The Southampton Corporation tramcar fleet had to be designed to travel through the reduced clearance of the medieval Bargate [1]. The Corporation's tramcars were therefore shorter and narrower than those of other fleets and the Corporation retained open-topped trams until the 1920s when specially built low height domed cars were built. Tramcars built before that between 1899 and 1916 were of a similar design though built in batches by different manufacturers including Hurst Nelson and the Corporation themselves.
| Information for Hurst Nelson built tramcars |
| Number built: |
12 |
| Built: |
1903-04 |
| Builder: |
Hurst Nelson |
| Motor: |
2 Dick Kerr DK9A electric motors (DC OHLE) |
| Power: |
50 hp (37 kW) |
Despite more modern tramcars being built in the 1920s some of these earlier tramcars survived in service until the closure of the Southampton tram network in 1949. No. 45 was able to survive into preservation (it was the first tram to be preserved by a private body) and is now at Crich.
 |
| No. 45 at Crich |
 |
| Front windows |
 |
| Stair way |
 |
| Roof detail |
[1] R.W. Rush, British Electric Tramcar Design 1885-1950 (Oxford Publishing, 1976) p. 64
