Randwick Bus Depot

Randwick Bus Depot is a bus depot in the Sydney suburb of Randwick operated by Transdev John Holland.

Randwick Bus Depot

Location
Location	Cnr Darley Rd & King St Randwick
Coordinates	33°54′22″S 151°14′10″E
Characteristics
Owner	Transport for NSW
Operator	Transdev John Holland
Depot code	R
History
Opened	1881

History

In 1881 the Randwick Tramway Workshops were established on the corner of Darley Road and King Street, Randwick as the main workshops for the Sydney tram network. It also had a depot attached.^[1][2] In 1902 the workshops were renamed the Randwick Tramway Workshops.^[3]

The workshops grew rapidly to become one of Sydney's largest engineering establishments peaking in the 1920s.^[4] and performed all heavy maintenance on the fleet, Randwick Workshops were also instrumental for the construction of the L and LP classes that were completely rebuilt from the F class. O/P class, The PR and 2 of the PR1 classes were all converted by Randwick workshops out of trams that had been involved either in accidents or required major overhaul.

During World War I and World War II workers from the Tramways Workshops were diverted to manufacturing armaments and artillery. The 1917 General Strike began with the 3,000 workers from Eveleigh Railway and Randwick Tramways Workshops and spread across Australia to become one of the largest strikes in Australian history.

With the gradual closure of the Sydney tram network in the late 1950s, the need for the workshops declined and they closed in 1960. It then became a storage place for withdrawn trams prior to them either being used as outdoor buildings or being burnt on "Burning Hill". Tram 1979 was the last tram to leave Randwick Workshops in 1971, 10 years after the final closure of the Sydney system and is restored and running at the Sydney Tramway Museum.

The western side was redeveloped and today is part of the University of New South Wales and Randwick TAFE. The eastern end remains in use as a bus depot.^[5]

As part of the contracting out of Sydney Bus Region 9, operation of Randwick depot passed from State Transit to Transdev John Holland on 2 April 2022.^[6]

As of January 2025, it has an allocation of 138 buses.

Operations

The Randwick Tramway Workshops consisted of:

• Traverser
• Bogie and Pattern Store
• Electric Mains Store
• Overhead Equipment
• Machine Shop
• Paint Shop
• Woodworking and Car Body Repairs
• Blacksmith, Boiler and Welding Shop
• Bus Maintenance Garage
• Car Overhaul and Repairs
• Canteen

Gallery

• 
  Tram Road Entrance
• 
  Machine Shop Site
• 
  Tram Road
• 
  Training
• 
  Armature winding shop 1926
• 
  Core making workshop
• 
  Electrical fitting shop
• 
  Electrical repair shop
• 
  Woodworking shop
• 
  General view
• 
  Gardens
• 
  Gardens

References

1. "The Tramway Workshops at Randwick". Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 7 July 1887. p. 6. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
2. MacGowan, Ian (1990). The Tramways of New South Wales. Oakleigh: Ian MacGowan. p. 7. ISBN 0-949600-25-3.
3. Randwick Municipal Council (1985). Randwick, a social history. New South Wales University Press, Kensington, New South Wales. p. 244.
4. Dorling, Carl (1988). "Out of sight out of mind: tram maintenance as a neglected part of Sydney's tram history". Historic Environment. 6 (4): 19–24. ISSN 0726-6715.
5. Randwick Bus Depot State Transit Authority
6. Sydney Region 9 bus contract secured: John Holland-Transdev Australasian Bus & Coach 26 November 2021

External links

Media related to Randwick Bus Depot at Wikimedia Commons