Trams in Sydney

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Sydney tramway network
Trams on George Street, 1920.
Operation
Locale	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Horsecar era: 1861 (1861)–1866 (1866) Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Propulsion system(s) Horses
Steam era: 1879 (1879)–1910 (1910) Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Propulsion system(s) Steam (and horses/cables)
Electric era: 1898 (1898)–1961 (1961) Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Propulsion system(s) Electric Electrification 600 Volts DC Route length 291 km (181 mi) (1923) 1945 405 million

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.