In 1929 a 'crows-nest' control box (Signal Box) was installed at the Junction on the corner of Wellington Street to manage the trams running through the Junction.1 This little control box was a local icon of the Junction for many years. It was accessed via a small ladder and was staffed by a single operator. The control box remained in operation until 1968 until it was decommissioned as part of the redevelopment of the Junction. The control box is now housed in the Melbourne Tram Museum.
John Murphy of The Herald , Thursday, 15th February 1968 reporting on decommissioning of the control box. The article also interviewed its last operator Mr Leo Allender (shown on the right).2
The following are some excepts form the article:
The little green box, perched above 'St. Kilda Junction like a misplaced toolshed, seems to know the end is near. Its old wooden frame shudders and groans in protest each time a tram rattles past. "Like me she's getting old, and we can feel our time is nearly up." it's operator. Mr Leo Allender. 64. said yesterday.
You might say were are retiring together, he said. "Oh we could keep going for a long time yet, of course, but I'm afraid that progress has caught up with us."
"But the Junction won't he the same without its little green box." Mr Allender became its operator eight years ago. It is now second nature to him as he operates the levers and buttons that control the movement of the trams.
Recommended reading for more information see, St Kilda Junction signal box operation, Melbourne Tram Museum, website (accessed 28 March 2025).
'Green' Tram Control Box 1968 (Dick Jones)
Tram Control Box 1968 (Trams Down Under Archive)
Footnotes
