The earliest trams in Australia operated in the latter decades of the 19th century, hauled by horses or " steam tram motors" (also known as " steam dummies"). At the turn of the 20th century, propulsion almost universally turned to electrification, although cable trams (established in 1885) lingered in Melbourne. In cities and towns that had trams, they were a major part of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

assets. In the middle of the 20th century trams fell out of favour, in part because of deferred maintenance during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and declining patronage resulting from increased private car ownership. Lines were closed or severely cut back except in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

: its network of 24 routes covering 250 km (155 mi) is now the largest in the world. Since the turn of the 21st century tramway networks have been reconstructed in

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 ...

and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, extended in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and brand new systems have been built on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

and in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

(marking the first time these two cities have had trams). Restored vintage trams are very popular in their various forms. Most operate on sections of former operational lines such as at

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

and

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

or on purpose-built tracks in association with museums such as at St Kilda,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

;

Whiteman Park Whiteman Park is a bushland area located north of Perth, Western Australia. The park is in the suburb of Whiteman, in the Swan Valley in the upper reaches of the Swan River. It encompasses the source of Bennett Brook - an important place o ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

; and Launceston,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Less authentic but invariably popular are replica trams that offer tourist experiences such as at

Victor Harbor, South Australia Victor Harbor is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located within the City of Victor Harbor on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. The town is the large ...

and

Portland, Victoria Portland is a city in Victoria, Australia, and is the oldest European settlement in the state. It is also the main urban centre in the Shire of Glenelg and is located on Portland Bay. As of the 2021 census the population was 10,016, increasing ...

History

In the 19th century numerous horse drawn systems were established, with

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

establishing reasonably large systems (for their day) and retaining their horse-drawn trams when other systems had adopted steam or cable traction. Victor Harbor and

Gawler Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...

are examples of small, single-line horse-drawn systems which survived until 1955 and 1931 respectively; the Victor Harbor tramway reopened in 1986. Trams and traffic at Railway Square

Following a short lived experiment with a privately run horse tram line in

Pitt Street Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sec ...

in the 1860s,

adopted steam trams, which were operated by the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

. By comparison,

adopted cable trams, the infrastructure (tracks and winding-houses) was owned collectively by the local municipal councils, but operated initially by a private company. The

Melbourne cable tramway system The Melbourne cable tramway system was a cable car public transport system, which operated between 1885 and 1940 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The first line, from Spencer Street to the end of Bridge Road Richmond via Flinders Street, ...

became arguably the largest in the world in the late 19th century, with some cable lines retained until 1940. Sydney operated only two cable tram lines (in North Sydney and along

New South Head Road New South Head Road, is a major road in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, linking the inner-eastern suburb of Rushcutters Bay to the southern reaches of the South Head peninsula. Route New South Head Road runs north-east from Rushcutters Bay t ...

) and eschewed the high capital outlay required for cable traction, preferring instead to retain their steam trams, until most of the system was converted to electric operation between 1898 and 1910. Smaller provincial towns in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, such as

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

and

had steam tram systems operated by the New South Wales Government.

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, also had a steam tram system, which was operated by the

City of Rockhampton The City of Rockhampton was a local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area of , and existed as a local gove ...

. With the exception of Newcastle, these systems had closed by the 1930s. Gold mining towns, with their rapid growth and wealth soon adopted trams, with

and

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

and Leonora in

all adopting electric tram systems. Bendigo initially opened a battery-operated tramline to

Eaglehawk The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have lon ...

, but as this proved unsuccessful it was replaced by steam-trams; these were electrified and expanded circa 1902. Ballarat electrified their horse tram network shortly after. These two Victorian systems survived until 1972 and 1971 respectively, following their takeover by the

through the State Electricity Commission, whereas the West Australian examples ceased operations in the 1950s as a result of the economic decline of those towns at the time. Electrification was quickly adopted in Australian systems, with

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

and Brisbane the first systems to be electrified in 1893 and 1897 respectively. Hobart thus was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to operate a successful electric tramway system. It was also the only Australian city to use the European-style

bow collector A bow collector is one of the three main devices used on tramcars to transfer electric current from the wires above to the tram below. While once very common in continental Europe, it was replaced by the pantograph or the trolley pole, itself of ...

, instead of

Frank Sprague Frank Julian Sprague (July 25, 1857 in Milford, Connecticut – October 25, 1934) was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially i ...

's trolley pole system. Hobart was also the first city outside Europe to employ electric double-decker trams. The Hobart system retained a distinctly "English" appearance throughout its existence.

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

had an electric tram system in operation between 1898 and 1958. Adelaide was the last major city to convert its trams to electric operation, in 1908, with the system closing (except for the

Glenelg tram line The Glenelg tram line is a tram/ light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic. The service is free in the city centre and a ...

) in 1958. However, Melbourne did not complete its cable tram electrification program until 1956 when today's Route 96 opened, having been converted from a diesel bus which had replaced the cable tram. A distinctive feature of many Australasian trams was the ''drop-centre'', a lowered central section between

bogies A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...

(wheel-sets), to make passenger access easier by reducing the number of steps required to get inside of the vehicle. One school of thought proposes that these were derived from Hedley-Doyle stepless car, (named after two employees of the

New York Railways Company The New York Railways Company operated street railways in Manhattan, New York City, United States between 1911 and 1925. The company went into receivership in 1919 and control was passed to the New York Railways Corporation in 1925 after which a ...

), two of which came to Australia: the "Big Lizzie" of Brisbane supplied by

JG Brill Company The J.G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for almos ...

in 1913, and the "New York" car (I class number 63) of the Perth tramways in 1914. A more plausible genesis is that the design evolved locally, as evidenced by a number of drop-centre trams appearing ''prior'' to the 1912 New York design.

Patronage

The following table lists tram patronage figures (in millions of journeys) during the 2017–18 and 2018–19 financial years (1 July to 30 June).

