By: David Porter21st Mar 2020 8:56PMThe hearse service began in 1896. It allowed a coffin and the funeral party to be conveyed to the Mortuary Platform at Honeysuckle. From there a train service was provided to Sandgate cemetery. Each hearse trailer could hold 3 coffins. The hearse trailer was pre-booked and connected as the last vehicle on the tram. After the closure of the Mortuary Station in 1933 the transfer of coffins was conducted at Newcastle Station in Scott Street. The hearse trailers remained in service until 1946.
(Source: Tramways Of Newcastle, D Keenan, K McCarthy & R Wilson. Transit Press, 1999)