On my recent trip to Hong Kong I found something interesting on the streets of Causeway Bay – an abandoned tram track branching off from the main route. So where did it lead, and why was it built?
Following the abandoned track
When I got home, I was able to find the location on the map – the intersection of Morrison Hill Road and Leighton Road.
Extract from map by Maximilian Dörrbecker
The track heads south-east from the intersection.
Photo by 1010.505, via hkrail.fandom.com
Passing under the Canal Road Flyover.
Photo by 1010.505, via hkrail.fandom.com
Into Canal Road East.
Photo by 1010.505, via hkrail.fandom.com
And then comes to a dead end.
Photo by 1010.505, via hkrail.fandom.com
So where did it lead?
Some history
From the opening of the Hong Kong Tramways in 1904, trams were stored and maintained at the Russell Street Depot in Causeway Bay, on the east side of Bowrington Canal, and by 1932 the ever expanding tram fleet saw a second depot opened on King’s Road at North Point.
.jpg)
But in 1951 the decision was made to consolidate the two depots onto the Russell Street site – with the expanded site named ‘Sharp Street Depot’. It was accessed via Percival, Russell and Matheson Street.
But in the years that followed, Causeway Bay continued to grow, so in the 1980s it was decided to sell the Sharp Street Depot site for redevelopment. Replacement tram depots were opened at Sai Wan Ho and Whitty Street in 1989, and the Times Square shopping centre built on the Sharp Street Depot site.
And the abandoned tram track? It was the exit from the former tram depot, running along Canal Road East to the intersection of Morrison Hill Road and Leighton Road.
Sources
- Russell Street Tram Depot at Gwulo
- Sharp Street Tram Depotat Gwulo
- Track map for Causeway Bay
- Photo: tram #99 turns into Russell Street
- Sharp Street Tram Depot at Chinese language Wikipedia
- History of the Happy Valley tram loop (Chinese language)
