The Cyber Tram Collections - UK

United Kingdom Tram Information

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National

The National Tramway Museum, Crich, Derbyshire

Around 50 trams may be seen at this museum. This includes:

• A steam tram listed as fleet number 2 (original fleet, I presume). A photograph appears on page 8 of the guide book, which says: "The Wilkinson vertical-boilered steam tramway locomotive John Bull, built in 1885 by Beyer, Peacock of Manchester. It was shipped to Sydney, Australia, to demonstrate its capabilities on the tramways there, but proved too expensive to operate and was returned to the makers where it was used as a works shunter."
• Three horse-drawn tramcars of which one is on loan from the Science Museum, London.
  Number 9, built in 1873, ran in Oporto, Portugal, with 20 seats.
  Number 8, built in 1899, ran in Chesterfield, seating 16 (on loan from the Science Museum).
  Number 15 was built in 1874, ran in Sheffield, and seated 16.
  Numbers 8 and 15 are pictured in the museum guide book.
• 6 works cars (Cable-layer #1, Glasgow, 1905; diesel generator #2, Blackpool, 1928; Tower car #2, Leeds, 1932; Water-carrier #131, Cardiff, 1905; Rail-grinder #330, Sheffield, 1919; Electric locomotive, Blackpool, 1927.

The museum maintains a substantial amount of its own standard gauge (4 feet, 8.5 inches, equivalent to 1.435 metres) tramway track. Visitors can ride the trams over a route about a mile long, with stops at a bandstand and a mining display area. The museum features a substantial depot, exhibition hall, forge shop, research library, Eagle Press display, replica tramway street, Victorian bridge, shops and refreshments.

Telephone: 01773 852565 (+44 1773 852565 outside the UK)
Crich is pronounced Cry-ch

Those requiring accommodation may call the Matlock Bath Tourist Information Centre on tel: 01629 55082 or fax: 01629 56304 (tel: +44 1629 55082 or fax: +44 1629 56304 from outside the UK). There are a number of other tourist attractions in the area. I can warmly recommend the hospitality and cooking at the Oakford Cottage B&B (tel: 01773 852406, +44 1773 852406 from outside the UK)

Glyn Hartshorne ([email protected] or ([email protected])) has kindly advised me that he has two holiday cottages immediately adjacent to the National Tramway Museum at Crich. I can't comment on their facilities or suitability (I hafen't seen them) but I would be delighted to hear from anyone with personal experience.

Highlights from the National Tramway Museum at Crich
Click here to view photos

Beamish, County Durham

Beamish North of England Open-Air Museum

Beamish North of England Open-Air Museum recreates life in the North of England in the early 1900's and earlier; trams operate in the recreated historic surroundings, and the tram takes visitors into the town and colliery village. You can also see Pockerly Manor, a working farm, pit cottages, drift mine, heavy horses, and streets of shops, offices and works from the period. You can also get a real drink in the Sun Inn pub.

Check opening times, especially in Winter.

Acclaimed as both the British and European Museum of the year.

The North of England Open Air Museum,
Beamish,
County Durham
DH9 0RG

Tel. (01207) 231 811

Thanks to Walter Sonnenberg

Birmingham

See photos of Birmingham trams at http://www.cs.aston.ac.uk/oldbrum/Transport.html#Trams
Includes Steam tram, 1906; Electric Tram, 1905. Part of the History of Birmingham pages.

Birmingham: Midland Metro

The Midland Metro is a new modern "Supertram" light rapid transport system which will run from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, England, and is being built at a cost of £180 million (GBP). Line 1, between Wolverhampton and Birmingham, is expected to open in 1998. Route 2 will run between Birmingham city centre and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and the nearby Airport. Route 3 will connect Wolverhampton to Walsall and Dudley. Like several other new LRTs, the Midland Metro uses a 750 V DC overhead supply.

Construction began in December 1995 on Line 1 of the much delayed project. The Midland Metro project is overseen by Centro, the transport authority for the West Midlands (CENTRO Information Hotline 0121 200 2700), and an Anglo-Italian private sector consortium called Altram.

When completed in 1998 the 20km route will be served by trams at 6 minute intervals in peak times, and 10 minutes off-peak.

Line 1 will run alongside the A41 road eastwards out of Wolverhampton towards Bilston; just under 2km from the start it joins the route of the former Great Western railway towards Birmingham. Services closed on this line in the early seventies despite the pleas of those who suggested that this would be a suitable route for a rapid transit service.

The Metro will serve the towns of Bilston, Wednesbury, and West Bromwich before terminating at Birmingham Snow Hill station.

Reference: Simpson, B. J. (Aston University, Manchester), "Right Track for Midland Metro?", Surveyor, 1991, pp 14-16.

Thanks to Rob Nightingale

Black Country Museum

The Black Country Museum ( 0121-557-9643 ) runs one or two vintage 3' 6" gauge four wheeled single deckers to ferry visitors on its site in Dudley. The museum is well worth a visit; a trip on a narrow boat into the tunnels and mines below Dudley Castle is an optional extra.
Thanks to Pete Watkins.

