Southend-on-Sea Corporation Tramways

Southend-on-Sea's first tramway was a horse drawn tram that ran along the pier (this was later replaced by a dedicated railway which has used a variety of rolling stock over the years). An electric tram for the town itself began operation in 1901 which used 1, 067mm gauge like the pier railway did at the time. The initial trams for the corporation were built by Brush Traction in a variety of types, some double decker and other single decker and four or eight wheels.

English Electric tram [1]

Information for original Brush cars
Number built:	14
Built:	1901
Builder:	Brush Traction

More trams were built by G.F. Milnes, Brush and the United Electric Car Company in subsequent years. The network continued to expand in the 1910s and at it's greatest extent was nearly fifteen kilometres long. The final trams built for the corporation were by English Electric in 1923. Earlier trams with open top decks were refurbished to add top covers.

By the mid-1920s the corporation was already looking at replacing the tram with electric trolleybuses. Replacement began as lines required track renewal. The final trams ran in 1942.

[1] English Electric Journal Vol 3 Issue 6 (1926) p. 248

Huddersfield Corporation Tramways

Huddersfield Corporation Tramways operated between 1883 and 1940 to 1,416mm gauge. The trams were initially horse and steam powered but electric trams began operating from 1901. The first trams built for the corporation were twenty five double bogie double deckers built by G.F. Milnes. These had open top decks initially.

English Electric built 121 [1]

Information for original tramcars
Number built:	25
Built:	1900
Builder:	G.F. Milnes

A second batch of thirty six tramcars built by the British Electric Car Company were built as the electrified network expanded. These tramcars were single bogie cars though were also double deckers. More trams were built in the following decades by the United Electric Car Company which later became part of English Electric. The corporation also operated a couple of dedicated coal trams.

Despite much of the tram fleet still being fairly young the corporation began converting over to trolleybuses in the early 1930s. The trams ran for the final time in June 1940. All trams were scrapped.

[1] English Electric Journal 1923-04 Vol 2 Issue 4 p. 175

Belfast Corporation Tramways

Belfast Corporation Tramways began life in 1905, taking over from the horse drawn Belfast Street Tramways Company and electrifying the 1, 448mm gauge network. A batch of open-topped double decker trams cars was bought from Brush Traction with British Westinghouse electrical equipment and Brill 21E trucks. Many of these trams were retrofitted with top covers in the 1920s [2]. Some of these cars survived in service until the early 1950s. One has been preserved.

Tram shed [1]

Information for original batch of cars
Number built:	170
Built:	1905
Builder:	Brush Traction
Motor:	2 British Westinghouse 200 Series motors (DC OHLE)

Belfast's tram network at it's largest extent reached for just under 83 kilometres. The tram network was gradually converted over to trolleybus operation from the 1930s and then motor buses. The final trams ran in 1954.

Belfast Brush tram [1]

[1] "The Belfast Tramways", Street Railway Journal Vol XXVII No. 5 (February 3 1906) p. 186

[2] R.W. Rush, British Electric Tramcar Design 1885-1950 (Oxford Publishing, 1976) p. 71

Bradford City Tramways Worm-drive Car

By the 1920s Bradford City Tramways was facing increasing competition from the motor bus. To compete with this new threat an experimental tram was designed and built, the first by the company's own workshops, for quiet operation and to operate at higher speeds than earlier trams. The single decker tram was fully enclosed with a central door. The tram had two bogies, each with it's own motor. The English Electric series-wound motors were designed to reduce the hum associated with earlier motors and were connected to the axles via a worm drive.

The tram in operation [1]

Information
Number built:	1
Built:	1926
Builder:	BCT Thornbury Depot
Motor:	2 English Electric electric motors (DC OHLE)
Power:	126 hp (670 kW) / 1, 350hp (1, 005kW)
Formation:	(175/0) DMSL (Driving Motor Standard Lavatory)+DMSL (175/1) DMSL+MSL (Motor Standard Lavatory)+DMSL

Although the tram was a smooth runner with a good performance it's Achilles heel was it's size, it could seat only thirty four passengers which made it unsuitable for use in peak hours [2]. The tram only served for five years and was scrapped in 1931.

