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| Established | 1965 |
|---|---|
| Location | Pitt Street, Loftus, New South Wales, Australia |
| Coordinates | 34°02′40″S151°03′07″E / 34.044321°S 151.051966°E |
| Type | Tramway museum |
| Nearest car park | On site |
| Website | www.sydneytramwaymuseum.com.au |
The Sydney Tramway Museum (operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway) is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney.
'Construction of the museum at its original site on the edge of the Royal National Park commenced in August 1956. [1] It was officially opened in March 1965 by NSW Deputy Premier Pat Hills. The facilities were basic, initially a four-track shed built with second hand materials and approximately 800 metres of running track. [2] [3]
In 1975, the Government of New South Wales approved the museum moving to a new site across the Princes Highway adjacent to Loftus railway station. [4] Construction commenced in April 1980, with the first trams transferred from the old site in November 1982. [5] [6] It officially opened on 19 March 1988. [7] [8] The former Railway Square tramway shelter that had been disassembled in 1973 was reassembled. [9] [10] The last tram left the Royal National Park in May 1989. [11]
In 1989, a traverser from Comeng's Granville factory was purchased. [12] Following CityRail closing the two kilometre Royal National Park line in 1991, the museum was able to commence operating services on the line on 1 May 1993. [13] [14]
In 2001, the museum was the recipient of the YMCA facade, that was previously located at the corner of Pitt and Bathurst Street in the Sydney central business district. The facade was relocated by Meriton to make way for a new building being constructed at the same location. This huge impressive sandstone structure dating from the 1880s makes a spectacular backdrop when entering the museum complex from the front gates. The building is not finished yet, and is still being worked on as funding permits. [15] The gates from the original Gladesville Bridge were installed as the depot gates in 2010. [16]
On 23 October 2015, the museum storage shed was broken into by vandals and caught fire. Located off the main museum site, at the museum's original location in the Royal National Park near Loftus Oval, the shed housed the museum's reserve collection of six trams, four buses and a double-decker bus chassis dating to 1937. The shed and contents were destroyed in the blaze. [17]
The 2018 film Ladies in Black had both live action scenes and film stock for CGI segments filmed around the Railway Square Waiting Shed that is located in the southern end of the museum site. [18]
The museum has an extensive collection of trams from Sydney and other cities in Australia, as well as from other places around the world. The museum operates 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of track. One line runs 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) north towards Sutherland, paralleling Rawson Avenue in the way that parts of Sydney's tram system operated. The second runs 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) to the south and utilises the Royal National Park branch railway line that was constructed in 1886 and closed by CityRail in June 1991. [19]
In 1993, the museum converted the line to tramway standards and connected it to the then existing Sutherland line to establish what is now a popular means of access to the world's second oldest national park. [14] [20] The line terminates at Royal National Park railway station.
The museum opens and operates trams on Wednesdays, Sundays, public holidays (except Christmas Day) and on selected weekdays during school holidays.
The Sydney Tramway Museum is run entirely by volunteers and self funds its day-to-day activities, restorations, maintenance and construction programs from gate takings and donations from the generous public.
| Rolling Stock [21] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Description | Manufacturer | Type | Year Built | Length m | Weight t | Date Acquired | Status | Comments | |
| 12 | C-Class Tram | Hudson Bros | Single truck | 1899 | 7.62 | 8.60 | 1997 | Scrapped | Converted to breakdown car 56s in 1909. Converted back to passenger in 1959 By NSWDOT. Originally donated to NSW Tramway Historical Society. Body in poor condition. Stored at the old RNP depot site. Burnt and scrapped after the fire. | |
