Introduction | Railways

Waratah train Set A72 approaching Milsons Point station with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background, 18 February 2017.

B2 Class tram 2065 outside Flinders Street station, Melbourne, 14 January 2017.

Railways and Tramways of Australia explores the major features of Australian railways and tramways. It presents interesting facts and figures for enthusiasts, and also provides valuable information for those employed in the railway and tramway industries.

Major topics are arranged to enable easy access to information, and to enhance understanding of railways and tramways. Feature articles focus on particular themes and are added regularly.

Many sources have been consulted to provide information for this website. Where different sources were conflicting, an evaluation was made of what was likely to be the most reliable source in each case. Railways and Tramways of Australia does not cover all aspects of railways and tramways in extensive detail, but links to other websites and listings of additional information are provided to enable areas of interest to be investigated more fully.

Information provided in this website is as accurate as possible, but it is possible that some details are out of date or that errors have been made. No responsibility is taken for inaccurate information.

All photographs are by David Matheson unless otherwise indicated.

It is my hope that Railways and Tramways of Australia is both informative and interesting, and that you find much contained within that expands your curiosity about Australian railways and tramways.

Metric conversions

The following metric conversion factors are standards from the Australian Government’s National Measurement Institute, and have been used throughout this website:

1 mile=1.609344 kilometres

1 chain=20.1168 metres

1 foot=0.3048 metres

1 ton=1.0160469088 tonnes

1 horsepower=0.7457 kilowatts

All measurements are reported in metric, unless otherwise specified.