Melbourne's tram classification system is based on classes originally devised by the

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 ...

(M&MTB). At first this was largely based on the order in which the original tramway operators had introduced each different type of tramcar between 1906 and 1920. The classification system was simplified in 1928 (or possibly earlier). All the drop-end combination trams of the B, H, J, M, and S classes were added to A class. The straight sill combination classes F, K, Q, and R, were added to

G class G class or Class G may refer to: Locomotives * NZR G class (1928), a type of steam locomotive used in New Zealand * Tasmanian Government Railways G class, a class of 0-4-2T steam locomotive used in Australia * V/Line G class, a class of diese ...

. Drop-end-and-centre Maximum traction bogie combination classes D, E, N, and P, were added to C class. Sometimes variations on a design were given extra letters or numerals. For example,

W type In type theory, a system has inductive types if it has facilities for creating a new type from constants and functions that create terms of that type. The feature serves a role similar to data structures in a programming language and allows a t ...

trams classified as W3, CW5, or SW6. Over the years many of the trams were modified and then reclassified – for example, every one of the original 200 W class trams were converted to W2 class between 1928 and 1933. Individual tram fleets had been numbered (from 1 upwards) by each of the pre-M&MTB tramway operators, but by 1924 the M&MTB had consolidated the numbering across the combined fleet. With the introduction of Z class trams, the M&MTB started a new numbering system. Tramways in

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

and the

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 ...

had their own tram numbering systems. Trams which were moved between the systems were renumbered. There were also many non-passenger trams, such as rail grinders, breakdown cars and freight cars which were not included in the classification system.

Classes

References

{{MelbourneTramNavbox, state=collapsed
Taxi in Melbourne
Trams in Melbourne Tram vehicles of Australia