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Research dossier · General Reference

X class Melbourne tram

trams imported to Melbourne, Australia

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 25, 2026
Entity authorityQ30637155 ↗
Source-derived summary

The X-class was a class of two Birney trams imported from United States manufacturers JG Brill Company and St Louis Car Company by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board. In June 1924 both entered service from Hawthorn depot on the Power Street to Hawthorn Bridge service. In 1928 both were transferred to Glenhuntly depot to operate the Point Ormond route.

In 1956, 217 was transferred to the isolated Footscray network. They also operated night services taking them as far as Brighton East, Malvern East and Coburg North. With the cessation of these services in 1957, both were withdrawn.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “X class Melbourne tram” as trams imported to Melbourne, Australia. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around class, Melbourne and tram.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1924, 1928, 1956, 1957—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with class, Melbourne and tram providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “X class Melbourne tram”, the useful work is to connect “trams imported to Melbourne, Australia” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q30637155. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1924, 1928, 1956 and 1957.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “X class Melbourne tram”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow X class Melbourne tram primary sources, X class Melbourne tram archive and class research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “X class Melbourne tram”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “X class Melbourne tram” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.