The R1-class trams were a class of trams operated on the
Sydney tram network
The Sydney tramway network served the inner suburbs of Sydney, Australia from 1879 until 1961. In its heyday, it was the largest in Australia, the second largest in the Commonwealth of Nations (after London), and one of the largest in the worl ...
. Their design was a development of the
R class R class or Class R may refer to:
Locomotives
* 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
* V ...
.
History
When
Clyde Engineering were delivering the last of the
R class R class or Class R may refer to:
Locomotives
* 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
* V ...
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. 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 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 (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 MuseumTramway 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 M ...
[
*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 Sydney tram network. It is the largest remaining tram depot in Sydney. The depot was turned into a food-centric retail complex that opened in September 2016.
...
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
Further reading
*
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:R1 class tram
Trams in Sydney
Tram vehicles of Australia