The R1-class trams were a class of trams operated on the Sydney tram network. Their design was a development of the

R class R class or Class R may refer to: Rail transport *LCDR R class, a British steam locomotive class *NER Class R, a British steam locomotive class *NZR R class, a type of New Zealand steam locomotive *Rhymney Railway R class, class of tank locomotive * ...

History

When

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 ...

were delivering the last of the

in 1935, it was decided to modify the final five to a design with a reduced drop-centre, eight more seats, no internal partitions, and one less door each side. These modified trams were classified as R1 class, and a further 50 were ordered from Clyde. In the late 1940s, a further 250 were ordered from

Commonwealth Engineering Commonwealth Engineering, often shortened to Com-Eng, later known as Comeng was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams. History Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Common ...

. Steel shortages delayed their construction, with the first not delivered until September 1950. During construction the order was reduced to 100, with the last delivered to

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 ...

depot on 17 September 1953. The original five tramcars modified in 1935 (numbers 1933 to 1937) could be distinguished from later production runs by their side windows (which indicated the original door spacing for the R class) and the underframe which was built to accommodate a larger drop-centre. One car, 2029, was fitted with dynamic braking, for use on the steep Neutral Bay line, from 1952 to when the line closed in 1956. One (2018) was written off after a single day in a traffic accident at Petersham. Most remained in service until the end of tram operations in 1961. When the Sydney tramway system closed, some of the class were disposed of by burning at Randwick Workshops, despite some being less than 8 years old at time of being burnt.

Preservation

Ten have been preserved: *1933, 1951, 1979, 2001 and 2044 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 ...

*1971 on loan from the Sydney Tramway Museum to 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 Muse ...

*1995 the last tram to run in Sydney, statically displayed Tramsheds in the old

Rozelle Tram Depot Rozelle Tram Depot is a former tram storage and operations centre that was part of the Trams in Sydney, Sydney tram network. It is the largest remaining former tram depot in Sydney. In 2016, the tram depot was redeveloped into a retail complex ...

Bought for a bargain $50, Sydney’s last tram on track for a makeover
'' Inner West Courier'' 5 February 2015 *1936 at The Brisbane Tramway Museum, Ferny Grove (yet to be restored) *1948 and 2064 retained privately

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:R1 class tram Sydney tram vehicles

History

Preservation

References

Further reading

External links