]", West Wallsend and Monk-Wearmouth Railway Act of 1886: "An Act to enable the West Wallsend Coal Company (Limited) and the Monk-Wearmouth Colliery Estate Company of Australia (Limited) to construct a Railway from the West Wallsend Coal-fields to the Sydney and Waratah Railway. This line branched from the Botany line at the junction of Henderson and Botany Roads in Alexandria. – authorized the original steam tramway to Cronulla, on a different alignment to the present railway. Major construction began in October 2015.[27]. D. R. Keenan, The North Sydney Lines of the Sydney Tramway System, Transit Press, Sans Souci, n.d., 47, Gregory's Street Directory circa, 1955, Map 58, 59, 60, 75, Gregory's Street Directory 1955, Map 59, 60, 75, K. McCarthy (Ed. The intersection of King Street and George Street was the busiest in Sydney, with a tram crossing in either of the 4 directions every 8 seconds during the peak travel hours. A new timetable was introduced from 1 November 1920, giving a trip time of 39 minutes, but it proved unworkable and the timetable reverted to an old one on 4 July 1921, back to 48 minutes. [16th March, 1892.]". The first part of the North Sydney tramway system was a double-track cable tramway which started at the original Milsons Point wharf, located where the north pylon of the Harbour Bridge is now. A 4-wheel 'dummy' car sat on the single-track at the top of the hill, connected via a large sheave under the track to the counterweight running on a narrow-gauge track in a tunnel under the road. At Forest Lodge the line swung right into Ross Street before entering onto its own reserved track, now known as Minogue Crescent, passing Rozelle Tram Depot. The line south of Cleveland Street closed in 1940, with the northern section used by other services until its closure in 1958. The actual routes and terminii are difficult to identify, because most of the roads named in the Schedules to the Act do not exist on modern maps, and may only ever have existed on plans of the various estates. Keenan shows an R1 class tram at Maroubra Junction on the day. Though services ran from Circular Quay and from Railway Square (from 1923). [8] From 1916 to 1932, there were 4,097 accidents to tram employees, and from 1923 to 1931 there were 10,228 accidents to passengers having falls when alighting or boarding. The 12km route features 19 stops, extending from Circular Quay along George Street to Central Station, through Surry Hills to Moore Park, then to Kensington and Kingsford via Anzac Parade and Randwick via Alison Road and High Street. Ten years later the service was electrified. [9] Of the more than 100 falls reported of conductors, one quarter died from their injuries. From Circular Quay trams reached Newtown via Castlereagh Street (Pitt Street on inbound services), Broadway, City Road, King Street, then headed south on Enmore Road the tram turned right into Addison Road, before turning right into Livingstone Road and then left onto New Canterbury Road in Petersham. It used cable grip cars called "dummies" and unpowered trailer cars, similar to the large Melbourne cable tramway system but quite different from the surviving lines in San Francisco, where everything is combined in a single vehicle. A generating plant was installed at Ultimo and White Bay Power Stations.[5]. [21 at December, 1908.]" Perhaps the most famous well-remembered of the electric trams that operated in Sydney were the O and P class trams known officially as footboard cars, after the footboards running along the length of each side of these trams, and upon which conductors precariously balanced to collect fares. From this point the line went off-road and ascended uphill onto its own reservation, travelling through a narrow rock cutting, now public walking track (pictured). In the peak hours and other busy periods, supplementary services operated from Railway Square. Due to the very steep incline at the bottom of the street, the trams used a complex 'dummy' / counterweight system constructed under the road surface. Sydney's controversy-laden tram network has hit another road bump after a car crashed into a tram in Surry Hills this afternoon. [30] Transit Systems Sydney route 428 follows the route of this line. This line, which was first laid down as a cable tramway, began at a loop at the corner of Erskine and Day Streets near Wynyard station then proceeded south down Day Street, turning left into King Street. [31], On 11 October 2013, the Government announced an order for six additional Urbos 3s to replace the Variotrams. The Sydney Light Rail system has encountered another delay, with a tram blocking an intersection in the CBD for 40 minutes this afternoon. L2 Randwick Line services commenced on 14 December 2019, while L3 Kingsford Line services commenced operations on 3 April 2020. Tramways Declaratory Act 1883 No 18a: "An Act to declare legal the employment of Steam Motors on Tramways constructed worked or maintained in pursuance of the 'Tramways Extension Act 1880'. [43][44] In December 2014, it was announced that Alstom's proprietary APS technology would be used in place of batteries. Escalators were provided