Sydney R-Class Tram

A drop centre saloon car type, a style with a green and cream colour scheme.^[1]

History

Class leader number 1738 was unveiled in a ceremony at Randwick Workshops on 29 September 1933. All 195 cars were in service by mid-1935. Allocated Numbers 1738-1932.

Design

There were two saloons featuring 16 tip-over upholstered seats in each, plus wooden seating for 16 in the centre section. It was the low seating capacity of only 48 that went against the class which could not operate in multiple units.

Service

Rushcutters Bay Depot was the first depot to be allocated trams, Fort Macquarie followed next, then Waverley, North Sydney and Newtown. Ultimo received its first R cars in 1940, with Rozelle and Tempe gaining them in 1949. Dowling Street finally received R cars when Fort Macquarie Depot closed in 1955.

Two North Sydney R cars plunged into Sydney Harbour when running out of control on the steep descent to Athol Wharf, Mosman.

Demise and Preservation

First withdrawals occurred in mid-1958 when the North Sydney system closed and these cars went into storage, mainly at Waverley. On 22 November 1958, the last day of operation of Rozelle Depot and the last day of services in George Street and the western suburbs. All R cars were withdrawn on that date.

Preserved trams are:

• No. 1738 at the Powerhouse Museum.^[2]
• No. 1740 in operational condition at the Sydney Tramway Museum.^[3]
• No. 1741, 1741, 1753, 1798, 1819, 1917 and 1923 in storage at the Sydney Tramway Museum.^[3]
• No. 1808 on loan from the Sydney Tramway Museum to the Museum of Transport and Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.^[3]
• No. 1933, the first of the 5 R/R1 conversions at the Sydney Tramway Museum as a Bookshop.^[3]
• No. 1849 previously a shop at Big bear Shopping Centre now restored and privately owned

See also

• New South Wales Tramcar Handbook 1861-1961, McCarth & Chinn, 1974 SPER

References