[1] "British car designed for quiet operation", Electric Railway Journal Vol. 60 No. 19 (May 7 1927) p. 817

[2] R.W. Rush, British Electric Tramcar Design (Oxford Publishing, 1976) p. 107

Bath Electric Tramways Company

The Bath Electric Tramways Company began operations in 1904, taking over from an earlier horse drawn narrow gauge system. The initial fleet of trams were double deckers built by G.F. Milnes. These had Milnes four wheel trucks and British Westinghouse electrical equipment. The open topped trams had seating for fifty five passengers. They were later augmented by a smaller number of single decker trams.

Number 3 and a friend [1]

Information for double deckers
Number built:	18
Built:	1903-04
Builder:	G.F. Milnes
Motor:	2 Westinghouse 49-B electric motors (500v DC OHLE)
Power:	60 hp (45 kW)

The company was taken over by the Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company in 1936, who began the process of replacing the trams with motor buses. The final trams ran in Bath in 1939. No electric trams have survived though one of the original horse drawn trams is preserved.

Walcot Street depot, a building which still exists

Number 22

[1] "The tramway system of Bath, England", Street Railway Journal Vol. XXIV No. 10 (March 5 1904) p. 371

East Ham Corporation Tramways

East Ham Corporation Tramways operated in East London starting in 1901, the second earliest electric tramway in London [1], though only stretched for just over eight miles. It continued in operation until 1933 when it became part of London Transport. The company operated seventy trams in total, the earliest being built by Dick, Kerr. Later trams were built by Brush, some of these replaced earlier trams.

Original tram [2]

Information for original cars
Number built:	35
Built:	1901-03
Builder:	Dick, Kerr
Motor:	2 Dick, Kerr 25-A electric motors (500v DC OHLE)
Power:	50 hp (37 kW)

The original batch of trams, built by Dick, Kerr, were open-top double deckers built to the popular Liverpool or Bellamy design with a reversed stairway. The trams used a Brill 21-E truck and could carry up to 56 passengers.

[1] R.W. Kidner, The London Tramcar 1861-1952 (Oakwood Press, 1992) p. 105

[2] "New railway in London", Street Railway Journal (Vol. XVIII No. 10 September 7 1901) p. 287

Manx Electric Cars 10-13 (Motor Cattle Car)

These were the third batch of tramcars delivered to the Manx Electric Railway in 1895. However, they were not a success due to being open at the sides and having no glazed windows. All four were converted (after the open sides were boarded up) to carry cattle instead!

No. 12 after conversion to cattle car

Information
Number built:	4
Built:	1895
Builder:	G.F. Milnes
Motor:	4 SEHC electric motors (550v DC OHLE)
Power:	100 hp (75 kW)

However, their time in service was relatively short (especially compared to other stock on the line). Three have been scrapped. The survivor has been preserved though no longer is in use.

[1] "The Manx Electric Railway", Street Railway Journal (Vol. XXIV No. 10 March 05 1904) p. 356

Birmingham Corporation Tramways Radial Class

This large fleet of tramcars was built in 1906 and 1907 for the recently electrified Birmingham tram network. These single truck trams were the first to have top covers from new. The trams also used the radial design of truck, from Mountain & Gibson of Bury who undercut the original intended supplier Brush Traction. The tram bodies were built by the United Electric Car Company of Preston. Dick, Kerr electrical equipment was also fitted though some trams later were fitted with General Electric motors.

Information
Number built:	150
Built:	1906-07
Builder:	United Electric Car Company
Motor:	2 DK6A electric motors (550v DC OHLE)
Power:	70 hp (52 kW)

The trams entered service in 1906 and operated from depots in Washwood Heath and on the Coventry and Moseley Roads. The trams had a seating capacity of fifty two, twenty four lower and twenty eight on the upper deck [1]. The trams served into the late 1930s when withdrawals began, though the last was not withdrawn until 1945.

One tram, number 107, has survived. It was withdrawn in 1939 and later used as a summer house. Restoration is ongoing at the Aldridge Transport Museum.