Networks

Timeline – all tramways

ImageSize = width:700 height:780 PlotArea = width:550 height:700 left:140 bottom:20 AlignBars = late BarData= bar:Vi text:Victor Harbor bar:Sy text:Sydney bar:So text:Sorrento bar:Ro text:Rockhampton bar:Po text:Portland bar:Pe text:Perth bar:Ne text:Newcastle bar:Na text:Nambour bar:Me text:Melbourne bar:Ma text:Maitland bar:Le text:Leonora bar:La text:Launceston bar:Ka text:Kalgoorlie bar:Ho text:Hobart bar:Go text:Gold Coast bar:Ge text:Geelong bar:Fr text:Fremantle bar:Da text:Darwin bar:Cn text:Canberra bar:Ca text:Cairns-Mulgrave bar:Bh text:Broken Hill-Silverton bar:Br text:Brisbane bar:Be text:Bendigo bar:Ba text:Ballarat bar:Ad text:Adelaide Colors = id:grey value:gray(0.4) id:lgrey value:gray(0.8) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1860 till:2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1860 gridcolor:lgrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1860 PlotData= color:yellow width:3 bar:Ad from:1878 till:1909 shift:(-20,-15) text:Horse at:1909 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric at:1929 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Glenelg light rail from:1909 till:1958 shift:(-20,-15) text: at:1958 mark:(line,red) shift:(-30,-15) color:blue width:1 text:Network closed from:1958 till:2007 shift:(-15,-15) color:blue width:3 text:Glenelg only at:2007 mark:(line,red) shift:(-30,-15) color:blue width:1 text:Extensions from:2007 till:end color:orange width:3 bar:Ba from:1887 till:1971 at:1905 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric at:1971 mark:(line,red) shift:(-40,-15) color:blue width:1 text:Network closure, then tourist over part at:1971 mark:(line,red) shift:(-40,-30) color:blue width:1 text: from:1971 till:end shift:(-15,-30) color:blue width:3 bar:Be from:1892 till:1972 at:1903 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric at:1972 mark:(line,red) shift:(-40,-15) color:blue width:1 text:Network closure, then tourist over part from:1972 till:end shift:(0,-15) color:blue width:3 from:2010 till:end color:blue width:3 bar:Br from:1885 till:1969 at:1897 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric bar:Bh from:1886 till:1970 shift:(0,-15) color:red width:1 text:Tramway bar:Ca from:1897 till:1911 shift:(0,-15) color:red width:1 text:Tramway bar:Cn from: 2019 till:end shift:(-40,-15) color:orange width:3 text:Light rail bar:Da from: 2012 till:end shift:(-100,-15) color:orange width:2 text:Proposed light rail bar:Fr from:1905 till:1952 bar:Ge from:1912 till:1956 at:1912 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric bar:Go from: 2014 till:end shift:(-40,-15) color:orange width:3 text:Light rail bar:Ho from:1893 till:1960 at:1893 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric from: 2012 till:end shift:(-100,-15) color:orange width:2 text:Proposed bar:Ka from:1902 till:1952 at:1902 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric bar:La from:1901 till:1952 at:1901 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric from:2012 till:end shift:(-70,-15) color:red width:3 text:Tourist bar:Le from:1901 till:1921 at:1901 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric bar:Ma from:1909 till:1926 color:blue width:1 at:1909 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Steam bar:Me from:1884 till:end color:green width:3 at:1884 mark:(line,red) shift:(0,-12) text:Horse at:1885 mark:(line,red) shift:(0,5) text:Cable at:1889 mark:(line,red) shift:(0,-22) text:1st electric at:1906 mark:(line,red) shift:(0,-12) text:Electric at:2007 shift:(-62,-12) text:(Largest network in world) bar:Na from:1910 till:2001 color:blue width:1 at:1910 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Diesel from: 2020 till:end mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Tourist bar:Ne from:1887 till:1950 at:1887 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Steam at:1923 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:1st electric at:1926 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-25) text:Electric from: 2019 till:end shift:(-40,-15) color:orange width:3 text:Light rail bar:Pe from:1899 till:1958 at:1899 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric bar:Po from:1996 till:end color:red width:3 at:1996 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Replica tourist bar:Ro from:1909 till:1939 at:1909 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Steam bar:So from:1889 till:1921 at:1889 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Steam bar:Sy from:1861 till:1866 shift:(-20,-15) text:Horse from:1879 till:1961 at:1879 mark:(line,red) shift:(-10,-15) text:Steam at:1898 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Electric at:1961 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Network closure at:1997 mark:(line,red) from:1997 till:end color:orange width:3 shift:(-45,-15) text:Light rail bar:Vi from:1867 till:1896 shift:(0,-15) color:red width:1 from:1896 till:1956 shift:(0,-15) color:red width:1 at:1867 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Horse (goods only) at:1896 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text: Horse (passengers only) from:1986 till:end color:red width:3 at:1986 mark:(line,red) shift:(-20,-15) text:Horse (replica tourist) LineData = layer:front # all lines in front of bars unless stated otherwise Legend * Yellow = historical passenger network * Green = existing continuously operated tram network (more than one line) * Blue = reduced size single line or tourist railway * Red = replica tourist tram only * Orange = contemporary tram or light rail public transit network * Grey = proposed

Australian Capital Territory

A light rail system serving Australia's national capital,

, opened in April 2019. The initial line links the northern suburb of

Gungahlin The District of Gungahlin () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory used in land administration. The Gungahlin Region is one of fastest growing regions within Australia. The district is subdivided into di ...

to the city centre (

Civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...

). An extension to the southern suburb of

Woden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

has been announced.

New South Wales

Broken Hill

A steam tramway service operated in

from 1902 until its closure in December 1926.

Maitland

A steam tram line connected East and West

between 1909 and 1926. The line ran from Victoria Street station in

East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in the City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. It is on the New England Highway and it has two railway stations, Victoria Street (opened in 1857 with the Newcastle- Maitland line) and East Maitland (opened initi ...

along High Street, West Maitland crossing the 'Long Bridge' and terminated in the suburb of Campbells Hill. There was single track branch from High Street, West Maitland running along Church Street to West Maitland station. This branch line closed in 1915. There were proposals to extend the line westwards from Campbells Hill to Rutherford but these never eventuated. There were proposals to electrify the service in 1921 but instead it was decided to withdraw the service. The tramway closed on 31 December 1926.