to carry tram passengers to the new ferry wharf below. They were routinely coupled in pairs to run as Coupled Set. Public Works Act 1900 No 26: "An Act to consolidate the Acts relating to Public Works." It closed in 1954, replaced by bus route 314. The line reached St Peters as a steam tramway in 1891, then to Cooks River in 1900 when electric services commenced. Sydney Light Rail and Traffic Light Slow Motion Shot - George Street Sydney CBD. [10], It was not until 1933 with the introduction of R-class tram 1938 that the drop-centre saloon tram, widely used elsewhere in Australia, came to Sydney. [75], The Bays Precinct is a large waterfront area to the west of the Sydney CBD being proposed for urban renewal by the New South Wales Government. Until 1955, City to Balmain services continued to the wharf, when buses replaced trams between Gladstone Park and the wharf. In 1924, the line was extended to Epsom Road in Rosebery. Early reports suggest a truck carrying an excavator collided with the light rail vehicle at the intersection of George Street and Essex Street at Circular Quay. The trams featured four double and two single doors on each side. | Flickr – Photo Sharing! When I was a CBD resident, I … The line from the city to Randwick Racecourse opened in 1880, the first suburban extension of the system. [82][83] The council commissioned AECOM to undertake a feasibility assessment of the reintroduction of light rail on the corridor between Bondi Beach and Bondi Junction (Stage 1) and onto the CBD (Stage 2) to achieve mass transit of passengers and requested Transport for NSW consider the CBD to Bondi Beach corridor as a priority route in the Sydney Light Rail Plan. [5 December 1900.]. The line opened in 1882 as a steam tramway to Botany, and electric services commenced in 1903. This contract runs for eight years from construction completion, with a possible extension of up to an additional ten years.[21]. [28 April 1887.]" The Lilyfield line was closed in November 1958. Constitution of lines north of harbour were due to the steep terrain involved from Milsons Point to North Sydney. The last extension of the line in 1918 was constructed during the First World War to assist in troop movements to and from overseas battle. From this junction, the tram line back to Liverpool Road heading east through Enfield, and then north along Burwood Road through Burwood. State Transit route 309 generally follows the route. Tramway infrastructure was removed throughout the route in 1951. It opened in August 1997, running between Central station and Wentworth Park, Pyrmont. This was a steam tramway that headed between Parramatta Park and Redbank Wharf, with a major stop at Parramatta City Centre, the point where it met Route 101. This is one of very few surviving remnants of the line. Unlike the preceding O and P class trams that were fitted with Multiple Unit equipment, neither the R nor R1 classes were fitted and so could not operate in coupled sets. However these two instances, the operation of horse tram services were acting as replacements for the existing steam trams services on these lines due to the low patronage during the indicated years. The line opened as a steam tramway in 1887, and was electrified in 1902. Most of these lines were closed on 27 September 1957, in conjunction with the closure of the Pitt and Castlereagh lines through the CBD on the same day. They are only valid for travel on light rail and must be used on the day of purchase. Here, a connection to Oxford Street allowed access to Waverley Tram Depot. The South-western group of lines, also known as the Green Lines after the colour of the destination symbols, branched off Broadway at City Road in Camperdown, and passed along King Street through Newtown. George-street and Harris-street Electric Tramway Act 1896 No 11a: "An Act to sanction the construction of an Electric Tramway from Circular Quay, in the City of Sydney, to the Redfern Railway Station, and along Harris-street from its intersection with George-street to its intersection with John-street in the said city. Transdev will also operate the Parramatta network as part of the Great River City Light Rail consortium. Saywell's Tramway Act of 1884: "An Act to authorize the construction and maintenance of a Tramway from the proposed Bay-street Station on the Illawarra Railway to and along Lady Robinson's Beach. The line after Ocean Street Edgecliff then followed the course of New South Head Road through Double Bay, Rose Bay and operated as an isolated electric tramway from October 1898 until January 1905 when electric services were extended to the Erskine Street terminus and the cable tramway was closed. Transport Administration Amendment (Light Rail) Act 1996 No 128: – established the Transport Administration Corporation to set regulations applying to the current line from Central Station to Lilyfield, including extensions. A tram destined for the wharf would close-up to the dummy and push it down the steep hill (gradient 1 in 8), thus raising the counterweight and being assisted in braking. The line turned into Lawrence Street, then proceeded along Albert Street and Moore Road until the terminus at The Esplanade, Freshwater Beach. Even so, footboard trams continued in wide use until the very late 1950s, despite calls as early as 1934 by the tram union for them to be modified.