| 29 | C-Class Tram | Hudson Bros | Single truck | 1898 | 7.62 | 8.60 | 1961 | IO | Converted to breakdown car 60s in 1910. Converted back to passenger in 1995 at STM. Operational in 2001. | |
| 33 | C-Class Tram | Hudson Bros | Single truck | 1898 | 7.62 | 8.60 | 1995 | URF | Converted to experimental double deck car in 1907 and lasted until 1908. Converted to breakdown car 33s in 1924 at Randwick Workshop. Body only recovered in 1995 from Newcastle Tramway Museum, Rutherford. Being restored in Bendigo to double deck tram. | |
| 37 | C-Class Tram | Hudson Bros | Single truck | 1899 | 7.62 | 8.60 | 2010 | URN | Sold in 1924. Donated by the Tradesmens Union Club, Canberra in 2010. Moved to Sydney 20 April 2010 for restoration and to be sent to Christchurch, NZ on completion. | |
| 290 | C-Class Tram | Morrison | Single truck | 1896 | 7.93 | 8.60 | 1957 | IOS | Converted to breakdown car 115s in 1927 by NSWDOT. Restored to Passenger tram by SPER. | |
| 23 | Cable trailer | Ritchie Brothers | Single truck | 1894 | 5.64 | 2.50 | 1976 | DCO | Under restoration | |
| 117 | D-Class Tram | Clyde | Single truck | 1899 | 9.40 | 9.66 | 1994 | URN | Converted to breakdown car 112s in 1913 by NSWDOT. Major restoration back to passenger car | |
| 529 | E-Class Tram | Clyde | Single truck | 1903 | 8.37 | 10.20 | 1957 | URN | Under restoration | |
| 530 | E-Class Tram | Clyde | Single truck | 1903 | 8.37 | 10.20 | 1957 | URN | Under restoration | |
| 393 | F-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1902 | 11.75 | 13.00 | 1957 | IOS | Converted to Eye Sight car 127s in 1927. Restored to original condition at STM. | |
| 24s | Freight car | NSWGT | Bogie | 1903 | 9.60 | 12.70 | 1957 | IOS | Car preserved without motors. Body restored for display. | |
| 675 | J-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Single truck | 1904 | 8.89 | 11.70 | 1996 | IO | Restored to operating condition. In service 2009. Out of service after accident with Nagasaki 1054 | |
| 1295 | K-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Single truck | 1913 | 8.89 | 10.90 | 1997 | Scrapped | Originally donated to NSW Tramway Historical Society. Body in poor condition. Stored at old RNP site depot. Burnt in a fire in 2015. Scrapped | |
| 1296 | K-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Single truck | 1913 | 8.89 | 10.90 | 1957 | DCO | ||
| 154 | L/P-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1900 | 12.45 | 15.20 | 1957 | IO | Built as an F-Class Tram and converted to L class in 1910. Converted to L/P in 1926 | |
| 257 | L/P-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1901 | 12.45 | 15.20 | 1995 | SFI | Body stored at HPOTS, Cessnock poor condition. | |
| 298 | L/P-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1901 | 12.45 | 15.20 | 1995 | SFI | Body stored at HPOTS, Cessnock poor condition | |
| 341 | L/P-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1901 | 12.45 | 15.20 | 1995 | SFI | Body stored at HPOTS, Cessnock poor condition | |
| 710 | N-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1906 | 11.99 | 15.10 | 2007 | Scrapped | Stored at Old site, RNP* poor condition of body. Burnt in fire in 2015. Scrapped | |
| 718 | N-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1906 | 11.99 | 15.10 | 1995 | SFI | Stored at HPOTS, Cessnock poor condition of body | |
| 728 | N-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1906 | 11.99 | 15.10 | 1957 | IOS | ||
| 824 | O-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1909 | 13.58 | 17.80 | 1995 | SFI | Stored at HPOTS, Cessnock poor condition of body | |
| 957 | O-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1910 | 13.58 | 17.80 | 1978 | URN | Under restoration | |
| 1111 | O-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1912 | 13.58 | 17.80 | 1959 | IO | Oldest tram in regular operation | |
| 1089 | O/P-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1912 | 13.58 | 17.90 | 1974 | URN | Originally an O-Class Tram; rebuilt by NSWDOT to O/P on 15 June 1920. Under restoration | |
| 99u | Overhead Line car | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1913 | 12.65 | 18.90 | 1959 | IOW | Operational | |
| 1497 | P-Class Tram | NSWGT | Bogie | 1922 | 13.85 | 16.90 | 1961 | IO | ||
| 1501 | P-Class Tram | NSWGT | Bogie | 1922 | 13.85 | 16.90 | 1999 | SFI | Stored at Bendigo pending review for restoration | |