Newcastle

A steam tram system operated in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

from 1887, with a branch to

West Wallsend West Wallsend is a suburb and small town in the City of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. It is near the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and the western suburbs of Newcastle. History The Awabakal are the traditional p ...

. It was electrified in 1923–26. The last line closed in 1950. The construction of the a modern system was announced in 2014. The

Newcastle Light Rail The Newcastle Light Rail is a light rail system in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, running from Newcastle Interchange through the central business district to Pacific Park. Major construction commenced in September 2017 and the line was ...

opened in February 2019.

Sydney

once had quite an extensive

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

system, having been in place since 1879, with a short-lived earlier line opened between 1861 and 1866. The system was hugely popular by the 20th century, with an average of more than one tram journey per day made by every man and woman and child in the city. Patronage peaked at over 400 million people per annum in 1945. The use of trams in Sydney declined in the 1950s and the system was closed entirely in 1961, replaced by buses. It had a maximum street mileage of 181 miles (291 km) in 1923 making it the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and second largest in the British Empire after London. In 1997, more than 30 years after trams disappeared from Sydney streets, they were reintroduced in the form of a small light rail system. A single line was opened between

Central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

and Pyrmont, mostly utilising a former goods railway, which was extended along the remaining section of disused railway to

Lilyfield Lilyfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lilyfield is located 6 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council. Lilyfie ...

in the Inner Western Suburbs in 2000. Following a further cut back to the city's freight rail network, a south-western extension to

Dulwich Hill Dulwich Hill is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 7.5 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Inner West Council. Dulwich Hill str ...

opened in 2014. A second line from the CBD and to Randwick opened in December 2019, with an additional branch to Kingsford having opened in March 2020.

Two lines 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

have been announced in

Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. Both lines feature a shared core through

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

before one line travels east to

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A smal ...

and the other north-east to Carlingford. Stage 1 of the

Parramatta Light Rail The Parramatta Light Rail (often unofficially referred to as the Western Sydney Light Rail) is a project for a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which is under construction and due to start passenger services in 2024. The ...

between Westmead and Carlingford is currently under construction.

Queensland

Brisbane

The Brisbane Tram System was operational from 1885 to 1969. Brisbane's tram system ran on

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

track. The electric system was originally energised to 500 volts, this was subsequently increased to 600 volts. Most trams operated with a two-person crew – a driver (or motorman) and a conductor, who moved about the tram collecting fares and issuing tickets. The exceptions to this arrangement were on the Gardens line (Lower Edward Street) where the short duration of the trip meant it was more effective for passengers to simply drop their fare into a fare box as they entered the tram; and the "one man cars" which operated in the early 1930s (see below). The network reached its maximum extent of 109 kilometres in 1952. The total track length was 199 kilometres, owing to many routes ending in single, rather than double, track. Single track segments of the track were protected by signalling which operated off the trolley wire. By 1959, more than 140 kilometres of track were laid in concrete, a method of track construction pioneered in Brisbane. The last track opened was in O'Keefe Street

Woolloongabba Woolloongabba is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Woolloongabba had a population of 5,631 people. Geography Woolloongabba is located south of the CBD. It contains the Brisbane Cricket Ground ('the Gabba') and t ...

, in May 1961. However, this track was not used in normal passenger service and was merely used to reduce dead running from Logan Road back to Ipswich Road Depot. The peak year for patronage was 1944–45, with almost 160 million passenger journeys recorded.

Gold Coast

GCLR Set 9 at Broadwater Parklands 2014-09-28

The first modern light rail system in

opened on the

in 2014. Called G:link, it runs on a single 20-kilometre line between

Helensvale railway station Helensvale railway station is a major public transport interchange in the Gold Coast suburb of Helensvale. Helensvale railway station is served by the Queensland Rail Citytrain network Gold Coast line, G:link light rail and Surfside Busline ...

and

Broadbeach Broadbeach is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Broadbeach had a population of 5,514 people. Geography Development in the area today mostly incorporates low rise structures, consisting of single bedroom house ...

via

Gold Coast University Hospital Gold Coast University Hospital (abbreviated GCUH or GCH, and sometimes Gold Coast Uni Hospital) is a major health facility offering tertiary level health care for the Gold Coast, Australia, completed in September 2013. The hospital was built on ...

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

and Surfers Paradise. The route forms a public transport spine on the Coast and connects with bus services along the route. A northern extension, from the original terminus at Gold Coast University Hospital to

, was completed in 2018 before the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

Rockhampton

operated steam trams from 1909 to 1939. There is a Steam Tram Museum at Archer Park Station, with a toastrack style French ''Purrey'' steam tram operating for several hours each Sunday.

Nambour

Nambour Nambour is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 11,187 people. Geography Nambour is north of the state capital, Brisbane. The town lies in the sub ...

re-introduced a tourist tramway in 2021. The tramway is part of the Nambour to Coolum Tramline which was used between the 1910s to 2001. The tourist service includes a diesel locomotive called Petrie donated by

Bundaberg Sugar Bundaberg Sugar is a company involved in all aspects of sugar manufacture, including growing and milling the sugarcane and refining and marketing the sugar. It operates principally in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. As at 2014, th ...

and operates as a passenger service for tourists from the old sugar mill site to Quota Park running 800 metres through the Nambour CBD.

South Australia

Adelaide

had a

horse tram A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...

network from 1878 to 1909, followed for half a century by an electrified network of similar length – about 100 km (60 mi). During this period trams and

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

es were Adelaide's main public transport, although buses increasingly took on the transport in the early 1950s. In 1958 the street network was closed and the city relied on

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es and trains for

. An exception was the tram line retained between Victoria Square at the centre of Adelaide and the beachside suburb of Glenelg. Of its then 10.9 km (6.8 mi) length, 9.2 km (5.7 mi) was, and remains, an exclusive-use reservation. ,

's tramways totalled 16.2 km (10.1 mi) in length, following three northwards extensions from Victoria Square. The first, in 2007, was to North Terrace (the northernmost thoroughfare of the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ade ...

) then west to near the

Adelaide Railway Station Adelaide Railway Station is the central terminus of the Adelaide Metro railway system. All lines approach the station from the west, and it is a terminal station with no through lines, with most of the traffic on the metropolitan network eithe ...

