Class leader 1738 was unveiled in a ceremony at
Randwick Tramway Workshops on 29 September 1933. All 195 cars were in service by mid-1935. Passengers were accommodated in two saloons featuring 16 tip-over upholstered seats in each, plus wooden seating for 16 in the centre section. The relatively low seating capacity of only 48 (compared to the older toastrack trams) and their inability to operate in service as multiple units went against the class. The last five of the order for 200 tramcars were altered during construction to a modified design with increased seating capacity, becoming prototypes for the
R1 class, resulting in only 195 being completed to the original (R class) design.
Rushcutters Bay was the first depot to be allocated trams,
Fort Macquarie followed next, then
Waverley,
North Sydney and
Newtown.
Ultimo received its first R cars in 1940, with
Rozelle and
Tempe gaining them in 1949.
Dowling Street finally received R cars when Fort Macquarie Depot closed in 1955. Two North Sydney R cars plunged into
Sydney Harbour when running out of control on the steep descent to
Athol Wharf, both were repaired. Withdrawals commenced in mid-1958 when the North Sydney system closed and these cars went into storage, mainly at Waverley. The last of the R class trams were withdrawn on 22 November 1958, the last day of operation of Rozelle Depot and the last day of services in
George Street and the
Western suburbs. ==Preservation==