Fort Macquarie Tram Depot was part of the Sydney tram network. It opened in 1902 on the site of the old

Fort Macquarie Fort Macquarie was a square castle, castellated battlement fort built in 1798 at Bennelong Point, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the site where the Sydney Opera House now stands. It was demolished in 1901 to make way for the Fort Macqua ...

and was demolished in 1958 to make way for the construction of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

History

Fort Macquarie Tram Depot was built on

Bennelong Point Bennelong Point, a former island in Sydney Harbour, is a headland that, since the 1970s is the location of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History Bennelong Point is known to the local Gadigal people of the Eora ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

opening on 10 August 1902, on the site of the old

. The depot was constructed in the design of a fortress with castellated ramparts in homage to the previous building. The depot closed on 22 October 1955 before being demolished in 1958 to make way for the construction of the

. With the closing of Fort Macquarie depot, most of the services were transferred to Dowling Street depot.

Design

*12 tracks *Battlement style front parapet *Brick pediments, vents within false windows *Roof orientation to south

Operations

The depot consisted of a 12 road shed, with loop line laid around the outside. The loop and sidings on the western side of the depot were an important lay-over point for trams serving many lines. This took pressure away from

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...

during busy periods. Entry to the depot and loop line was controlled from a signal box located adjacent to the tracks. Nothing remains of the depot; the buildings were totally razed to make way for the Opera House. Services from Fort Macquarie (some of these services also commenced at

and

Millers Point Millers Point is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the north-western edge of the Sydney central business district, adjacent to The Rocks and is part of the local government area of the C ...

) were:

* Fort Macquarie to

Rozelle Rozelle is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 4 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council. Location Rozelle si ...

Drummoyne Drummoyne is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Drummoyne is six kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative center for the local government area of the City of ...

Gladesville Gladesville is a suburb in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Gladesville is located 10 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde a ...

and

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

* Fort Macquarie to Forest Lodge, Balmain and Birchgrove * Fort Macquarie to Haberfield,

Five Dock Five Dock is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay. Location Fi ...

and Abbotsford * Fort Macquarie to

Leichhardt Leichhardt may refer to: * Division of Leichhardt, electoral District for the Australian House of Representatives * Leichhardt Highway, a highway of Queensland, Australia * Leichhardt Way, an Australian road route * Leichhardt, New South Wales, inn ...

* Fort Macquarie to

Glebe Point Glebe Point is a point on Sydney Harbour in the suburb of Glebe, New South Wales, Glebe, in the Inner West (Sydney), Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. External links GlebeNet: Information for Residents and Visitor ...

* Fort Macquarie to

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

* Fort Macquarie to Rosebery * Circular Quay to Railway Colonnade Dimensions: *Width: 131 ft *Length of car shed: 250 ft *Length of building from end to end: 307 ft *Height from ground level 36 ft *Height from pit level: 41 ft *Height of turret: 80 ft

References

External links

Sydney Architecture gallery
{{SydneyTramNavbox, state=collapsed Buildings and structures demolished in 1958 Industrial buildings in Sydney Tram depots in Sydney Transport infrastructure completed in 1902