ONE of Ballarat's beloved and best kept treasures will be back on tracks for the first time since before the pandemic.
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Ballarat Tramway Museum number one horse tram - Australia's oldest operating tram - will be taking passengers on its double-decker carriage this Saturday in what is typically a one-day a year event.
Tram conductor Neville Britton said the tram always gets people talking, with plenty keen to bring the full tramways back to the city.
"This is quite a different experience," Mr Britton said. "The sensation on it is not just a smooth ride, it does sway a little...It will be full."
The tram will be pulled by two Clydesdale horses, trained in Newstead. This is a slightly different to original operations, which used a cross-breed between a work and a faster horse to move people across Ballarat.
Mr Britton said the Clyesdales were strong and it took a skilled driver to keep a little on the brakes both for horse and passenger safety should the light tram get on too much of a roll.
Horse tram one was built in Adelaide and delivered by flat-pack to Ballarat in 1887. This tram continued to be used as a trailer tram, carrying extra people into the early 1900s.
The tram was sold to a private owner in Anderson Street as an outhouse. Mr Britton said the museum became aware of it in the 1980s and fortunately had been well kept under an iron roof with its original brass fittings.
Horse tram number one creates a popular buzz each Easter school holidays.
People are urged to book ahead at btm.org.au to avoid queues. The tram will operate from 11am to 3pm near Pipers by the Lake.
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