AT1001 W6 Tram (Traditional livery) AT1002 City Circle W6 Tram

THE REAL TRAMS The first Melbourne electric tram line was opened 1889 by the Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company and operated between Box Hill Station and Doncaster. Its operation proved short lived however and it closed in 1896. The North Melbourne Electric Tramway and the Lighting Company opened their first line in 1906. One of the best known types of electric tram used by the operator was the W6 class, these cars could carry 148 passengers and had seating for 52. 150 cars entered service between 1951 and 1955 and four examples are still operated in Melbourne today by Transfield Services and Transdev who began an operational partnership in 1999. THE MODELS Two models were announced at the 2007 London Toy Fair by EFE, the models are manufactured by Australian Cooee Collectables and the two examples produced for EFE differ from the standard versions. Only 600 pieces of each model were produced for EFE and these were initially offered to EFE Subscribers in March 2008 before being advertised for general sale in Model Collector Magazine. A small quantity of the models were released to selected retailers during late 2015.