. In 2010 that line was further extended north-west to the

Adelaide Entertainment Centre The Adelaide Entertainment Centre (AEC) is an indoor arena located in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is used for sporting and entertainment events. It is the principal venue for concerts, events and attractions for audiences bet ...

in the inner suburb of Hindmarsh. In 2018 the North Terrace line was extended eastwards to serve the educational and cultural precinct. Included with this work was a 300-metre stub north of North Terrace to serve the

Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...

and

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

on weekends and for special events. In 2016 the state government announced an ambitious (but unfunded) tramways plan to serve some of Adelaide's suburbs. However, the

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

of a new government elected in March 2018 stated that its focus would be on extending tram services in the city centre and

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

rather than building lines further out. A total of 24 trams built by two European manufacturers now provide services on Adelaide's tramways. Fifteen are

Bombardier Flexity Classic The Bombardier Flexity Classic is a model of light-rail tram manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Although it is marketed as the most traditionally designed member of the Flexity family, it is still a modern bi-directional articulated t ...

models, classified by

Adelaide Metro Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is an intermodal system offering an integrated network of bus, tram, and train service throughout the metropolitan area. The network has an ann ...

as the 100 Series, of which eleven were introduced in 2006 and four in 2008; nine are Alstom Citadis 302 models, classified as the 200 Series, of which six were introduced in 2009 and three in 2017. The 1929-vintage Type H "Glenelg" or "Bay" trams, phased out of regular service in 2006, last ran in 2015; five are now in storage.

Victor Harbor

An 1864-built pier off Victor Harbor was modified in 1875 to extend to Granite Island and its wharf, which could accommodate deep draught sailing vessels. The link became known as "The Causeway", along which a railway line was built to convey goods wagons 1 mile 75 chains (1.9 mi, 3.1 km) to the mainland. Horses were the motive power, as they were on about 35 mi (56 km) of lines from Victor Harbor to Strathalbyn at the time. Steam locomotives took over these lines in 1885 but horses continued to operate to Granite Island. In 1894, as increasing numbers of visitors and holiday makers were attracted to the Causeway, the

South Australian Railways South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...

initiated a passenger service. A double-deck horse tram from Kadina (and previously Moonta) was allocated and later several others joined it. The service continued until 1955, when the Harbours Board was demolishing the old working jetty and remnants of the Victoria Pier; funds were not allocated for work on the tracks and the Causeway was rebuilt without rails. Between 1956 and 1986 two rubber-tyred trailers were towed by a small

Ferguson tractor Ferguson may refer to: Places Canada *Ferguson Avenue (Hamilton, Ontario) *Ferguson, British Columbia *Mount Ferguson (Ontario), a mountain in Temagami, Ontario United States *Ferguson, a meteorite fall in North Carolina *Ferguson, Arkansas * F ...

, and later by a

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

with cladding to imitate the outline of a steam locomotive. A major project funded for the state's 150th jubilee in 1986 reinstated the horse tramway as the

Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram The Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram is located on the shores of the city of Victor Harbor, South Australia, Victor Harbor, South Australia, Australia. A tramway links the city's visitor information centre with the nearby Granite Island (South ...

. Four sturdy replica carriages were built incorporating tubular steel, timber cladding and roller bearings. Tracks were laid again and a 364-day service commenced on 14 June 1986. The trams and their Clydesdale horses remain very popular. On most days one tram operates an hourly service; two (half-hourly) at busier times and three at Easter and Christmas – New Year holidays.

Tasmania

Electric railway gazette (1895) (14572532567)

Hobart

had a municipal tram system from 1893 to 1960 with a network of 8 routes throughout the city, the tram network was scaled down and by 1960 was virtually defunct and replaced by a short lived trolleybus system until 1968. Hobart has investigated restoring the tram network, as it is part of its heritage, being one of the first Australian cities to implement a tram system but no such development has occurred. Recent investigation and transport studies have led to plans to instigate a Light Rail system along the existing South Line. Launceston trams in 1911

Launceston

Launceston had a municipal tram system from 1911 to 1952 with 29 trams. The Launceston Tramway Museum Society runs a tramway museum in the Inveresk Precinct. The long-term plan is to have a line from the city centre to the museu

and if successful to expand further along the original network.

Victoria

Ballarat

once operated an extensive tramway network which began in 1887 with horse-drawn trams; this was electrified between 1905 and 1913. The system was closed in September 1971 and replaced by buses. The

Ballarat Tramway Museum The Ballarat Tramway Museum is an operating tramway museum, located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The museum is run by volunteers and has a fleet of trams which operate on part of the original horse tramway around Lake Wendouree an ...

operates a small section of the original track at

Lake Wendouree Lake Wendouree () is an artificially created and maintained shallow urban lake located adjacent to the suburb of the same name in the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The name Wendouree comes from a local Aboriginal word ''wendaaree'' w ...

as a tourist and museum tramway. There have been several proposals put to the

City of Ballarat The City of Ballarat is a local government area in the west of the state of Victoria, Australia. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 107,325. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is primarily urban with the v ...

to return trams to the inner suburbs and extend the line to

Ballarat railway station Ballarat railway station is located on the Serviceton line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the city of Ballarat, and it opened on 11 April 1862 as Ballarat West. It was renamed Ballarat in 1865.

however these plans have been put on hold indefinitely.

Bendigo

in regional Victoria electrified its steam-tram service to the neighbouring

Borough of Eaglehawk The Borough of Eaglehawk was a local government area which covered the northwestern suburbs of the regional city of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. The borough covered an area of , and existed from 1862 until 1994. History Eaglehawk was first ...

in 1902, and extended this line from Bendigo railway station to Quarry Hill. At the same time, a new line was constructed from

Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and sout ...

Lake Weeroona Lake Weeroona is a man-made lake in the city of Bendigo, Victoria. History Lake Weeroona was commissioned in 1878 under the supervision of William Guilfoyle, the art director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria a ...

