Sydney O-Class Tram

Last updated

O-class
First Tram across Bridge (8368180041).jpg
O1106 at the Sydney Harbour Bridge opening in March 1932
Manufacturer Randwick Tramway Workshops
Meadowbank Manufacturing Company
Constructed1907-14
Number built626
Fleet numbers803-947, 949-1278, 1330-1479
Capacity80 (Seated)
48 (Standing)
Specifications
Train length13.85 metres
Width2.74 metres
Height3.26 metres
Maximum speed60 km/h
Weight17.8 t
Power output4 x 60 hp
Electric system(s) 600 V DC catenary
Current collector(s) Trolley pole
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)

The O-class trams were a class of trams operated on the Sydney tram network.

Contents

History

A prototype (806) was built at Randwick Tramway Workshops in 1907, before the Meadowbank Manufacturing Company built a further 625 between 1908 and 1914. They were nicknamed Dreadnoughts, after a powerful British warship of the day, the Sydney press referred to them as Toastracks as all the seats were transverse or crossbench. [1] [2]

Between 1918 and 1946, eleven (855, 935, 943, 1007, 1089, 1170, 1241, 1372, 1383 and 1451) were rebuilt to resemble the P-class trams when heavy body repairs were required and reclassified as the O/P class. The last was withdrawn in 1958. [2]

Design

The O-class tram has a combination of enclosed and open sections. Ladies would generally sit in the enclosed compartments, while gentlemen sat in the open compartments. In the centre are the four closed sections, accessible to the street via sliding doors and fitted with cross bench timber seats. On either side of these are the two open compartments, each fitted with two facing cross bench seats with metal armrests. These two sections have pull-down canvas blinds to protect passengers against the elements. Enclosed driver's compartments at each end are joined to the open compartments. [1]

Service

The O-class tramcars were the backbone of the Sydney fleet for 40 years and saw service on all the Sydney electrified lines at various periods and were loved by both passengers and tram crews. They were especially suited to venues such as race meetings, sporting matches and the Royal Easter Show as they could be emptied and filled quickly by means of the numerous doorways.

Preservation

No. 1187 preserved in operating condition in Oregon, United States Sydney 1187 at Oregon ERM.jpg
No. 1187 preserved in operating condition in Oregon, United States
No. 1111 preserved in operating condition at the Sydney Tramway Museum Sydney O Class Tram 1111 Sydney Tramway Museum December 2023.jpg
No. 1111 preserved in operating condition at the Sydney Tramway Museum

Six have been preserved:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Sydney</span> History of the tramway system closed in Sydney NSW Australia

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, and one of the largest in the world. The network was heavily worked, with about 1,600 cars in service at any one time at its peak during the 1930s . Patronage peaked in 1945 at 405 million passenger journeys. Its maximum street trackage totalled 291 km in 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Brisbane</span>

The Brisbane tramway network served the city of Brisbane, Australia, between 1885 and 1969. It ran on standard gauge track. The electric system was originally energised to 500 volts, and subsequently increased to 600 volts. All tramcars built in Brisbane up to 1938 had an open design. This proved so popular, especially on hot summer nights, that the trams were used as fundraisers and often chartered right up until the last service by social groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney P-Class Tram</span> Class of trams

The P-class trams were a class of trams operated on the Sydney tram network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney R1-Class Tram</span>

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney C-Class Tram</span>

The C-class trams were a class of single bogie end-loading electric trams operated on the Sydney tram network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney R-Class Tram</span>

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney D-Class Tram</span>

The D-class trams were a class of single bogie Californian Combination type trams operated on the Sydney tram network with open cross benches at the ends and a saloon in the centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Steam Motor Tram</span>

The Sydney Steam Motor Trams were built for and operated by the New South Wales Government Tramways of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney E-Class Tram</span>

The E-class trams were a class of single bogie (four-wheel) single-ended cross-bench design trams operated on the Sydney tram network. They always operated in permanently-coupled pairs because they were fitted-out electrically as if the pair was a single bogie car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney F-Class Tram</span>

The F-class trams were a class of two-bogie California combination car trams operated on the Sydney tram network with longitudinal seating in the open part of the car. They were later rebuilt as the L-class trams and some again as the L/P-class trams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney G-Class Tram</span>

The Sydney G-class Trams were a class of single ended cars were designed to operate either permanently coupled back to back in pairs or singly hauling a trailer on lines with reversing arrangements at the terminii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney H-Class Tram</span>

The H-class trams were purpose built single truck, open cross bench cars built at Randwick Tramway Workshops as tourist cars for the City - Bondi Beach/Coogee and City - La Perouse/Botany services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney J-Class Tram</span>

The J-class trams were built as replacements for the King Street to Ocean Street, Edgecliff cable line designed to provide a frequent schedule, but with a lower seating capacity. Some briefly operated on the Manly lines in 1911. Withdrawals commenced in 1934 with the entry of the R Class trams, with all out of service by 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney K-Class Tram</span>

The K-class trams were a single truck all crossbench design, with closed compartments at one end and open seating at the other operated on the Sydney tram network. Withdrawals commenced in 1939. By 1949, only 1295 and 1296 remained in service on the Neutral Bay line, being withdrawn in the mid-1950s. Two were sold as track scrubbers in 1959 to Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney M-Class Tram</span>

The M-class trams were built by the Randwick Tramway Workshops for use on tourist services on the Sydney tram network to replace two modified G class trams. Originally allocated to Fort Macquarie Tram Depot, they later moved to Newtown and again to Ultimo before being scrapped in 1941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney N-Class Tram</span>

The N-class trams were a crossbench design of tram with a two-bogie design, each pair of benches had doors at each side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P-class Melbourne tram</span>

The P-class was a class of eight trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide for the Hawthorn Tramway Trust (HTT) as numbers 25 to 32. All passed to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 2 February 1920 when it took over the HTT becoming the P-class and being renumbered 131 to 138.

This article describes the tram types in Adelaide that have operated for the past 145 years: from early days when they undertook a major share of the public transport task before car ownership was well established; through the 49-year period when only one tram line operated; to the city's 21st-century tramways revival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A type Adelaide tram</span> Class of 20th-century tram in Adelaide

The A type Adelaide tram was a class of 70 drop-end, Californian combination trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide in 1908/09 for the Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT). They were used on tram lines to Kensington, Marryatville, Maylands, Payneham, Wakerville, North Adelaide, Parkside, Unley and Hyde Park. In later years they were cascaded to quieter services to Croydon and the isolated Port Adelaide network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackpool Heritage Trams</span> Historic trams running in Lancashire, England

Blackpool Heritage Trams are a mixed fleet of restored vehicles that run on the Blackpool Tramway, which runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England. The line dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is operated by Blackpool Transport (BT) and is the last surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. Excluding museums, it is one of only a few tramways in the world to still use double-decker trams.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Powerhouse Museum. "'Toastrack' O-class tram used in Sydney". Powerhouse Museum, Australia. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 MacCowan, Ian (1990). The Tramways of New South Wales. Oakleigh: Ian MacCowan. pp. 126–128. ISBN   0 949600 25 3.
  3. 1 2 "Sydney Tramway Museum Fleet Register" (PDF). Sydney Tramway Museum. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  4. "Sydney, Australia Tram #1187". Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.

Further reading

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Sydney O-Class Tram at Wikimedia Commons