There are some steep steps going from Glenpark Avenue up to the Mornington shopping centre.
"Slam bam, the Maryhill tram".
This cache is on the "Big Dipper" part of the Maryhill tramline, which Bill Campbell says was the steepest street cable car line in the world. It was half a mile long and went from the Mornington tramsheds down Glenpark Avenue to Mitchell Avenue. The tramsheds are still there, but they are from 1903 becasue the first sheds and all except one cablecar burnt down in a fire that year. The line ran from 18 March 1885 to 29 October 1955, except between 1916 and 1921. In the 1950s is turned into a tourist attraction. Visitors would sit up the front by the gripman to see the view.
The cable car would start moving and then the sliding doors to the front cabin would suddenly slam shut as the cable car tipped over the edge of the first 1 in 3.5 slope. Then the gripman would secure the gripper in its slot and leave his seat, as he also acted as conductor and collected fares from the passengers. And then the grade steepened to 1 in 3.35. No wonder someone once described the line as "the nearest thing to a roller coaster used as a public conveyance"!
See an article about the Maryhill Extension here http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/archive/Library/Dunedin.htm
Map of Dunedin tramways http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/archive/Library/images/Dunedin/map.htm
