation history.