A 112-year-old tram which was converted into a HOUSE has hit the road again for the first time in 83 years.
The former vehicle was taken out of service in 1930 and was converted into a home until two years ago.
But the plot of land where the house was built on has been sold and the new owners have donated the vintage structure to a preservation trust.
It was delicately removed by crane and has been transported off to be stored away until £200,000 is raised to restore it to its original state.
The tram – a former Aberdeen Corporation vehicle – was at the Loch of Loirston in Aberdeen until it was transported to Dundee by the Aberdeen & District Transport Preservation Trust (ADTPT).
Keith Jones, of the ADTPT, said: “This is an incredibly exciting project for us and we can’t wait to get started on the restoration.
“Just before the weekend, a huge effort by the volunteers, crane hirers James Jack and MGS Logistics saw the tram safely moved by low-loader lorry to Dundee.
“Technically, that was the first time it’s been on the road in over 80 years.
“It will become an exhibit at the new Transport Museum likely to open in Dundee next year, while plans are drawn up to raise funds for its full restoration.
“Obviously with the Aberdeen connections, it would be appropriate to bring it back here and that’s our plan.”
But Ian Souter, a trustee of the ADTPT admitted it may be many years later before the tram returns home to the Granite City.
He said: “We’ve got a lot of fundraising ideas to get the restoration underway, but it will take some time unfortunately. We reckon we’ll need around £200,000 in total.
“That’s because we need to buy the running gear (the engine), wheels, seats, coin collectors, stairs and a whole host of other items.
“We think we can get them all, but it will take some time to source them and then raise enough money to buy them.
“But regardless of the costs, it’s wonderful that we’ve got the tram. Someone once said that trams are mobile architecture and I would agree with that, they’re all unique in their own way.
“Trams in those days were very different to the transport we have today. Trams in each city had different characteristics and indeed the Aberdeen ones were painted in green and cream colours, which was unique to Aberdeen.
“We are also hoping to find out what number it actually was and what route it travelled, as that would unlock even more information about it.
“What we know already, is that it would have been between number nine and 20 and we’ve already ruled out six of those numbers.
“So now we need to have a very close look around the structure and hopefully there will be something that remains that will tell us what number it actually was.”
The 16ft tram was built in 1901 at Loughborough, Leicestershire, and transported up to Aberdeen where it remained in service for 29 years.
It was originally topless, until 1906 when a roof was attached to protect passengers from the elements.
The tram served Aberdeen all the way through World War One and remained in use untill 1930 when the fleet was modernised.
The wheels, engine and electrics were removed and the shell that remained became a home just off Wellington Road at Loch of Loirston.
One of the only visible clues on the house revealing its past, were the window and door frames remaining in the same places from its time as a tram.