(later extended to North Bendigo). These two lines passed over each other at

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

, and it is a section of the latter which has been retained for its historic tourist operation. The famous heritage "talking tram" and "cafe tram" are run by the Bendigo Trust in conjunction with a tramway museum at the original electric tram depot. A public transport trial of trams began in 2009 and in 2010 full funding was committed to restore the Bendigo network for public transport with the development of a raised platform

tram stop A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, bu ...

and yearly ticket costing just A$30 with future extensions to the network in the planning stages.

Geelong

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

maintained an electric tram service from 1912 until 1956; unusually, it was constructed from new – not converted from an existing non-electric system. The network consisted of 4 main through-routes, all passing through the city: *

North Geelong North Geelong is a suburb of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. The suburb was bypassed by traffic from Melbourne coming from the Princes Freeway by the creation of the Geelong Ring Road, which was complete in 2009. At the , North Geelo ...

– Belmont * Newtown –

Eastern Park Eastern Park was a baseball park in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York in the 1890s. It was bounded by Eastern Parkway—later renamed Pitkin Avenue when Eastern Parkway was diverted—to the north (home plate); the Long I ...

West Geelong Geelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street. At the 2016 c ...

–

East Geelong East Geelong is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the , East Geelong had a population of 3,862. The post office opened on 6 June 1921. An earlier Post Office dating from 1871 was later renamed Moolap West. The 81-hect ...

Chilwell Chilwell is a village and residential suburb of Nottingham, in the borough of Broxtowe of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham city. Until 1974 it was part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having been in Stapleford Rural District until ...

– Eastern Beach

Melbourne

W6 983 in Victoria Pde on route 30, 2004 (tram)

Melbourne, the most populous city in and capital of Victoria, is home to the largest tram network in the world, and its trams have become part of the city's culture and identity due to their long history. Currently around 500 trams are in service in the city. The system uses a combination of newer low-floor trams (the E-class, C-class (Citadis) and D-class (Combino)), middle-aged, high-floor trams (the A-class, B-class and Z-class) and the older W-class trams. The latter remain in service as a popular tourist attraction, used on the free City Circle Tram route in the city centre, along with operating the world's first restaurant tram. The oldest in-service W-class tram dates from 1939.

Portland

A replica tourist route in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

was created using old vintage Melbourne cable trams. The single line route runs along the beach and harbourfront to the historic lighthouse on the hill. The popular tourist route ran into financial trouble in 2005.

Sorrento

A steam tram operated in

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...

between 1889 and 1921 from near the Front Beach pier to the Back Beach. It connected with steamers from Melbourne and Queenscliff providing a tourist and, to a lesser extent, local service across the peninsula. At busy times the steam engines hauled a train of several open-sided cross-bench trailers; during slack periods, a single small horse-drawn tramcar sufficed.

Western Australia

Tram lines and companies operated in several towns of

. These were sometimes public services, while others were primarily for industries like mining or timber. Trams operated in the cities and towns of

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

and Leonora. The early northern port of

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

was linked by tram with the town of Roebourne during the gold boom of the 1890s. The biggest of these networks was centred upon the growing state capital, Perth.

Fremantle

Between 1905 and 1952,

had a small but comprehensive tramway network of its own. The Fremantle network was owned and operated by a consortium of local municipalities, and was never linked into the Perth network. Throughout its existence, the Fremantle network covered both the

municipality and the adjacent municipality of

East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

. Its tram lines also extended for part of that period into

North Fremantle North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

and Melville. The Perth Electric Tramway Society Inc, commissioned former Fremantle tram #29 in 1992 at Whiteman Park, and it has provided continuous service on (usually) the 4th Sunday of each month.

Kalgoorlie

Between 1902 and 1952,

operated a 24 kilometre network. Leonora, W

Leonora

Leonora, a gold-mining town to the north of Kalgoorlie, had a tramway. It opened in 1901, as a steam-operated system, was extended to the nearby town of Gwalia in 1903, and was electrified in 1908. Its length was approximately 4 kilometres, built to 3 ft 6in. gauge and with two overhead trolley wires. After a fire at its power station, it operated using a petrol-powered tram, from 1915 until its final closure in 1921.

Perth

Trams ran in

from the late nineteenth century. There is believed to have been at least one horse car line, but it probably did not carry passengers. The first electric trams ran in 1899 between

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

and West Perth along Hay Street. The electric tram network expanded as far west as Claremont, as far north as Osborne Park, and across the Swan River causeway to

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

and

Welshpool Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...

. The government took over the running of trams in 1914. The last tram was built in 1934; No 130. The trams ceased running on 19 July 1958. Since the start of 2007, there have been four proposals for the reintroduction of trams to the Perth metropolitan area, in the form of light rail. A line running from Mirrabooka to the

Perth central business district Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is p ...

(provisionally known as the

Metro Area Express The Metro Area Express (MAX) is an express bus service with bus rapid transit characteristics run by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The first line, on Main Street, was first operated on ...

) was officially announced in September 2012 but was cancelled in 2016. At

22 km north of Perth, there is an operating heritage tram system run by the Perth Electric Tramway Society, with 4 km of track. The trams operating on this system includes former Perth tram #66, commissioned on 9 October 2011. Currently, proposals for the restoration of subsequent Perth trams are being prepared for submission to the membership of the Society.

Proposals

Hobart

There is currently a detailed analysis and study into proposals of the introduction of a light rail service in

's northern suburbs along with political backing from all 3 major parties.

Tramway Museums

Tram museums operate in many cities following the closure of their networks. Major museums include the

Brisbane Tramway Museum The Brisbane Tramway Museum is an Australian transport museum that has preserved a collection of trams and trolleybuses most of which operated in Brisbane from 1897 until 1969. The museum is located at Ferny Grove. History The Brisbane Tramway ...

, the

Sydney Tramway Museum The Sydney Tramway Museum (operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway) is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus, New South Wales, Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney. Hist ...

, Valley Heights Steam Tramway,

, Perth, the Melbourne Tramway Museum, Victoria run by the

Tramway Museum Society of Victoria The Tramway Museum Society of Victoria Incorporated (TMSV) owns a large collection of trams from Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong, Adelaide, and Sydney as well as preserved buses and other work vehicles. History The TMSV was founded in 1962 with ...

