The X-class was a class of two

Birney A Birney or Birney Safety Car is a type of streetcar that was manufactured in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s. The design was small and light and was intended to be an economical means of providing frequent service at a lower infrastru ...

trams imported from United States manufacturers

JG Brill Company The J.G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for almost ...

and

St Louis Car Company The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri. History The St. Louis Car Comp ...

by the

Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had be ...

. In June 1924 both entered service from Hawthorn depot on the Power Street to

Hawthorn Bridge The Hawthorn Bridge crosses the Yarra River, east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, connecting Bridge Road and Burwood Road. It is the oldest extant bridge over the Yarra River and is one of the oldest metal bridges in Australia. It was co ...

service. In 1928 both were transferred to Glenhuntly depot to operate the

Point Ormond Elwood is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. Elwood recorded a population of 15,153 at the 2021 censu ...

route."The Birney Car in Australia" ''

Trolley Wire The Sydney Tramway Museum (operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway) is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney. History Construction of t ...

'' issue 152 June 1974 pages 6-8 In 1956, 217 was transferred to the isolated Footscray network. They also operated night services taking them as far as

Brighton East Brighton East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Bayside and Glen Eira local government areas. Brighton East recorded a population of 16, ...

Malvern East Malvern East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Malvern East recorded a population of 22,296 at the 202 ...

and

Coburg North Coburg North is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Darebin and Merri-bek local government areas. Coburg North recorded a population of 8,327 at the 2021 ce ...

. With the cessation of these services in 1957, both were withdrawn.

Preservation

One has been preserved: *217 by the

Tramway Museum Society of Victoria The Tramway Museum Society of Victoria Incorporated (TMSV) owns a large collection of trams from Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong, Adelaide, and Sydney as well as preserved buses and other work vehicles. History The TMSV was founded in 1962 with ...

M&MTB X No 217
Tramway Museum Society of Victoria

References

{{MelbourneTramNavbox, state=collapsed Melbourne tram vehicles 600 V DC multiple units St. Louis multiple units