The R-class trams were a class of drop-centre saloon car type trams operated on the Sydney tram network.

History

Class leader 1738 was unveiled in a ceremony at Randwick Tramway Workshops on 29 September 1933. All 195 cars were in service by mid-1935. Passengers were accommodated in two saloons featuring 16 tip-over upholstered seats in each, plus wooden seating for 16 in the centre section. The relatively low seating capacity of only 48 (compared to the older toastrack trams) and their inability to operate in service as multiple units went against the class. The last five of the order for 200 tramcars were altered during construction to a modified design with increased seating capacity, becoming prototypes for the R1 class, resulting in only 195 being completed to the original (R class) design.

Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. The suburb of Rushcutters ...

was the first depot to be allocated trams,

Fort Macquarie Fort Macquarie was a square 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 Macquarie Tra ...

followed next, then

Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...

, North Sydney and Newtown. Ultimo received its first R cars in 1940, with

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 s ...

and Tempe gaining them in 1949. Dowling Street finally received R cars when Fort Macquarie Depot closed in 1955. Two North Sydney R cars plunged into Sydney Harbour when running out of control on the steep descent to Athol Wharf, both were repaired. Withdrawals commenced in mid-1958 when the North Sydney system closed and these cars went into storage, mainly at Waverley. The last of the R class trams were withdrawn on 22 November 1958, the last day of operation of Rozelle Depot and the last day of services in George Street and the Western suburbs.

Preservation

Eleven have been preserved: *1738 at the

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill. Although often de ...

*1740 in operational condition at 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 in the southern suburbs of Sydney. History Construction of th ...

*1741, 1798, 1819 (since lost in a fire), 1917 and 1923 in storage at the

*1753 has been restored and is incorporated as a static display in

Warringah Council Warringah Council was a local government area in the northern beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed on 7 March 1906 as the Warringah Shire Council, and became "Warringah Council" in 1993. In 19 ...

's Tramshed Arts & Community Centre,

Narrabeen Narrabeen is a beachside suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Narrabeen is 23 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and is ...

*1808 on loan from the Sydney Tramway Museum to Welcome Board Limited's Christchurch Tramway from 2017, where it runs with the number of 1888 for marketing reasons. Previously at the

Museum of Transport and Technology The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) is a science and technology museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has l ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand 2009–2017, operated 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 ...

in 2003 *1845 Stored at the Newport Railway workshops, owned by Victrack, allocated to Sydney Tramway Museum. *1849 previously a shop at Big Bear Shopping Centre,

Neutral Bay Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Neutral Bay takes ...

now restored and privately owned *1892 converted to a Harry's Cafe de Wheels,

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 ...

1990s
Harry’s Café de Wheels

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:R class tram Trams in Sydney Tram vehicles of Australia

History

Preservation

References

Further reading

External links