Celebrating 100 years of electric trains in NSW
1 March 2026
On 1 March 1926, the NSW rail network changed forever with the introduction of its first electric passenger train.
One hundred years on, experience a once-in-a-century anniversary journey aboard vintage electric Set F1, retracing the very first electric service from Central to Oatley and return - departing at the exact minute it ran 100 years ago.
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At 7:54am on 1 March 1926, the first electric passenger train quietly departed Central Station. The Sydney Morning Herald observed that, “Things that would gather round them excited and curious crowds in other parts of the world, Sydney passes by impassive and disinterested.”
Despite the muted reaction, the impact was immediate. Electric trains delivered faster, quieter and more frequent services, while eliminating the constant demand for coal and water. Later that same year, the opening of the St James and Museum tunnels brought the railway directly into the heart of the CBD, transforming how Sydney moved.
A century later, that electric network - vastly expanded and continually evolving - remains the backbone of Sydney’s transport system. Transport Heritage NSW is proud to partner with the NSW Government and Transport for NSW to mark this remarkable innovation, one that continues to shape the way we travel today.
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About
SINGLE-DECK ELECTRIC TRAIN
This four-car vintage electric train set is part of the fleet of 883 single-deck steel carriages that formed the backbone of the Sydney Suburban fleet from 1926 until the early 1990s.
More affectionately known by Sydneysiders as the ‘red rattlers’, this particular train set is an excellent representative example of a typical Sydney suburban electric train from the early twentieth century.
One of the carriages, C 3426, was the leading car on the first electric train to cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge on its opening in 1932.
Built in 1927, it is an early example of a carriage constructed entirely of steel, representing a great advance in passenger rolling stock design for its time. Although this particular car was subject to a large number of modifications from 1954 onwards, it is the only one of this type of ‘modernised’ car to survive intact.