| 1729 | P-Class Tram | Morts Dock | Bogie | 1929 | 13.85 | 16.90 | 2010 | URN | Donated by the Tradesmens Union Club, Canberra in 2010. Moved to Sydney 24 January 2010. Under restoration. New P type bogies fitted 10/11/18. Currently awaiting further restoration due to workshop queue | |
| 1573 | P/R1-Class Tram | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1923 | 13.85 | 18.60 | 1965 | SNO | P car rebuilt as PR1 in 1949 by NSWDOT. To be restored | |
| 948 | Prison Tram | NSWGT | Bogie | 1909 | 12.04 | 15.60 | 1957 | DCO | Car preserved without motors. | |
| 1740 | R-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1933 | 14.35 | 18.00 | 1961 | IO | ||
| 1741 | R-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1933 | 14.35 | 18.00 | 2003 | SNO | Burnt in fire in 2015 | |
| 1753 | R-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1933 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1999 | SFI | Body stored at Rozelle Depot-ex Citytram Assoc. | |
| 1798 | R-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1934 | 14.35 | 18.00 | 1999 | SNO | Body stored at HPOTS, Cessnock poor condition. | |
| 1808 | R-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1934 | 14.35 | 18.00 | 1999 | OOS | Restored at Bendigo in 2000 to operational condition. Stored at Melbourne in Preston Workshops. Leased to MOTAT in New Zealand December 2009 and used in Auckland until June 2017. Transported to Christchurch for Welcome Aboard Limited's Christchurch City Tramway August 2017. | |
| 1819 | R-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1934 | 14.35 | 18.00 | 2006 | Scrapped | Moved From Canberra Tradesmens Union Club. Stored at old RNP site*. Burnt in fire in 2015. Scrapped | |
| 1917 | R-Class Tram | Bogie | 1935 | 14.35 | 18.00 | 2003 | Scrapped | Burnt in fire in 2015. Scrapped | ||
| 1923 | R-Class Tram | Bogie | 1935 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1997 | SFI | Body stored at Rozelle Depot-ex Citytram Assoc. | ||
| 1933 | R/R1 class tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1935 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1990 | SNO | Car preserved without motors. Currently used as Book Shop | |
| 1943 | R1-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1935 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1997 | SFI | Body stored at Rozelle Depot-ex Citytram Assoc. Future to be decided-July 2012. | |
| 1951 | R1-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1935 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1994 | SFI | Stored at Newstead, Victoria Partly restored | |
| 1971 | R1-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1936 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1979 | OOS | On loan, operating at Tramway Museum, St Kilda in South Australia in 2005 | |
| 1979 | R1-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1936 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1974 | IO | ||
| 1980 | R1-Class Tram | Clyde | Bogie | 1936 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1999 | SFI | Body stored at HPOTS, Cessnock poor condition. | |
| 1995 | R1-Class Tram | Comeng | Bogie | 1951 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1997 | SFI | Cosmetically restored for display in the redeveloped Rozelle Tram Depot | |
| 2001 | R1-Class Tram | Comeng | Bogie | 1951 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 2001 | IO | Acquired by STM as a body in 2001. Restored at Bendigo in 2001 for the proposed Federation Tramways. Overhaul Complete December 2019, In Temporary Service. Will be Withdrawn for repainting to green and cream livery in January 2020. Repainting complete October 2020. | |
| 2044 | R1-Class Tram | Comeng | Bogie | 1952 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 1983 | SNO | Car preserved without motors. Currently used as Traffic Office | |
| 2050 | R1-Class Tram | Comeng | Bogie | 1952 | 14.35 | 17.90 | 2011 | SFI | Tram stored at Rozelle Depot- originally owned by Sydney City Council now ownership passed to STM- | |
| 2107 | Variotram | Adtranz, Dandenong | 5 Module Low floor | 1997 | 29.5 | 36.5 | 2018 | DCO | Ex Sydney Light Rail, acquired by Transport Heritage NSW and placed on permanent loan with STM in October 2018, operational awaiting certification [22] | |
