MMTB W5 Class Tram No. 792
W5 792 is the collection’s time capsule. It entered service in February 1937 and then, unusually for a Melbourne tram, largely escaped modification: it kept its original three-doorway configuration, was never rebuilt with sliding doors, and apart from the multiple head and tail lights fitted in 1972 and replacement curved windshield sashes, remained close to as-built condition throughout its service life.
That originality made it desirable. The Sydney Tramway Museum selected 792 for preservation in 1990 — buying it, as Melbourne policy then required, minus serviceable motors and compressor, which were retained for the operating W fleet. Its Sydney years were unlucky: moved to Cessnock for storage, it suffered vandalism and a truck reversing into one end; a 2006 loan to the Glenreagh Mountain Railway, which hoped to run trams, came to nothing.
When W5 810 was donated to the Sydney museum in 2010, 792 became surplus — just as the Haddon group was looking for a W5 to preserve in original condition. It changed hands for a nominal sum and arrived at Haddon in June 2013, its interstate transport funded with the support of two benefactors.
The stated aim is restoration to original 1937 condition. Reports presented to the 2025 COTMA conference indicate the structural rebuild of the body is now largely complete, with attention turning to traction cabling and air systems — the deep, unglamorous work that separates a cosmetic restoration from a working tram.
Technical Details
| Builder | MMTB, Preston Workshops |
|---|---|
| Entered service | 13 February 1937 |
| Length | 14.17 m (46 ft 6 in) |
| Width | 2.74 m (9 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 16.1 tonnes |
| Seated passengers | 52 |
| Trucks | MMTB No. 15, 28 in disc wheels |
| Traction motors | 4 × 30 kW General Electric 247AX2 |
| Controllers | MMTB Q2CK1 |
| Compressor | Westinghouse DH16 |
| Preserved (Sydney) | 1990, Sydney Tramway Museum |
| Arrived at Haddon | 6 June 2013 |