, the

and the Bendigo Tramways Museum and Depot, the oldest working tramway depot in Australia. There are also museums at St Kilda and Victor Harbor, South Australia and Launceston, Tasmania.

St Kilda

The

Tramway Museum, St Kilda The Tramway Museum, St Kilda is Australia's principal museum of the 19th and 20th century trams of Adelaide, South Australia. It is situated at St Kilda, north of the centre of Adelaide. It is operated by the Australian Electric Transport Mus ...

operates an extensive fleet of historic South Australian and interstate tram cars and trolley buses. Work began in 1958 with the arrival of donated vehicles, the first of which was an old trolley bus from the

Municipal Tramways Trust The Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) was established by the Government of South Australia in December 1906 to purchase all of the horse-drawn tramways in Adelaide, Australia. The Trust subsequently also ran petrol and diesel buses and electric t ...

, and the museum was opened in 1967 as a static display. The museum houses more than 30 electric trams, horse trams and electric trolley buses, many of which are restored and operational. Visitors can ride the electric trams along 2 km of purpose built track that runs between the museum and an adventure playground.

Australian tramcar manufacturers

= ''converted from other classes.'' ''Unless stated otherwise, all cars built for Melbourne were built for the MMTB or its successor authorities/companies.''

ABB/Adtranz, Dandenong

Manufactured trams for: :::* Sydney – 2101 class ( Variotrams)

ABB ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...

signed the contract, but the merger with

Daimler-Benz The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...

to form Adtranz happened during delivery.

Austral Otis Austral Otis was a Melbourne engineering works established in 1887 on site of former Langlands foundry in Grant Street, South Melbourne. It was one of the largest manufacturers of elevators in Australia and continued as the Otis Elevator Company. ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – Rail grinder.

Ansair Ansair was an Australian bus bodybuilder owned by Ansett Transport Industries and later the Clifford Corporation. History Ansair was founded by Reg Ansett in 1945 at Tullamarine, to make bodies for his Ansett Pioneer coaches, as well as manuf ...

Manufactured trams for: Melbourne – W7 (13 frames)

Benjamin Carne

:::* Sydney – C1 (steam trailer), B (formerly C2) (steam trailer), Cable grip car (North Sydney), Cable trailer car (North Sydney)

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Fremantle – Nos 20–25, 30–32 :::* Perth

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...

:::* Manufacturing E1 and E2 Class trams for Melbourne at Dandenong factory

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne VR trailers (converted from Sydney tramcars) :::* Sydney

Comeng/ABB

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – Z1, Z2, Z3, A1, A2, B1, B2

Duncan & Fraser Duncan & Fraser Limited was a vehicle manufacturing company founded in 1865 in Adelaide, South Australia that built horse-drawn carriages and horse trams, and subsequently bodies for trains, electric trams and motor cars, becoming one of the larg ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Adelaide – A, A1 (built as B class), A2 (built as B class), B, C :::* Ballarat – single-truck open-combination trams single-truck open cross-bench trams, single-truck closed cross-bench trams :::* Bendigo – single-truck open-combination trams, single-truck open-combination trams single-truck open cross-bench trams :::* Geelong – single-truck open-combination trams, single-truck open cross-bench trailers :::* Melbourne – horse car (for various operators), A (for PMTT), C (for PMTT), D (for PMTT – built as E class), E (for PMTT), F (for PMTT), G (for PMTT), H (for PMTT), M (for HTT), N (for HTT), O (for PMTT), P (for HTT), S (for MBCTT), S1 (for MBCTT/MMTB), T (for MBCTT), U (assembled for NMETL – built by Brill), V (assembled for NMETL – built by Brill), Trailers (for NMETL)

Eveleigh Railway Workshops The Eveleigh Railway Workshops is a heritage-listed former New South Wales Government Railways yards and railway workshops and now venue hire, public housing and technology park located at Great Southern and Western railway, Redfern, City of ...

Manufactured trams for: Sydney – Horse Cars (1861–1866 Pitt St Line)

Fremantle Municipal Tramways

Manufactured trams for: :::* Fremantle – Nos 4, 11, 23 (rebuilds); 33–36

Henry Vale

Manufactured trams for: :::* Sydney – A (steam motor), B (formerly C2) (steam trailer)

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
s

Manufactured trams for: Melbourne – W (for MMTB)

Hudson Brothers, Sydney

Manufactured trams for: :::* Sydney – Horse Cars (Railway to Hunter St line emergency working), A1 (steam trailer), A2 (steam trailer), A3 (steam trailer), A4 (steam trailer), B1 (steam trailer), C1 (steam trailer), B (formerly C2) (steam trailer), Cable grip car (North Sydney), Cable grip car (King Street), Cable trailer car (North Sydney), Cable trailer car (King Street), Combination car (experimental California car)

J. A Lawton

:::* Adelaide – H1

James Moore

:::* Melbourne – B (for PMTT), K (for PMTT/MMTB), L (for PMTT), R (for FNPTT), W (for MMTB), W2 (for MMTB)

James Morrison

:::* Sydney – B (formerly C2) (steam trailer), Cable trailer car (North Sydney)

Meadowbank Manufacturing Company Meadowbank Manufacturing Company was an Australian manufacturer in Meadowbank, New South Wales. History Mellor Brothers, a South Australian firm, established factories in Sydney (Meadowbank Manufacturing Co) and Melbourne (Braybrook Implement C ...
, Sydney

:::* Melbourne – J (for PMTT) :::* Sydney

Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia History The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust (MBCTT) was established in 1914 by the municipalities of Melbourne, Brunswick and Coburg. It was ...

:::* Melbourne – Scrubber, S (assembly & fitting-out), T (assembly & fitting-out), S1 (assembly & fitting-out)

Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had bee ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – CW5, L (assembly & fitting-out), PCC (980, 1041), Q, R (assembly & fitting-out), S1 (assembly & fitting-out), SW2, SW5 (some , SW6, W (some), W1, W2 (some – some , W3, W4, W5, W6, W7 (some), X1, X2, Y, Y1, Dog Car Blow-down car Scrubber Per-way locomotive and sleeper carrier Sleeper transport car Track cleaner (some , Line-marking car Welding car loco Flat car trailer Per way locomotive Ballast motor Ballast trailer Scraper Rail hardener Drivers instruction car Re-railing instruction car Workshops locomotive, Breakdown car Freight car Wheel transport car Laboratory testing car Pantograph testing car Advertising car Restaurant car City Circle car Victorian Railways One-Man bogie car cable dummy, cable trailer

Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company The Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company (MTOC) was the company which established and operated Melbourne's cable tram system from 1885 to 1916. History The MTOC was started by Francis Boardman Clapp, who had come to Australia from the United ...

