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 inner-east 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 Ba ...

was the first depot to be allocated trams, Fort Macquarie followed next, then Waverley,

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

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 Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

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 The last of the R class trams were withdrawn on 22 November 1958, the last day of operation of Rozelle Depot and the last day of services in George Street and the Western suburbs.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, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explori ...

*1740 in operational condition at the

Sydney Tramway Museum The Sydney Tramway Museum, operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway Co-operative Society, 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 ...

*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 areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Northern Beaches (Sydney), northern beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed on 7 March 1906 as the W ...

's Tramshed Arts & Community Centre,

Narrabeen Narrabeen is a beachside suburb of northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres northeast of the business district, shared by the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and the Northern Beaches region. The bay wa ...

*1808 on loan from the Sydney Tramway Museum to

Welcome Board Limited A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person. Overview In s ...

Christchurch Tramway The Christchurch tramway system is a small tramway network serving the inner city of Christchurch, New Zealand. Historically, it was an extensive network, with steam and horse trams from 1882 and then electric trams ran from 1905 to 1954, whe ...

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 transport 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 ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand 2009–2017, operated in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 2003 *1845 Stored at the Newport Railway Workshops, owned by

VicTrack VicTrack, the trading name of the Victorian Rail Track Corporation, is a business enterprise of the Victorian Government which owns all railway and tram lines, associated rail lands, track corridors and other infrastructure in the state of Vic ...

, 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, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

1990s
Harry’s Café de Wheels

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:R class tram Sydney tram vehicles

History

Preservation

References

Further reading

External links