Sydney R1-Class Tram

Last updated

R1-class
NSWDRTT R1-class Tram.jpg
R1 class at Sydney Showground
Manufacturer Clyde Engineering
Commonwealth Engineering
Constructed1935 and 1950-1953
Number built155
Fleet numbers1933-2087
Capacity56 (Seated)
Specifications
Train length14.35 metres
Width2.74 metres
Height3.26 metres
Maximum speed60 km/h
Weight17.9 t
Power output4 x 40 hp
Electric system(s) 600 V DC catenary
Current collector(s) Trolley pole
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)

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

Contents

History

When Clyde Engineering were delivering the last of the R class 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. [1]

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. [2]

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. [1]

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

Tram 1995 sydneys last tram.JPG
Before refurbishment at the vacant Rozelle Tram Depot, heavily vandalised
Tramsheds interior with number 1995 tram car.jpg
After refurbishment in Tramsheds (redeveloped Rozelle depot)
R1-class 1995, the last tram to have operated on Sydney's original tram network
The interior of vandalised tram 1995 Interior of tram 1995.JPG
The interior of vandalised tram 1995

Ten 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">Sheffield Tramway</span>

Sheffield Tramway was an extensive tramway network serving the English city of Sheffield and its suburbs.

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

The earliest trams in Australia operated in the latter decades of the 19th century, hauled by horses or "steam tram motors". At the turn of the 20th century, propulsion almost universally turned to electrification, although cable trams lingered in Melbourne. In cities and towns that had trams, they were a major part of public transport assets.

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

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

<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 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">Manly Tram Depot</span> Section of Sydney tram network in Australia

Manly Tram Depot was part of the Sydney tram network.

The L-class was a class of six trams ordered from James Moore & Sons by the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust (PMTT). However, by the time they were delivered in 1921, the PMTT had been taken over by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB).

The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramways Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia

References

  1. 1 2 MacCowan, Ian (1990). The Tramways of New South Wales. Oakleigh: Ian MacCowan. pp. 135–138. ISBN   0 949600 25 3.
  2. Reed, Noel; Saxon, Ian (February 2010). "DYNAMIC BRAKING TESTS FOR SYDNEY'S NEUTRAL BAY LINE" (PDF). Trolley Wire (320): 3–7.
  3. 1 2 "Sydney Tramway Museum Fleet Register" (PDF). Sydney Tramway Museum. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  4. Bought for a bargain $50, Sydney’s last tram on track for a makeover Inner West Courier 5 February 2015

Further reading

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Sydney R1-Class Tram at Wikimedia Commons