If you have daydreamed about owning your own refurbished tram then it could become a reality with Bendigo Tramways officially listing the Royal Tram pop-up cafe for sale.
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The Bendigo Tramways board authorised the sale at their last board meeting with the asking price between $70,000 and $80,000.
Tramways chief executive Peter Abbott said the decision to sell the tram meant the proceeds could be used to maintain the organisation's fleet of heritage trams.
"The plan would be to let it stay until November and then it would go to the new owners whether they are from Bendigo or elsewhere," he said.
"At this stage we want to sue the proceeds from the sale of this tram to maintain our operating trams and provide more reliability.
"We'll collect all bids and offers. Our preference is for it to stay in Bendigo but we also want to keep our heritage trams operating, so if someone makes offer to take it to Perth, we have got access to transport companies that can organise (the move)."
For $80,000, buyers will get a 12-tonne W-Class tram with motors removed.
At 14 metres long, the tram includes a built in bar with hot water service, laminate wood flooring, tables, benches and seating for 35 people and a small lockable storage area.
"We re-purposed it originally, so we know how many hours went into it," Mr Abbott said. "If anyone wants tram of a similar (setup) that's the money they would pay.
"I think we'll get a lot of inquiries and I suspect we'll be able to secure buyer quickly, but who knows where it might end up."
Having been moved into Rosalind Park and operated as a cafe since March, the tram has proved a popular spot for tourists and coffee lovers in the CBD.
In July, City of Greater Bendigo and Tramways agreed to extend the tram's stay in Rosalind Park until November.
Bendigo council and the Tramways encouraged community feedback on what the future of the Royal Tram should be.
If the tram fails to sell by November when it is set to leave Rosalind Park, Mr Abbot said the tram would likely go into storage.
"It would go back into the shed or end up parked at the Gold Mine and used as extra seating for our cafe," he said.
"(At the moment) we have got $80,000 in our budget to restore a tram. If we sold this then we can double that and do two trams.
"As an independent not-for-profit company we need the dollars to put into our trams. A lot of time and effort goes into building them."
To view the advertisement for the tram visit www.bendigotramways.com/about/blog/84-royal-pop-up-tram. Anyone interested in purchasing the tram should email restorations@bendigoheritage.com.au
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