This article is about the now-closed tramways of Sydney. For the current light rail network, see
Light rail in Sydney.
| Sydney tramway network |
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|
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| Locale | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Horsecar era: 1861 (1861)–1866 (1866) |
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| Track gauge |
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Propulsion system(s) |
Horses |
|
| Steam era: 1879 (1879)–1910 (1910) |
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| Track gauge |
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Propulsion system(s) |
Steam (and horses/cables) |
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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 (after London), 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 (in comparison, there are about 500 trams in Melbourne today).
Patronage peaked in 1945 at 405 million passenger journeys. Its maximum street trackage totalled 291 km (181 miles) in 1923.