| 3 | Reciprocating Rail Grinder | S&E Co, Bath | Single truck | 1920 | 4.27 | 6.10 | 1971 | OOS | Operable, converted to current design by MMTB in 1958. Loaned to MOTAT despatched from STM May 2011, overhauled and shipped back to Sydney, September 2017 | |
| 11W | Scrubber | Meadowbank | Single truck | 1908 | 8.89 | 10.90 | 2003 | SFO | Originally K-Class Tram 797, converted to scrubber in 1953 by NSWDOT and coded 139s. Sold to MMTB in 1961. Stored in Melbourne at Preston Workshops until 2015, retutned to service in 2019 | |
| 134s | Scrubber tram | Ritchie Brothers | Single truck | 1899 | 9.40 | 12.50 | 1961 | IOW | Originally D class tram 102, converted to scrubber in 1930 and coded 134s, operational. | |
| 147s | Track Tamper | Single truck | IOW | Originally TDX45 on NSWGR register. Currently at Lithgow for conversion and to make operational. | ||||||
| 19 | Trolleybus | Ritchie Brothers | AEC 664T | 1937 | 9.30 | 8.80 | 1978 | URN | Under restoration | |
| 1275 | Bus | Waddingtons | Leyland Tiger | 1937 | Operational | |||||
| 2619 | Bus | Clyde | AEC Regent III | 1952 | Operational | |||||
| 144s | Weed Burner | NSWGT | Single truck | 1956 | 3.00 | 3.60 | 1961 | IOS | ||
| 93u | Ballast Motor | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1913 | 12.65 | 18.90 | 1967 | URN | Restored for display only in 1991. | |
| 42s | Ballast Motor-U2 | NSWGT | Bogie | 1907 | 11.43 | 15.70 | 1981 | IOW | Numbered L707 in NSWGR service from 1926 to 1980. | |
| Balmain Counterweight | Clyde | Single truck | 1903 | 3.28 | 2.00 | 1955 | IOS | Restored at Hunter Valley Training Company in 1990. On display in Display Hall | ||
| 141s | Breakdown car | Meadowbank | Bogie | 1911 | 13.85 | 18.03 | 1964 | IOW | Originally O-Class Tram 1030, converted to breakdown car in 1955 by NSWDOT and coded 141s. | |
| 111 | Z2-Class Tram | Comeng | Bogie | 1979 | 16.52 | 19.20 | 2003 | IO | 111 mostly operates during Autumn, Winter and Spring | |
| 249 | W2-Class Tram | Moore | Bogie | 1924 | 14.63 | 16.52 | 1996 | URN | In Federal Capital Commission Tramways Livery. Repainting in progress | |
| 611 | Y1-Class Tram | MMTB | Bogie | 1930 | 13.72 | 20.09 | 2014 | IO | ||
| 180 | Brisbane Dreadnought Tram | Gardiner | Bogie | 1924 | 11.58 | 12.20 | 1964 | IO | ||
| 295 | Brisbane Dropcentre Tram | Brisbane City Council | Bogie | 1930 | 13.87 | 15.30 | 1968 | IO | ||
| 548 | Brisbane FM Class | Brisbane City Council | Bogie | 1963 | 14.94 | 16.10 | 1969 | IO | ||
| 1692 | Peter Witt streetcar | Breda | Bogie | 1929 | 13.89 | 15.00 | 2001 | URN | Will enter service once modifications are made to overhead and air compressor issues are resolved. Former Milan ATM Class 1500 tram. Based at Brunswick tram depot before transfer to Sydney | |
| 1014 | PCC Tram | St Louis Car Company | Bogie | 1948 | 15.37 | 18.20 | 1987 | URN | Donated as bicentenary gift in 1988. Awaiting parts. Former San Francisco Municipal Railway tram | |
| 1054 | Nagasaki Electric Tramway Class 1050 | Nigata Iron Works | Bogie | 1952 | 11.40 | 14.30 | 1992 | IO | In Sendai, Japan the number was 121. Regauged and sent to Nagasaki Tramway system. [23] Donated as bicentenary gift. Involved in accident with J675 May 2016. Repairs completed and re-entered service in early 2018 | |
| 2656 | Trams in Munich | Waggonfabri Joseph Rathgeber | Bogie | 1965 | 1999 | Donated 1999 [24] | ||||
| 2666 | Trams in Munich | Waggonfabri Joseph Rathgeber | Bogie | 1965 | 1999 | Donated 1999 [24] | ||||
The Sydney Tramway Museum publishes Trolley Wire on behalf of most tramway museums around the country. Published quarterly, it carries articles on tramways around the world and news from the various Australasian heritage tramways.
The museum received a Historic Engineering Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program. [25]
Melbourne tram route 75 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Vermont South to Central Pier. The 22.8 kilometre route is operated out of Camberwell depot with A and B class trams. It is the longest route on the network.
Melbourne tram route 70 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Waterfront City to Wattle Park. The 16.5 kilometre route is operated out of Camberwell depot with A and B class trams.
Melbourne tram route 109 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Box Hill to Port Melbourne. The 19.3 kilometre route is operated out of Kew depot with A and C class trams.
The Glenelg tram line is a tram/light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic.