:::* Melbourne – horse car (for various operators), cable dummy, cable trailer, bogie cable trailer, cable trailer bogie cable trailer :::* Sorrento – steam-tram trailers

Mort's Dock Engineering Co

:::* Newcastle – Gas pot car (tank)

Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust The Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust (PMTT) was a former tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. The trust was formed in 1907, with its first line operating in 1910. Its functions were taken over by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board in ...

Manufactured trams for: Melbourne – Track cleaner, D C (assembly & fitting-out), E (assembly & fitting-out), J (assembly & fitting-out), B (assembly & fitting-out), K (assembly & fitting-out), L (assembly & fitting-out), R (assembly & fitting-out)

A Pengelly & Co

Manufactured trams for: :::* Adelaide – D, E, E1 (built as E class), F, F1, H, :::* Geelong – single-truck closed-combination trams :::* Melbourne – VR

Randwick Tramway Workshops

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – Scrubber (for Sydney) :::* Sydney – Horse Cars (for Newtown – St Peters line and (later) Manly), B (formerly C2) (steam trailer), Cable trailer car (King Street), 1894 Accumulator car

Ritchie Brothers Ritchie Brothers was an Australian railway rolling stock and tram manufacturer based in the Sydney suburb of Auburn, New South Wales, Auburn. History In 1857, Robert Ritchie took over the blacksmith business of Joseph Whiting of Parramatta. In ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – VR (from Sydney) :::* Sydney – A6 (steam trailer), B (formerly C2) (steam trailer), Cable grip car (King Street)

Robison Brothers

:::* Melbourne – P (for HTT) (trucks), M (for HTT) (trucks – not used, transferred to R for FNPTT/MMTB)

Ruwolt

:::* Launceston – (trucks) :::* Melbourne – B (for PMTT) (trucks), K (for PMTT) (trucks), S1 (for MBCTT) (trucks)

Sewell

:::* Melbourne – L (for PMTT) (trucks), M (for FTT) (trucks), Q (for MMTB) (trucks), Q1 (for MMTB) (trucks), R (for FNPTT) (trucks)

S & E Co

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne (Rail grinder) (for Sydney) :::* Sydney – Rail grinder

Stansfield & Carey

:::* Sydney – C1 (steam trailer), Cable grip car (North Sydney)

Thomas Wearne

Manufactured trams for: :::* Sydney – A (steam motor) (Baldwin type), A2 (steam trailer), A5 (steam trailer), A6 (steam trailer), B (steam trailer), C (steam trailer), D1 (self-contained steam car), Cable trailer car (North Sydney)

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

Manufactured trams for: Melbourne – VR first fleet (some), VR second fleet

Waddingtons/Commonwealth Engineering

Manufactured trams for: Sydney

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Fremantle – Nos 26–29 :::* Perth – B

Westralia Ironworks

Manufactured trams for: :::* Fremantle – Nos 15–16 :::* Perth

Overseas manufacturers of Australian trams

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – C1 (Citadis 202) :::* Melbourne – C2 (Citadis 302) Short term lease from

Mulhouse, France Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

, subsequently purchased by the Victorian government. :::* Alstom Citadis 302 2nd hand from

Madrid, Spain Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

:::* Alstom Citadis X05

CBD and South East Light Rail The CBD and South East Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Construction commenced in October 2015, with services between Circular Quay and Randwick commencing on 14 December 2019 as the L2 Randwick Line, and ...

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Sydney – A (steam motor) (Baldwin type) :::* Sydney – D1 (self-contained steam car) (steam unit)

Beyer, Peacock Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, a ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Sydney – Experimental (steam motor) (Wilkinson type) ("John Bull")

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...

Manufactured trams for: :::*

:::* Bombardier Flexity 2

Brown, Marshalls & Co

:::* Sydney – 1888 Accumulator car (?)

JG Brill Company The J.G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for almos ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Adelaide – G (Birney) :::* Fremantle – Nos 1–14, 17–19 :::* Geelong – Birney :::* Launceston – (trucks) :::* Melbourne – A (for PMTT) (trucks), F (for PMTT) (trucks), G (for PMTT) (trucks), H (for PMTT) (trucks), J (for PMTT) (trucks), N (for HTT) (trucks), S (for MBCTT) (trucks), T (for MBCTT) (trucks),
U (for NMETL – assembled by

Duncan & Fraser Duncan & Fraser Limited was a vehicle manufacturing company founded in 1865 in Adelaide, South Australia that built horse-drawn carriages and horse trams, and subsequently bodies for trains, electric trams and motor cars, becoming one of the larg ...

), V (for NMETL – assembled by Duncan & Fraser), X (Birney), Trailer (trucks), various works cars (trucks), VR (trucks) :::* Sydney – D1 (self-contained steam car) (cars)

Brush Traction Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec. History Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since t ...

:::* Adelaide – (trucks) :::* Geelong – (trucks) :::* Launceston – (trucks) :::* Melbourne – C (for PMTT) (trucks), D (for PMTT) (trucks), E (for PMTT) (trucks), O (for PMTT) (trucks), VR original fleet (trucks)

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (Grupo CAF, literally "Construction and Other Railway Services") is a Spanish publicly listed company which manufactures railway vehicles and equipment and buses through its Solaris Bus & Coach subsidia ...

:::*Manufactured trams for: Sydney – Urbos 2 (second hand trams that were leased for a brief period),

Urbos 3 The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF. The Basque manufacturer CAF previously manufactured locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In 1993, CAF started building trams for Metr ...

