Electrification Of Sydney's Trains

John Bradfield devised a plan to electrify Sydney's commuter Railway System. In 1926, the first section electrified was from Central to Oatley on the Illawarra line. the St James Branch line also received the same special treatment when it opened in the same year. Originally, the cables only powered the trains with 1500 volt currents. While this was inferior to and more expensive than modern single phase alternating current equipment, in the 1920s it was sufficient for the operation of electric multi-carriage trains. By the late 1980's, most of the network's equipment had been updated to accommodate for the new "Tangora" type Train, which relied on 2500 volt alternating currents.

Floor Layout of a Tangora Train

~ Cameron