The South Coast Railway is a commuter and goods railway line from Sydney to Wollongong and Bomaderry in New South Wales, Australia. Beginning at the Illawarra Junction, the line services the Illawarra and South Coast regions of New South Wales.
Loftus is a suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Loftus is 29 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire.
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.
The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had been formed by the merger of a number of smaller tramway trusts and companies that operated throughout the city.
Until 1958, trams formed a network spanning most of Adelaide, South Australia, with a history dating back to 1878. Adelaide ran horse trams from 1878 to 1914 and electric trams from 1909, but has primarily relied on buses for public transport since the mid-20th century. Electric trams, and later trolleybuses, were Adelaide's main method of public transport throughout the life of the electric tram network. The tram network was progressively closed down through the 1950s with the last lines closing in 1958; the Glenelg tram line was the only line to survive these closures and has remained in operation ever since and has been progressively upgraded and extended since 2005.
The W-class trams are a family of electric trams built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) between 1923 and 1956. Over the 33 years of production, 752 vehicles spanning 12 sub-classes were constructed, the majority at the MMTB's Preston Workshops.
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.
The H type Adelaide tram was a class of 30 trams built by A Pengelly & Co, Adelaide in 1929 for use on the newly constructed Glenelg tram line. They remained in regular revenue service until replaced by Bombardier Flexity Classic trams in 2006.
Brunswick tram depot is located on Sydney Road, Brunswick, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It opened on 26 April 1936 in conjunction with the electrification of the Brunswick and North Melbourne Cable tram line. Operated by Yarra Trams, it is one of eight tram depots on the Melbourne tram network.
The Perth tramway network served Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, from 1899 until 1958. The network was initially run by a private company but was taken over by the state government in 1913. From a single line along Hay Street, the network expanded north as far as Osborne Park, east as far as Welshpool, south as far as Como, and west as far as Claremont. The tramways were gradually replaced by buses after World War II.
Preston Workshops is the heavy maintenance facility for the Melbourne tram network. The workshop is located on a block surrounded by Miller Street, St George's Road, Oakover Road and the Mernda railway line in Preston, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Following a major redevelopment in April 2016, it also became an operational depot under the name New Preston Depot, taking over from East Preston.
The Sydney Steam Motor Trams were built for and operated by the New South Wales Government Tramways of Australia.
Royal National Park railway station is located in Audley, New South Wales and services travellers to the Royal National Park. It is the terminus of the Royal National Park railway line, formerly part of the Sydney commuter rail network and now operated by the Sydney Tramway Museum. The station opened in 1886 and was served by trains on the Sydney network until 1991 when the Royal National Park railway line was closed due to low patronage. The line and station were transferred to the Sydney Tramway Museum and re-opened in May 1993 for heritage tramway operations.
The Y1-class was a class of four trams built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board built as a modified version of the Y-class to trial one man operation. Initially used on East and West Preston routes from Collins Street, from 1934 they were transferred to the Toorak line. From 1936 they were used on Burwood services from Camberwell depot. In 1933, 613 was used on Victorian Railways' Sandringham railway station to Black Rock line.
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, 24 kilometres north of the centre of Adelaide. It is operated by the Australian Electric Transport Museum (SA) Inc., a not-for-profit volunteer organisation affiliated with the Council of Tramway Museums of Australasia. It is dedicated to the study, conservation and restoration of trams that were used in Adelaide or built there, and likewise with a small bus and trolleybus collection.Trams provide unlimited free rides for visitors on payment of the entrance fee. They operate along a 1.6 kilometres purpose-built track between the museum and a large adventure playground.
The Melbourne tram network began in 1884 with the construction of the Fairfield Horse Tramway. However, the purpose of the line was to increase land prices in the area, and it soon closed during the depression in 1890. The first genuine attempt to construct a tramway network was the construction of the Richmond cable tram line by the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company in 1885. Over the next few years, 16 more cable tram lines were constructed, as well as numerous other horse tramways. The depression of the early 1890s slowed further expansion of the cable network. The first electric tram line was the Box Hill and Doncaster tramway which opened in 1889. This was a pioneering line in what was then the countryside and thus didn't receive much patronage. It closed in 1896. The next attempt at an electric tramway was Victorian Railways' St Kilda to Brighton line, which opened in 1906. Later that year, the North Melbourne Electric Tramway & Lighting Company opened lines to Essendon and Maribyrnong. Many local councils formed their own tramway trusts and built tramways within their own constituency. The most successful of these was the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust.
