| Sydney trolleybus systems | |
| Locale: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Era1 Name: | Eastern Suburbs |
| Era1 State: | show |
| Era1 Status: | Closed |
| Era1 Routes: | 1 |
| Era1 Depot: | Rushcutters Bay |
| Era1 Stock: | 5 |
| Era2 Name: | Kogarah |
| Era2 State: | show |
| Era2 Status: | Closed |
| Era2 Routes: | 1 |
| Era2 Depot: | Ritchie Street, Sans Souci |
| Era2 Stock: | 21 |
The Sydney trolleybus system in New South Wales consisted of two unconnected lines in the Eastern Suburbs and St George areas of Sydney.
The first of these opened on 22 January 1934 when route 3 from Wylde Street, Potts Point to Town Hall station via Kings Cross and William Street. The route was temporarily converted to motor bus operation on 11 April 1948 while Liverpool Street was rebuilt. It was later decided not to reinstate the service.[1] [2]
On 3 July 1937, the second line opened from Rockdale station to Sans Souci via Kogarah station, Rocky Point Road and Dolls Point replacing the Kogarah to Sans Souci steam tramway. It closed on 29 August 1959.[1]
Sydney's trolleybus routes were as follows:
| Route | via | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town Hall station - Potts Point | 22 January 1934 | 10 April 1948 | |
| Rockdale station - Dolls Point | 3 June 1937 | 29 August 1959 | |
| 3 June 1937 | 29 August 1959 | ||
For the commencement of operations in the Eastern Suburbs, two single deck three-axle AEC 663Ts were purchased.[2] [3] One was bodied by Park Royal, London and the other by H McKenzie of White Bay. They were later joined by three AEC 761T double deck vehicles, one bodied by Park Royal and two locally by Syd Wood. For the commencement of the Kogarah services, 11 Leyland TTB4 and 10 AEC 664T double deck three-axle buses were bodied by Ritchie Brothers, Auburn.[1] [4] After the Eastern Suburbs line, the four surviving buses were transferred to Sans-Souci.
| Image | Fleet numbers | Quantity | Chassis | Body | Configuration | In service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Three axle, single deck | 1934-1956 | |||
| 2–3 | 2 | AEC 663T | H McKenzie | Three axle, single deck | 1934-1956 | |
| 3 | 1 | Park Royal | Two axle, double deck | 1934-1948 | ||
| 4-5 | 2 | AEC 761T | Syd Wood | Two axle, double deck | 1936/37-1956 | |
| 6-16 | 11 | Leyland TTB4 | Three axle, double deck | 1937-1959 | ||
| 17-26 | 10 | AEC 664T | Ritchie Brothers | Three axle, double deck | 1937-1959 | |
The Eastern Suburbs buses were based at Rushcutters Bay Tram Depot with a turntable installed. The Kogarah services were based at the former Ritchie Street tram depot in Sans Souci. After the trolleybuses ceased in 1959, it was used by the New South Wales Police as a storage area for recovered stolen vehicles before passing to the Housing Commission.[1]
The Powerhouse Museum has AEC 663T trolleybus number 1 in its collection[2] while the Sydney Tramway Museum has AEC 664T number 19.[5]