:::*Manufactured for: Newcastle – Urbos 3 :::*Manufactured for: Canberra – Urbos 3

Duewag Düwag or Duewag, formerly Waggonfabrik Uerdingen, was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles. It was sold in 1999 to Siemens with the brand later retired. History Duewag was founded in March 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Uerdingen an ...

:::* A1 (trucks), A2 (trucks), B1 (trucks), B2 (trucks), Z3 (trucks)

G Starbuck, Birkenhead, England

Manufactured trams for: :::* Sydney – Horse Cars (1861–1866 Pitt St Line)

Gilbert & Bush Co for JG Brill

:::* Sydney – A (steam trailer)

J M Jones Manufacturing Co (New York)

:::* Sydney – Cable trailer car (North Sydney)

John Stephenson Co (New York)

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – horse car (for various operators), cable trailer (for MTOC) :::* Sydney – experimental electric car (North Sydney)

John Stephenson Co (New York) for JG Brill

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – U (for NMETL – assembled by

), V (for NMETL – assembled by Duncan & Fraser)

Kitson & Co Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Early history The company was started in 1835 by James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet, with Charles Todd as a part ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Sydney – A (steam motor) (Kitson type) :::* Sydney – D (self-contained steam car)

Merryweather & Sons Merryweather & Sons of Clapham, later Greenwich, London, were builders of steam fire engines and steam tram engines. The founder was Moses Merryweather (1791–1872) of Clapham, who was joined by his son Richard Moses (1839–1877). Fire appli ...

:::* Sydney – A (steam motor) (Merryweather type)

St Louis Car Company The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri. History The St. Louis Car Company ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – PCC (trucks), W2 (trucks), X (Birney) :::* Sydney – 1894 accumulator car (trucks) (?)

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

Manufactured trams for: :::* Melbourne – D (2nd) (Combino)

Unknown manufacturers

:::* Sydney D2 (self-contained steam car) ("Ambrose cars")

References

*Cross N, Budd, D, Wilson, R (1993). ''Destination City''. *Chinn N, McCarthy, K (1976). ''New South Wales Tramcar Handbook 1861 – 1961 Part Two''.

External links

Sydney Light Rail

Ballarat Tramway Museum, Victoria

Whiteman Park, Perth; Perth Electric Tram Society has 4 km of track

Tramway Museum Society Of Victoria

Launceston Tramway Museum on Inveresk Railway site

Archer Park, Rockhampton, Queensland, Steam Tram Museum

Brisbane Tramway Museum, Ferny Grove, Brisbane, Queensland

Tasmanian Transport Museum Hobart; Hobart Tram on display

Valley Heights Steam Tramway, New South Wales

Web archive of Yahoo Trams DownUnder group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trams in Australia Public transport in Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

History

Patronage

Networks

Timeline – all tramways

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Broken Hill

Maitland

Newcastle

Sydney

Queensland

Brisbane

Gold Coast

Rockhampton

Nambour

South Australia

Adelaide

Victor Harbor

Tasmania

Hobart

Launceston

Victoria

Ballarat

Bendigo

Geelong

Melbourne

Portland

Sorrento

Western Australia

Fremantle

Kalgoorlie

Leonora

Perth

Proposals

Hobart

Tramway Museums

St Kilda

Australian tramcar manufacturers

ABB/Adtranz, Dandenong

Austral Otis Austral Otis was a Melbourne engineering works established in 1887 on site of former Langlands foundry in Grant Street, South Melbourne. It was one of the largest manufacturers of elevators in Australia and continued as the Otis Elevator Company. ...

Ansair Ansair was an Australian bus bodybuilder owned by Ansett Transport Industries and later the Clifford Corporation. History Ansair was founded by Reg Ansett in 1945 at Tullamarine, to make bodies for his Ansett Pioneer coaches, as well as manuf ...

Benjamin Carne

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...

Clyde Engineering Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products. It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...

Comeng/ABB

Duncan & Fraser Duncan & Fraser Limited was a vehicle manufacturing company founded in 1865 in Adelaide, South Australia that built horse-drawn carriages and horse trams, and subsequently bodies for trains, electric trams and motor cars, becoming one of the larg ...

Eveleigh Railway Workshops The Eveleigh Railway Workshops is a heritage-listed former New South Wales Government Railways yards and railway workshops and now venue hire, public housing and technology park located at Great Southern and Western railway, Redfern, City of ...

Fremantle Municipal Tramways

Henry Vale

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...s

Hudson Brothers, Sydney

J. A Lawton

James Moore

James Morrison

Meadowbank Manufacturing Company Meadowbank Manufacturing Company was an Australian manufacturer in Meadowbank, New South Wales. History Mellor Brothers, a South Australian firm, established factories in Sydney (Meadowbank Manufacturing Co) and Melbourne (Braybrook Implement C ..., Sydney

Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia History The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust (MBCTT) was established in 1914 by the municipalities of Melbourne, Brunswick and Coburg. It was ...

Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had bee ...

Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company The Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company (MTOC) was the company which established and operated Melbourne's cable tram system from 1885 to 1916. History The MTOC was started by Francis Boardman Clapp, who had come to Australia from the United ...

Mort's Dock Engineering Co

Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust The Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust (PMTT) was a former tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. The trust was formed in 1907, with its first line operating in 1910. Its functions were taken over by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board in ...

A Pengelly & Co

Randwick Tramway Workshops

Ritchie Brothers Ritchie Brothers was an Australian railway rolling stock and tram manufacturer based in the Sydney suburb of Auburn, New South Wales, Auburn. History In 1857, Robert Ritchie took over the blacksmith business of Joseph Whiting of Parramatta. In ...

Robison Brothers

Ruwolt

Sewell

S & E Co

Stansfield & Carey

Thomas Wearne

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

Waddingtons/Commonwealth Engineering

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

Westralia Ironworks

Overseas manufacturers of Australian trams

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

Beyer, Peacock Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, a ...

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...

Brown, Marshalls & Co

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
s

Meadowbank Manufacturing Company Meadowbank Manufacturing Company was an Australian manufacturer in Meadowbank, New South Wales. History Mellor Brothers, a South Australian firm, established factories in Sydney (Meadowbank Manufacturing Co) and Melbourne (Braybrook Implement C ...
, Sydney