Zurich Tram Museum
In 1967 the museum was formed by a bunch of tram lovers as part of a terminus station on the lines. Then in 1989, they added the old service shop at the Burgwies stop in the south eastern part of the city. Can't have a more ideal location that the actual storage/repair facility that was used (all the power is still live in the shop and tracks connect to the mainline too).The Arrival - Burgwies Tram Stop
I started at the center of Zurich and got on the 11 tram headed to Maiacher, and a few stops later I was there on a cold slushy morning.The Museum
The museum feels more of a working shop than a show piece, as it should. Once a month on Saturdays, the members take various trams out and run them around the city. This sounds like endless fun to me because the routes are not the standard scheduled ones, but wherever they can get to reasonably without impacting the regular service. This is something I want to do! Traveling around a classic Germanic city in a 100 year old street car is the escapism from the modern day I really love.But due to the layout, all the trams and equipment is in the shop, in line. Most of it is fully functional too, which is an astounding testament to the staff and the care given.
Upper area
Up above the offices and bathrooms, you can see some other displays, like a trainer, ticket booths, and the cool model train, plus the full shot of the place overlooking all the things.
This one is way over 100 years old, and it runs
Imagine going along in the winter in this unheated car in the 1890s
Another quite old car, but this one, has heat!
Piles of old line #'s, destination signs, and everything you need to inform the passengers of the trams route'
A tram they send around as a moving museum and reference library
Kid powered, but this could actually run on the main line, just slowly
All the amazing vehicles this place has
Flexing Swiss and local heritage
Local charity donation car, pretty beefy for transporting the money
When you need to lift a tram back onto the line, this cart can do the job
Need to fix the over wires? Push this bad boy into place and get up there (just turn off the power first!)
Into a workman's pit and under the drive mechanisms that make these go
The old ticketing machines. These seem overly complicated compared to how it is now
A model tramway, running around a little city
And an actual tram control box, which controls the trams in the model city. This, is a genius cool thing
Summary
Such a cool, cute place. So much old but working equipment. Weekend excursions?!? My next trip to Zurich will make sure to be there the weekend they go out on the tracks, and I'll join the museum just to be able to ride around on them. What a blast and an amazing place.Why yes, it does have a shop! I, however, didn't take a good picture of it, which is so unlike me.