File:Hearse-tram-Linwood.jpg

English: After a lengthy debate, Linwood Cemetery was connected to the Christchurch tramway system. Approval for construction of the line was given in April 1885. Construction began on 26 November 1885 at Latimer Square and was completed by March 1886. The line was officially opened on 23 April 1886. Initially, it was the 'end of the line' from the city centre and people had to walk across or around the cemetery to connect with the tram line to New Brighton, which was run by a different company. By January 1887, the two lines had been connected. The city council had a tram hearse built for up to four coffins, with the intention of providing cheaper form of transport to the cemetery than what funeral directors would charge. The scheme was a failure and it is believed that the tram hearse was never used. In 1888, a council committee recommended that the rails into the cemetery be removed again and used elsewhere, but this was never acted on, and the rails, although sealed over, are still faintly visible. The tram hearse was bought by Samuel Paull Andrews for £3 and used as an explosives store in his St Andrew's Hill quarry. It is possibly that Linwood Cemetery is the only one in the world to have had a tram line.