Number 107

[1] P.W. Lawson, Birmingham Corporation Tramway Rolling Stock (Birmingham Transport Historical Group, 1983) p. 30

Manx Electric Railway Trams

Work began on the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man in 1893 with the first services later that year.  The first trams from that time remain in service and indeed the Manx Electric Railway uses trams exclusively which are well over a hundred years old on it's continuing operation. Some stock was lost in the 1930 Laxey car shed fire and others have been stored though mostly due to the decline in traffic over the years. 

Number 6 part of the first batch seen in 1904 [1], this tram is still in service today

Information for Cars 1-3
Number built:	3
Built:	1893
Builder:	G.F. Milnes & Co.
Motor:	4 SEHC electric motors (550v DC OHLE)
Power:	100 hp (75 kW)

The three original cars were single decker unvestibuled saloons with double trucks. One of these cars was lost in the 1930 fire though the other two remain in service and are the oldest electric trams still in service on their original network in the world. In 1894 ten more trams followed of a similar design though with vestibules. 

A tram in service in 1904 [1]

A tram trailer, some are still in use as well! [1]

[1] "The Manx Electric Railway", Street Railway Journal (Vol. XXIV No. 10 March 05 1904) p. 356

Cardiff Corporation Tramways Double Decker Double Bogie Car

Cardiff Corporation Tramways took over the operation of trams in the city in 1902 buying a fleet of single decker trams and double decker trams which had either double bogies or a single truck. The double bogie double deckers used Brill 22E maximum traction trucks and could up to sixty eight passengers, though those on top were exposed to the elements!

Cardiff Corporation Tram [1]

Information
Number built:	20
Built:	1902
Builder:	Dick, Kerr of Preston
Motor:	2 Dick Kerr DK25A motors (550v DC OHLE)
Power:	50 hp (37 kW)

The network was becoming worn by the 1930s though continued in operation until 1950 when the take over by trolleybuses was complete. The trolleybuses themselves remained in service until 1970.

[1] "The Cardiff Corporation Tramways", Street Railway Journal (Vol. XX No. 1 July 5 1903) p. 43

Early Liverpool Corporation Tramways Double-Decker Trams

The Liverpool Corporation bought the Liverpool United Tramway & Omnibus Company in 1897 and began a programme to electrify the tram network, the first services operating in 1898 [1] and electrification was completed in 1902. The first electric trams operated were imported from Germany, eight powered trams and eight trailers arriving in 1898. Some single-decker trams were also imported from the USA. 

Manufacturer's photograph [3]

Information for Dick, Kerr cars
Number built:	330
Built:	1899-1913
Builder:	Dick, Kerr of Preston
Motor:	2 x Dick, Kerr 25-A electric motors (DC OHLE)

Starting in 1899, the Electric Railway & Tramway Carriage Works (Dick, Kerr of Preston) built a huge fleet of open-top double-decker trams which were a great influence on contemporary networks around the country with trams of a similar type bought for other networks sometimes known as the "Liverpool Type"! The trams were known as Liverpool Standard Cars or Bellamy Cars after C.R. Bellamy the General Manager of the time. The trams had a single Brill 21E truck and could carry 56 passengers. They were later retro-fitted with top covers. An interesting experiment with separating tram services on a class basis was attempted with white trams reserved for the upper classes who did not want to mix with window cleaners and grubby workers!

Although most Bellamy Cars were replaced in the 1930s, one did survive until 1949 [2].

Tram hauling a salt truck [4]

[1] Charles Klapper, The Golden Age of Tramways (David & Charles, 1974) p. 87

[2] Brian P. Martin, Liverpool Tramways 2: Southern Routes (Middleton Press, 1998) p. 120

[3] Street Railway Journal Vol. XVI Dick, Kerr Supplement p. 31

[4] Street Railway Journal Vol. XXIII No. 22 (May 28 1904) p. 818

Burton and Ashby Light Railway

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway was opened in 1906 by the Midland Railway, running for sixteen kilometres between Burton-upon-Trent and Ashby-de-la-Zouch [1]. The tramway used the tracks of the Burton Corporation Tramway in Burton and then it's own tracks when it reached Swadlincote. The tramway used 1, 067 narrow gauge like a number of tram networks in the Midlands. It had to deal with some steep gradients on it's route, one tram being involved in a serious accident when it was a runaway backwards down a steep slope and overturned in 1919.

