TRAM BOY - A Teen who Drove a Tram in Melbourne 

I'm not going to lie, I was fully expecting the twist to be that YOU are the Tram Boy XD

I’m just gonna say that Law and Order intro was epic

Hi there, thank you so much for making this video! These kinds of people in the transport community are far more common than most people think and are unfortunately very neglected by most of society. I know this because I am one of those and have a story about my experiences on the Sydney Trains network. It wasn’t as severe as others, but I used to make announcements with the PA when the staff would let me. And I would also help people by giving them directions on where they needed to go. And would also check to make sure the doors would shut and that the platforms were cleared. I desperately wanted to work for Sydney Trains but as I was under 18, I couldn’t, so this was the next best thing when I had no school, no friends, and no work. I was actively encouraged by other members of staff to do more than that and some others used to open and close doors with Guards. 90% of people were fine with it and had no problems and would actively encourage me to do it. But in the end management didn’t like it and attempted to ban me from the network. It took a lot of pressure to get me back there. Shortly after that, I had a medical condition that popped up unaffiliated with this that would often cause me to collapse. Staff would assume that I was on drugs and would often call the police or outright refuse to help me. It caused very negative experiences. I still love trains in general, but not Sydney Trains. It turned into a place that was a safe haven from bullying at home, on the computer, and at school, a place where I could have a purpose in life. To a living nightmare. I wish that an apprenticeship program would be set up by transport companies to give people like Darius, the “Tram Boy”, and I, a pathway to future employment while remaining safe. This has actually been floated around by people in Transport for NSW but so far has been refused funding. It’s disappointing that these kinds of people get destroyed by these companies when all that they’re trying to do is help and not allow a path to help use their passions for good.

A little context for the police’s (over)reaction: 2001 was the year everyone started thinking about hijacking transport to kill people, and it went for years. In 2005, on 7th July there was the equivalent emergency in London where a bunch of trains and a bus were bombed. This got police in London, and most of the English speaking world, truly on edge. We know that because a few weeks later a passenger was running for the train in London and got yelled at by police to stop, but he kept running, partly in a hurry but probably being scared by people yelling at him - if they were in plain clothes it would have been scary. They eventually cornered him in the train and shot him dead, because (they thought) he matched the description of another attempted bombing on 21st July. Mostly we have to acknowledge his risk for being brown-skinned played into it A LOT, just like the example in New York. But 2005 was a bad year to be Tram Boy.

Loved this video! I was on a route 109 C1 tram not long ago, and for some reason looked up the tram number and saw that it was THE tram boy tram! Wanted to learn more but couldn’t find much info about it - this definitely satisfied my curiosity!

As a young train fan, who is now operating trams in Canada. I completely disagree. You need to understand that there is just some people that can't do the job, or the risk is too high given other mental problems. It's all about safety, and simply these people broke the law, and need to be held to it, to prevent others from doing this. Not saying jail is the best option given the circumstances, but it's a serious business, safety transporting 100's of people at a time. I should add, very well produced and informative video of what happened!

Only in Melbourne will a 16 year old steal a tram and then inspire songs and have a 26 minute documentary video made on RU-vid about him. Fuck I love this city.

i had the opportunity to drive a train legally and i must say that it’s something everyone should experience, it’s so fun drove an R17 at SLTM in east haven, ct, usa

It's pretty interesting how relatively responsibly the tram boy stole the tram, doing things like testing the brakes of the trams without passengers. It's obviously still unsafe but I'd have expected a lot worse from a 15yo trying to prove a point.

Mobile phones were extremely common in 2005. Camera phones weren't as common as they are today, but plenty of people had them. I was a teenager and in 2005 I had my second camera phone, and I came from a family that was far from wealthy.

“Passengers didn’t care that much” when he switched routes - I find this strangely believable and yet it’s just so weird that people can be like that.

