AGY-1644 | Tramway Construction Branch

Full description

In 1898 the Railway Construction Branch of the Public Works Department was divided into the Railway Survey Office with a staff of twenty-nine, nine field staff (drafting), twelve office staff (drafting), and Tramway Construction with twenty four staff. (1) Tramway construction included initial cable car experimentation and later electric tram installation in Sydney plus the use of steam trams in Newcastle.(2) Under the Government Railways (Amendment) Act (No.69 1916) which came into operation on 1 January 1917 the construction of all new tramways was transferred to the Chief Commissioner for Railways. FOOTNOTES (1) Coltheart, Lenore A Guide to the History of the Public Works Department, Public Works Heritage Group, Public Works Department, 1991, p.54. (2) Ibid. pp. 57-58.