Llandudno and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway

The Llandudno and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway opened in 1907 (though did not take this name until 1909). It operated an electric tram service between Llandudno and Rhos-on-Sea, with an extension to Colwyn Bay in 1908. The tramway was narrow gauge (1, 067mm) and had a route length of thirteen kilometres. The initial fleet of trams was a batch of fourteen single decker interurban style trams built by the Midland Carriage & Wagon Company of Shrewsbury. These had twin Mountain & Gibson bogies with two passenger compartments (one for smokers) [1]. These trams were replaced in the mid-1930s.

Information for original bogie cars
Number built: 14
Built: 1907
Builder: Midland Carriage & Wagon Company

Later trams the company operated came from a variety of manufacturers including English Electric who built a couple of toast rack style cars. The company also purchased a number of second-hand tram cars from the Leamington & Warwick, Darwen Corporation and Accrington Corporation tram companies.

The tram network suffered terribly from storm damage in early 1952. More storm damage occurred the following year. The company began to convert to motor buses, despite local opposition, with the final closure of the tramway in March 1956.
Colwyn Bay tram [2]



[1] Stephen Lockwood, Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Tramway (Middleton Press, 2007) Fig. 105
[2] "Colwyn Bay tram" by Geoff Charles, National Library of Wales collection https://www.flickr.com/photos/llgc/16464530624