Number 14

The tramway was electric from the start, power was generated by two diesel engines in Swadlincote (which also housed the tram depot) rather than steam as was usual practice [2]. Open-topped double decker trams, built by Brush, were operated, a maximum of twenty were owned by the tramway. The tramway was taken over by the LMS in 1923 and closed down in 1927.

Information
Number built:	20
Built:	1906 No. 14 rebuilt 2014
Builder:	Brush
Motor:	2 Westinghouse 80 electric motors (DC OHLE) (No. 14) Clayton battery electric motors
Power:	50 hp (37 kW)

Tram number 14 managed to survive scrapping, the body was used as a garden shed until 1970. The tram body was exported to the USA and married to a 900mm gauge Lisbon tram truck. The tram returned to the UK in 2014 and was fitted with a Clayton battery electric traction system for use on the Statfold Barn preserved railway, able to run without wires!

No.14 on the Statfold Barn Railway

Side view of No. 14

Oak Tree Halt is the terminus of the short tramline on the Statfold Barn site

View from the top deck

Another view of No. 14 at Oak Tree Halt

[1] Charles Knapper, The Golden Age of Tramways (David & Charles, 1974) p. 34
[2] Ibid. p. 135

Cardiff Corporation Tramways Single Decker Car

Cardiff Corporation Tramways took over operation of trams in the city in 1902 and operated an electric tram service until 1950. Part of the initial fleet of trams were these single deckers which used twin Brill 23E trucks and could carry up to thirty four passengers.

Information
Number built:	14
Built:	1902
Builder:	Dick, Kerr of Preston
Motor:	2 Dick, Kerr series wound motors (550v DC OHLE)

Single decker car [1]

[1] "The Cardiff Corporation Tramways", Street Railway Journal (Vol. XX No. 1 July 5 1903) p. 43

Leith Corporation Tramways Sweeper Sprinkler Car

As well as it's fleet of street trams, the short lived Leith Corporation Tramway also operated this sweeper and sprinkler car. The car was fitted with two brooms, a snow plough and a sprinkler with a 1000 gallon (4546 litre) water tank.

Picture from [1]

Information
Number built:	1
Built:	1905
Builder:	United Electric Car Works of Preston
Motor:	2 GE58 electric motors (500v DC OHLE)

The car was fitted with two GE58 six-turn armature motors and British Thomson-Houston electrical equipment.

[1] "Leith Corporation Tramways", Street Railway Journal (Vol. XXVI No. 24) Dec 9 1905, p. 1018

Sheffield Corporation Improved Standard Car

The Improved Standard Car was a development of the Sheffield Corporation's Standard Car. These tram cars had a more streamlined look than their predecessors, they are also known as "Domed roof" cars. Apart from the improved styling and upper decks, with better lighting and seats, the tram cars shared much with the earlier trams.

264 preserved at Crich

Information
Number built:	67
Built:	1936-9
Builder:	Sheffield Corporation Transport
Motor:	2 x Metropolitan Vickers 102DR electric motors (DC OHLE)
Power:	100 hp (759 kW)

These trams continued in service until the last day of the Sheffield Corporation tramway in October 1960. One has been preserved.

Another view of 264

Despite improvements the trams still lacked platform doors

City of Carlisle Electric Tramways

City of Carlisle Electric Tramways operated between 1900 and 1931. The service began with six lines to 1, 067mm gauge radiating from Carlisle railway station. This remained the tramway's network, plans for new routes could not be afforded. The company began operating motorbuses in the early 1920s and changed it's name to the Carlisle & District Transport Company in 1926. The company was purchased by the Carlisle Corporation in 1931, the tram system was closed.

