Back in the 1950s Sydney had the biggest tramway system in the southern hemisphere.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That all finished on February 25, 1961 when an R1 class tram operated on the La Perouse and Maroubra Beach line for the very last time.
All 291 kilometres of Sydney track was gradually ripped up.
Trams in Sydney kicked off in 1879 pulled by horses.
In its heyday the Sydney network was the second largest in the Commonwealth (after London).
The system was heavily worked, with about 1,600 cars in service at any one time, at its peak during the 1930s. (There are about 500 trams in Melbourne today).
Patronage peaked in 1945 at 405 million passenger journeys.
Fast forward to 1997 when the tram is reborn in Sydney, though now called light rail.
The reborn network currently consists of a single 12.8 kilometre line with 23 stations, known as the Dulwich Hill Line. It operates with twelve cars.
You may also like:
A second line, the CBD and South East Light Rail, is under construction and causing much angst to commuters and shop owners on the route.
It is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
Initially costed at $1.6 billion, this has since been revised on a number of occasions, with the final cost very much up in the air.
The big question many are asking is why the government ripped up Sydney's huge tramway network, when Melbourne did not.
Every NSW tax payer is now paying the price for that lack of foresight.
If you'd like to relive the trams of the past get out to the Sydney Tramway Museum at Loftus in Sydney.
It's open and operates trams every Wednesday and Sunday.
I have two double to passes to Motorex valued at $106 to give away to listeners and readers.
To be in the draw for a double pass to Motorex send me your name and address via email to goodsell@pnc.com.au
Motoring news locally every Saturday at 5am on 101.5 Great Lakes FM and 10am on 106.5 Rhema FM.
Also Sunday 2pm on 103.3 2TLP and 2pm every Tuesday on 101.5 Great Lakes FM.
Road Ramblings can also be heard worldwide on the web by going to www.roadrambs.com.
You can now find and listen to Road Ramblings on Facebook. Have a look and give us a like.
