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Location: Malvern, Victoria, Australia
30-03-2025, 10:38 PM
(This post was last modified: 31-03-2025, 12:26 AM by Tony Press.)
I can still remember going into Melbourne with my mother nearly 80 years ago and going up in a lift with a rope in the corner which when pulled caused the lift to magically rise.
From a paper which covered the origin and development of hydraulic power equipment and systems in Britain that led to the public utility manifestations in Hull, London and Liverpool in 1876-1885, the entrepreneurial formation of the Melbourne Hydraulic Power Company in 1888 and its early success as a public utility for motive power applications for the City of Melbourne. From enjoying an initial virtual monopoly as a motive power utility, the company faced increasing competition from the development of electricity distribution for both light and power from 1900, but continued to operate profitably. In 1925, in accordance with the original enabling legislation, the assets and business of the company reverted to the City Corporation. With some restructuring of the central plant, the Council continued to operate the hydraulic power service until 1967.
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Location: queensland
as an officeboy in Melbourne in the sixties I roamed all over the city delivering messages. Goods lifts were often water powered (there was a rope in the corner which ran from the roof to a valve in the basement). The passenger lift that I remember most was near the corner of king and collins, it was an ornate wire cage with a bench seat for the operator and stationary rope outside. The operator would stick his hand through a hole in the wall and give the rope a tug up or down. His only company for most of the day was his budgerigar (also caged) as passengers were not very frequent.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 1,790 Threads: 43
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Location: Malvern, Victoria, Australia
Hi Russell,
So Melbourne hydraulic lifts were still in operation twenty years after my first experience, amazing.
Unfortunately, I don't believe we have kept any solid history of these amazing hydraulic powered systems. As with our excellent cable tram system (although I believe some cable cars survive).
Most of our museums here seem to concentrate on other history and ignore our amazing technical history- back when we often had to make our own.
Cheers, Tony.
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Location: Monmouthshire
Malcolm & Jenny Lyon, follwed by a Cotton motorcycle
Mick Hobday
Ray & Barbara Moses
What I did on Friday, amongst other things, was to snap motor cars acsending Frome's Hill. This was part of the tour celebrating the Centenary of the Hereford Speed Trials. As all historians will know, Saturday 4th April 1925 was the week after the RAC pronounced a total ban on speed events on public roads following an incident at Aston. However the Mayor of Hereford decided that Hereford needed to pay no attention to such a distant and inferior city as London, in which he was aided and abetted by Mr Featherstone of the ACU, the delivery of whose telegram informing the orgainsers of the ban was strangely delayed until the Monday after the event.
Frome's Hill was used between 1904 and 1907. In 1906 Mr Herbert Austin attended as the designer of Wolseley, in 1907 he drove an 25-30 hp Austin which must have been a very early example.
Austin photographer David Southcott was at the Wellington Ford and may add images of amphibious Sevens in due course. Editor Howard's special must have carried him at such a speed across the countryside that he had ascended Frome's Hill before I got there.
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Location: Llandrindod Wells
Car type: 29 Special, 30 RK, 28 C Cab
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Location: North Herts
Spent some of yesterday afternoon photographing the Special. I shall be putting it up for sale this coming week. Finally got around to making head rule heart...
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Location: Monmouthshire
Howard
The bus passengers thuoght it was great and the bus drivers had great fun demonstrating that the famous thickness of a fag packet was all the clearance they needed. One or two drivers of black SUVs were a bit less happy, perhaps their screens and sensors were deafening them with beeps and bings..... Your petrol needs explain why we saw you emerging from Lebury in a direction not in the road book. Not that I would dream of mentioning that of course.
Joined: May 2018 Posts: 2,169 Threads: 112
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Location: Llandrindod Wells
Car type: 29 Special, 30 RK, 28 C Cab
(06-04-2025, 09:50 AM)Nick Salmon Wrote: Spent some of yesterday afternoon photographing the Special. I shall be putting it up for sale this coming week. Finally got around to making head rule heart...
Hi Nick
Sad time, but courage is needed. Are you short on space?
Good luck with the sale
Howard
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Location: North Herts
All fine Howard, thanks for the concern. I feel I really should part with the cars I rarely use. The Special, my A7 Camionette pickup, and my MGA Coupe must go and then I can rationalise storage. Or buy something else...(don't tell Debs!).
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Location: Fife
Managed to get the car out to a track day today for its maiden shake down run - car went very well, but i have a list of jobs to get on with before the next outing.
In the pits i was next to what can only be described as being at the polar oposite end of motorsport - Ford Fiesta Rally 2
It was nice to see it scream past in a set of esses on two/three wheels
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Screenshot 2025-04-07 100826.jpg (Size: 18 KB / Downloads: 184)
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