Physical Description

This is tramcar number 199. Although similar to the North Sydney cable tram trailer cars, it has five rather than six side windows. A clerestory roof increases the light level in the saloon.

Object Statement

Tram, full size, horsedrawn, Manly tram, No.199, wood / steel / brass / glass, mady by the Randwick Tramway Workshops of the NSW Government Railways, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1894

Production

The tram was built at the Randwick Tramway Workshops of the NSW Government Railways, Sydney, in July 1894

Dimensions

• Height: 3000mm
• Width: 2200 mm

History

The first horse trams in Sydney operated from 22 December 1861 along Pitt Street to link the ferries and ships at Circular Quay with the main railway terminus at the then Redfern Station, which was located near Devonshire Street. Pulled by four horses, they held 30 passengers inside and another 30 on the roof.

While this first horse tramway was eagerly anticipated, especially by retailers in Pitt Street, it was soon beset with problems. Most of these resulted from the fact that the tramway operated on railway lines sitting on the surface of the road rather than tramway tracks set into and flush with the surface. This resulted from a decision by the Department of Railways to use railway wagons to carry goods on the system. The railway tracks proved a hazard and could damage the wheels of horse-drawn road vehicles that crossed them.

On 15 January 1864, prominent Sydney musician Isaac Nathan was a passenger on the horse tram along Pitt Street. On alighting, he fell under the tram wheels and was killed. This incident galvanised the already negative sentiment about the tramway and led to the formation of a parliamentary committee which recommended the closure of the line. It was officially closed on 31 December 1866.

This tram dates from the second phase of horse trams in Sydney, when they briefly ran in Newtown from 1894 to 1898 and Manly from 1903 until 1907. Both these services were introduced as temporary, more economical, replacements for poorly patronised steam-operated services.

From 17 December 1894, two horse tramcars operated between Newtown and St Peters Station. The two tramcars, each drawn by one horse, carried the numbers 198 and 199 (the tramcar now in the Museum's collection) in the steam tram trailer car fleet. They were housed in the former Newtown steam tram shed.

The trailer cars had been completed at the Randwick Tramway Workshops of the NSW Government Railways in July 1894 to operate on the Newtown-St Peters steam tram route but due to light patronage of the route, the decision was made to change to a less costly horse drawn service, which was maintained until 1 July 1898.