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@jazz jazz , Hi , first off from my point of view , I understand you about huntsmen , 46 yo male here and I'm poop scared of them !!! , my mate on the other hand will pick them up and relocate them to tree :) . I understand what you say too about the tram part that your house part is priority first. I was just curious to maybe finding out if you eventually planned to "show" the tram off , either family or friends might be interested in information about the tram that you can talk about , that was my main reason sort of for posting. Any information about it I can gladly pass on. Now about the Real Estate person saying 94 or 96 , if that meant the number then I could narrow it down. Number 294 is in South Aust. still in operative condition where as number 296 was sold off even before I was born so if anything remains of it in any shape I'd be surprised. Above the saloon door in top photo on the top arched frame , hard to see , and I don't know how to pin point it , is black numbering , if your saloon door area is intact , you will locate the car number there. On the front of the apron the number may be located too but your one has been painted on already and one can hardly expect another to scratch off a bit of paint to reveal a silly number :). As I do with everyone I more than respect privacy , but one other way I could possibly check on a number would be the property locale , generalised area as such like Ballarat or Bendigo , don 't like asking that though. I take it that it's in Vic , maybe country vic , if East I have a pic of number 260 at Noojee that was set up with a house in such manner. Other than that my mate likes beer and his ears pricked up when I read your post out to him. Good luck with it all , Green and Cream Color scheme if going for a historic look or Chocolate and Cream as those were the 2 Color schemes W class trams have had. Old Chap.

Thanks for these wonderful comments everyone! These are really good and provide me with some great starting points. A few of you mentioned budget. We are thinking 300k to 400k would be good, but I'm not sure if this is too much or too little. We are based in Melbourne if that helps. We will definitely engage a building designer rather than architect mainly due to costs. The suggestion of a brief is good so that we have a clear idea of what our goals mad requirements are. Neighbour wise we should be fine :) I hadn't considered asking them if they were interested in renovations as well. Wow, that plan looks amazing! Can't believe that you create that so quickly. I'm sorry I couldn't get to answer your questions in time. The easement is for drainage. I believe there is a large drain likely sewer line running down the side form memory. The walls are all brick. Double brick. Roof is tiled and floors are hardwood timber except in existing kitchen and toilet areas. I should have added we plan to knock down the existing garage and use the space for backyard. Can't build on it because of easement. The land slopes very gently from the front to the back. The height of the floor at the dining room I would guess is 50 cm higher than the ground outside. I can try and take a photo today. We were thinking we would try to keep as much as possible of the existing walls, like you have suggested except the bathroom laundry kitchen and possibly dining. although it would be nice to have the main hallway width wider. but I can see then that you would lose quite a bit of space.

No-one seems to have brought up what , to me , seems like the second most logical suggestion ( admitttedly , without knowing the planning rules ) . The logical still seems to be to sell . Failing that , I'd look at extending the study , taking in the courtyard , alter the internal door ( suggestion - a single door on the 'right' side of the existing study doors area ) , add an ensuite ( relatively easy as the existing bathroom is just through the wall ) , and make that room your master bedroom with en-suite . Move the ranchslider , or add a roof to floor window , to get natural light into the new master , and possibly add a skylight or two above the dining room , as it will lose the ranchslider . Not perfect , but if you go up it will be costly , there are engineering issues , matching materials , new roof , all sorts of logistical problems . 'My' suggestion cuts down outdoor space , and may exceed the building to land-size ratios , but its so much easier building , engineering , roofing , plumbing and materials matching wise , gives you all or most of the space you are after , so IMO way more bang per buck . Having said that , only you know your priorities , budget and what you are happy to give up to gain .