Fort Macquarie Tram Depot was part of the Sydney tram network. It opened in 1902 on the site of the old

Fort Macquarie Fort Macquarie was a square castle, 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 Macqu ...

and was demolished in 1958 to make way for the construction of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

History

Fort Macquarie Tram Depot was built on

Bennelong Point Bennelong Point, a former island in Sydney Harbour, is a headland that, since the 1970s, is the location of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History Bennelong Point is known to the local Gadigal people of the Eora ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

opening on 10 August 1902, on the site of the old

. The depot was constructed in the design of a fortress with castellated ramparts in homage to the previous building. The depot closed on 22 October 1955 before being demolished in 1958 to make way for the construction of the

. With the closing of Fort Macquarie depot, most of the services were transferred to Dowling Street depot.

Design

*12 tracks *Battlement style front parapet *Brick pediments, vents within false windows *Roof orientation to south

Operations

The depot consisted of a 12 road shed, with loop line laid around the outside. The loop and sidings on the western side of the depot were an important lay-over point for trams serving many lines. This took pressure away from

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping terminal, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern edge of the ...

during busy periods. Entry to the depot and loop line was controlled from a signal box located adjacent to the tracks. Nothing remains of the depot; the buildings were totally razed to make way for the Opera House. Services from Fort Macquarie (some of these services also commenced at

and

Millers Point Millers Point is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the north-western edge of the Sydney central business district, adjacent to The Rocks and is part of the local government area of the City o ...

) were:

* Fort Macquarie to

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 ...

Drummoyne Drummoyne is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Drummoyne is six kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of ...

Gladesville Gladesville is a suburb in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Gladesville is located 10 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde a ...

and

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 24,096 according to the 2021 Census. Its growth as a seaside resort came after the villages of Upper Ryde and ...

* Fort Macquarie to Forest Lodge, Balmain and Birchgrove * Fort Macquarie to Haberfield,

Five Dock Five Dock is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay. Location Fi ...

and Abbotsford * Fort Macquarie to Leichhardt * Fort Macquarie to

Glebe Point Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a 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 and Parramatta Ri ...

* Fort Macquarie to

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

* Fort Macquarie to Rosebery * Circular Quay to Railway Colonnade Dimensions: *Width: 131 ft *Length of car shed: 250 ft *Length of building from end to end: 307 ft *Height from ground level 36 ft *Height from pit level: 41 ft *Height of turret: 80 ft

References

External links

Sydney Architecture gallery
{{SydneyTramNavbox, state=collapsed Buildings and structures demolished in 1958 Industrial buildings in Sydney Tram depots in Sydney Transport infrastructure completed in 1902