I wouldn’t say mobile phones were uncommon in 2005, but all you could do was make calls, send SMS and play snake. The excessive police response may have also been due to the so-called “War on Terror” - September 11 and the Bali bombings were still fresh in people’s minds and the Iraq War, which Australia was (shamefully) involved in, was rapidly becoming a s””” show.

Excellent work. I teared up at one stage thinking of the thrill Tr Boy felt. Your editing is wonderful and you told the story with great respect. A perfect video for a Melbournite like me. Congratulations

A very interesting story. I was going to say he reminds me of Darius McCollum, glad you mentioned him in the video.

I was riding the trams one day when the driver invited me to drive a W class on the then single curved track on the end of the 67 route. That track is now double track.

2005: Mobile phones were VERY common, but phones with cameras, especially video cameras, weren’t.

I’d add that in your part about Autism, you added Rett Syndrome, which isn’t actually under the ASD group anymore. They have found a direct gene responsible for it, although there is still a link to ASD as there is with most if not all neurodevelopmental disorders.

It's Carlisle St, by the way. "car-lyle". Not what is spelt or said in the video. For anyway who may not know, trams are very difficult to "reverse", very rare & shouldn't be done. And only should be done, after the driver changes to the cabin at other end. Trams only ever go back along a short section on same rails, (they're not "reversing") to cross over to opposite direction tracks, & start the next service, or at/near terminus

Grand theft tram...

Love the Law & Order intro! 😁

Great story. Well made. I kind of remember this happening but didn't realise the severity.

I liked the Law and order theme you used.

5:51 woah! I was not expecting that!

"driver, could you give me change for a $20?" "I don't work here"

interesting, however as a tram driver of 3 years myself, this is extremely dangerous. i can’t believe yarra trams would even consider offering him a job later on. he clearly has very poor judgement. a tram driver must have great judgement, for seeing dangers such as pedestrians walking onto the tracks not looking or cars driving into a junction etc. not everyone can be a tram driver as the job is all about safety!

22:57 Lol, I thought you were going to say you were the tram boy!

Nicely done, mate :) Very clean and factual. You deserve the like and subscribe :) Hope to see much more good content :)

Metro Trains here often does recruitment drives and pay well, i did an application a few years back and honestly i didnt know how to answer half of the questions on it without sounding like i was on the spectrum myself. How do you explain with a straight face sometimes why you like trains of all things... but then i get the same fuckin thing from people excited about building rooves and trimming trees...

Were they named Malcolm?

what are fucking legend

I wonder if he became a tram driver?

He could've done better than to steal a c class tram lol (they are very uncomfortable)

It’s a shame the words “dangerous” and “criminal” have become synonymous in everyday language, because they don’t need to be. Someone is “a criminal” by the legal definition, the only definition that makes any difference, and plenty of crimes don’t depend on your motives. Or harm to people. Life is a mixture of staying out of trouble and staying out of boredom. How many people do you know regularly achieve both? Tram Boy is a rare example of thoroughly succeeding staying out of boredom but not out of trouble.

9:07 for the start of the story

I mean congrats to him if he drives trams now. Or whatever he drives now considering he could drive buses and trams.

I deleted my recent comment due to legal reasons. Sometime in 2024, I will be releasing the full versions of the Tram Boy story. Back in 2006, I wrote the ckmpmet story, I will also be sourcing a brief and other documents from Victoria Police through freedom of information as to prove that I am the Tram Boy. As I was I was under 18, my identity was protected by law.

4:19 thought u we’re about to say it was you.

Awesome video mate

Lookup the movie "off the rails". Its a documentary about Darius McCullum, who has been compulsively impersonating train operators and hijacking subways and buses in New York City since he was 15. He is now in his 30s.

I heard from some bus drivers that the same person even tried to steal buses

Not hard to drive most buses, mk2s didn't have keys!

Robocop reference acknowledged 18:00

What I remember at the time he did a better job that a lot of the official tram dirvers at the time

It was you wasn't it.

they should hired him tho

Good video but for fucks sake it didn’t need to take 2 mins even start.

There called pigs not police