[9]. The western track being laid to enable electric trams to be used, however this never happened as trolleybuses took over operation. The services could also be short worked via Bent and Spring Streets at times when Circular Quay was busy or unavailable. In 1950, the line down King Street to Erskine Street closed and a new terminus constructed at Queens Square. The section from Argyle Street Parramatta to Northmead became an isolated line before closing not long after the railway began operations. All services were previously operated by a single class of tram. [21st December, 1911.]" In 1929, a P-class tram crashed into a barber's shop on the corner of Quay and Ultimo Roads near Central Station. Digital voice announcements and internal dot-matrix displays provided information about the next stop. The private owner soon made proposals for a western extension continuing along the disused goods line, plus a new line through the central business district from Central to Circular Quay. [14 February 1893.]" From the late 1800s up until the mid-1900s, trams were just “part of everyday life for the people of Sydney,” Sydney Tramway Museum director Scott Curnow said. A tram travels up William Street towards Kings Cross in the 1930s. The line closed on 27 September 1957. The system uses standard gauge track and 750 volt direct current electrification. For the current light rail network, see, North Bondi via Bondi Junction and Bondi Beach Line, North Bondi via Paddington and Bellevue Hill Line, Cross Country Line (Bondi Junction to Coogee), Taronga Zoo to Lane Cove, Gore Hill and Chatswood Line, Taronga Zoo Park - Lane Cove and Chatswood Line, "Anniversary of the closure of the Kogarah steam tramway and the opening of the Trolleybus system", [East Sydney Technical College, Court and Old Gaol 1 Jan 1933 ~1 Jan 1933 Archives of City of Sydney, Gregory's Street Directory 1955 page 27 and 28, Gregory's Street Directory, 1955, Map 26, 26A, 1, and 13, Gregory's Street Directory, 1955, map 72, 26, Gregory's Street Directory, 1955, Map 6, 2, 1, Gregory's Street Directory, 1955, Map 28, 27, 33 (maps adjoining in that order). The line then passed under the railway lines at Burren Street, adjacent to the entrance to Macdonaldtown railway station. See "Sydney Tramway Remnants Map" in "External Links" below. Services operated from Circular Quay in a route similar to the Botany line as far as the Henderson Road junction. The Schedule to the Act describes the route proposed to take the line from Long Gully to East Willoughby. [33][34] All were in service by August, allowing the leased Urbos 2s to be returned to Spain. Each was fitted with three double doors each side which had enhanced safety systems with obstacle detection interlocked with the traction system. Rebuilding track in Belgrave street and the terminus was estimated to cost £5,695, while land resumption including demolition of the Pier Hotel was estimated at £40,000 (less £3,500 from sale of land). The line then passed down Oxford Street to Bondi Junction, where it branched off from Bronte services, to run down Bondi Road to Fletcher Street, Campbell Parade and then to the North Bondi tram terminus. The line was an early closure, in 1933. The Spit to Manly Electric Tramway Act 1908 No 26: "An Act to sanction the construction of an electric tramway from The Spit to Manly ; and for other purposes. It rejected residents' suggestions to schedule the Narrabeen tram first, and to make the first set-down Dee Why or similar place. It includes the conversion of most of the former heavy rail Carlingford line to light rail standards. It connects Sydney's Inner West with the Pyrmont peninsula, Darling Harbour and at the southern end of the central business district. SLRC was awarded a 30-year concession to operate the light rail system until February 2028 when ownership would pass to the New South Wales Government. For many years, 27 regular services operated from Circular Quay. It was initially a single line, later duplicated from Rozelle to Ryde between 1906 and 1936. [17], Following the announcement of the CBD and South East Light Rail, the government decided to group the contract covering construction of the new line with the operation and maintenance both lines of the inner city network. with up to 200 trams in use on lines to Leichhardt, Drummoyne, Ryde, Abbotsford, Glebe and Balmain. If approved by the committee, an Act of Parliament had to be passed to authorize the work. The Sydney CBD is Australia’s most significant economic and employment hub, generating $96 billion of gross domestic product per year, and is home to major tourist, entertainment and cultural destinations. Rail that was salvageable was donated to the Sydney Tramway Museum. All vehicles to have operated on the system have been articulated, low floor and bi-directional. Past the terminus at the Cooks River, a single line led over the river to the Wolli Creek Perway Yard.