One of the single decker trams [1]

Information for original tram cars
Number built:	15
Built:	1900
Builder:	United Electric Car Company
Motor:	Dick, Kerr electric motors (DC OHLE)

The company began operations with a fleet of 15 United Electric Car Company trams (12 double decker and 3 single decker), these were replaced by 12 new trams from the same manufacturer in 1912 after Ballfour Beatty bought the tramway company. Three other trams from other sources were also added to the fleet in the 1920s.

Two open-topped double deckers

Tram shed

Two of the double deckers

[1] "The electric tramway system of Carlisle, England", Street Railway Journal (Vol. XVI No. 41 October 13 1900) p. 986

Halifax Corporation Tramways

Halifax Corporation Tramways began operations in 1898 with a 1068mm gauge electric tram system, within a few years they had over sixty kilometres of track and nearly one hundred tram cars. The steep gradients of the town made operating a tram difficult, and some accidents were caused thought to attributed to the use of narrow gauge trams. In the early 1920s the network reached it's maximum extent and the Corporation began constructing it's own tramcars. However, in the next decade the motor bus began to replace the tram and in 1939 the system was shut down.

G.F. Milnes built 14 [2]

Information for 124-127
Number built:	4
Built:	1928-29
Builder:	Halifax Corporation Tramways

Early tramcars were built by G.F. Milnes and Brush Traction. From 1925 Halifax Corporation began to build it's own Standard Cars. Halifax used it's own version of the Peckham 8A truck, only one other tram in the country used this design [1]. Many tram cars were built as open top double deckers though later received a top cover. No trams received covers for the top balconies.

[1] R.W. Rush, British Electric Tramcar Design 1885-1950 (Oxford Publishing, 1976) p. 109

[2] Alexander Hume Ford, "Trolly cars in other climes", The Electric Age Vol XXXIII No. 2 (August 1904) p. 88

Manchester Corporation Tramways 437-486

This was a batch of double decker trams with double bogies, completing the original fleet of Manchester Corporation Tramways. The trams had Brill 22E bogie trucks. The trams were originally open topped though many received top covers in the 1920s.

Tram in Manchester Corporation Tramways service [1]

Information
Number built:	50
Built:	1901
Builder:	Brush

Some of the trams received different trucks such as the Peckham P14D5 or Brush B. The trams were all withdrawn by 1948.

[1] "New power station and electric car house as Manchester, England", Street Railway Journal (September 6 1902) Vol. XX No. 10 p. 300

Manchester Corporation Tramways 277-436

The Manchester Corporation bought a large number of trams when it electrified the network of horse trams it had taken over. Trams 277-436 were similar to trams 107-187 in being open-topped double deckers with a single truck. The trams were built by G.F. Milnes and had Brill 21E trucks.

In original configuration [1]

Information
Number built:	159
Built:	1901-03
Builder:	G.F. Milnes

Most of the trams received top-covers by 1914, some remained open top due to a low bridge on the Cheetham Hill-Alexandra Park route. All were withdrawn by 1938.

[1] "New power station and electric car house as Manchester, England", Street Railway Journal (September 6 1902) Vol. XX No. 10 p. 300

Manchester Corporation Tramways 107-187

Manchester Corporation Tramways was the second largest tram network in Britain after the combined London tram network. At it's peak the corporation operated 953 trams. The corporation took over from the horse tram Manchester Carriage & Tramways Company in 1901 when the earlier company's leases expired. The corporation began a huge programme to electrify the network, and obviously required a lot of electric trams. Following a small number of trams built for evaluation purposes, the corporation placed large orders for three types for delivery in 1901, eighty were these double decker trams built by Brush.

Manchester Corporation Tram [2]

Information
Number built:	80
Built:	1901
Builder:	Brush Traction

The trams were originally open topped though top covers were retrofitted to most of the fleet at a later stage (Manchester, due to it's weather, began adding top covers to it's trams as early as 1904! [1]). The trams were built with Peckham Cantilever trucks though these were later changed to Brill 21E trucks. All of the trams were withdrawn by 1938. One tram (173) has been preserved.

[1] Charles Knapper, The Golden Age of Tramways (David & Charles, 1974) p. 134

[2] "New power station and electric car house as Manchester, England", Street Railway Journal (September 6 1902) Vol. XX No. 10 p. 300