Blackpool

The Blackpool and Fleetwood tramway is Britain's only mainland survivor of the British tramway era. The trams operate over eleven route miles from Starr Gate to Fleetwood, with about 75 cars available for service including vintage and illuminated vehicles.
Thanks to Pete Watkins.

You could try looking for a free parking space in the street in Starr Gate, and buy an all-day ticket which also covers buses.

Brighton

There used to be a tramway called "The Brighton & Rottingdean Seashore Electric Tramroad" between 1896 to 1901 which ran in up to 15 feet of sea water.

Today, although not strictly speaking a tramway, Volk's electric railway (Britain's oldest) operates on the seafront between the Palace pier and Black Rock, and Brighton Marina. It was opened in 1883 by Magnus Volk. For more information contact:

Volk's Electric Railway Association
285 Madeira Drive
Brighton
Sussex BN2 1EN, United Kingdom

The association is dedicated to preserving the railway and publishes a newsletter.

Croydon

The Croydon Tramlink will link Croydon, Wimbledon, Beckenham and New Addington with 28km of rail. Its parliamentary bill was passed in 1994 and received Royal Assent; it was scheduled to begin construction in early 1996.

http://www.tramlink.co.uk
New site for Croydon's Tramlink.

http://www.coi.gov.uk/coi/depts/GDT/coi1100b.ok
Department of Transport Announcement of bidders for the Croydon Tramlink.

http://www.ibmpcug.co.uk/~acer/rail.htm
Acer Consultants Ltd.: Croydon Tramlink were one of their clients.

http://www.aaln.org/~wharmby/matt/other.htm
Trolleybuses, Trams, Trains, Tubes and Taxis: A historical account including London tramways and the Croydon Tramlink.

http://www.softdesk.com/customer/customer.htm
http://www.softdesk.com/customer/london.htm
Softdesk: Their Civil/Survey products were used by the London Borough of Croydon to design the 28 km Tramlink.

http://www.croydon.gov.uk/fa-counc.htm
Croydon Council; includes, under STRATEGIC PROJECTS, a telephone number for finding out information on Tramlink progress.

http://www.connect.co.uk/croydon/theburbs/wadres.html
Waddon New Road Residents Association against Croydon Tramlink

Glasgow

http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/misc/uk/glasgow.html
The Kelvin Hall by Kelvingrove Park in the West End of Glasgow (not far from the end of Sauchiehall Street) houses Glasgow's Museum of Transport, which contains some Glasgow trams. There are maps here including a map of the local area around the University of Glasgow, which shows Kelvingrove Park.

Glasgow Cunarder

The Cunarder was a tram car built between 1948 and 1951 for the Glasgow system, starting with the Rouken Glen to Millerston route.

The Cunarders were said to set a high standard for tram design, having forward facing seats in the front part of the top deck. They were built in particularly large numbers (101) for a post-war British tram. Trams ceased running in Glasgow in early September, 1962.

Glasgow Transportation CD-ROM

Ian Clydesdale tells me that Workhorse Productions are bringing out a multimedia CD-ROM documenting 100 years of transportation and street life in Glasgow.

Sample pictures and commercial information about obtaining the CD-ROM are available here.

Influence (or lack of) of Glasgow tramways on Chigago, Illinois

Based partly on Steven Sinclair's notes in Usenet on an article in the Glasgow Herald, a Scottish newpaper.

In 1905, The Mayor of Chicago, elected with a promise to take the tram system into public ownership, took as his policy model the Glasgow system, which took control of Glasgow's horse tram system in 1894, and electrified and extended it rapidly in less than a decade. The first horse trams ran in Glasgow in 1872, became electrified in 1898 (on the Mitchell Streee to Springburn route) and became the second largest network in Britain after London.

James Dalrymple, the General Manager of the Glasgow system, declared that the American people were "unaware just what a testing business it was taking transport into the public sector, and that they were psychologically ill-prepared for such a momentous move".

Bernard Aspinwall, in a book called Portable Utopia, suggested that this speech effectively killed any ideas of public ownership in the US.

The Glasgow model was never put into practice, so the nature of development of the transport system in Chicago and other US cities may have been pivotally dependent on the decision against public ownership in Chicago.

The Glasgow tram system ran until 1962. The last day of operation was September 1st, 1962, when route 9 from Dalmuir West to Auchenshuggle was ended. A special service ran from Auchenshuggle to Anderston Cross from September 2nd to 4th; then a ceremony took place on September 4th with a procession from Dalmarnock to Coplawhill. The last tram car in the ceremony was the Coronation tram number 1282.

Leeds

Leeds Supertram

http://www.u-net.com/develop/leeds/cityinfo/trams/home.html
The South Leeds Line Supertram is a new project, approved by Parliament, currently in an early stage of development by Leeds City Council, and still requires financial backing to be secured.

London

Croydon

See Separate Croydon entry

Dewi's Railway & Trains page

http://www.worldlink.ca/~dewi/trains/railways.html
These pages contain a unique collection of photographs of the conduit tracks built in London for the tram system designed to boost the public transport available for the Festival of Britain, 1951, held on the South bank of the Thames. There is much illustrated detail about how the power distribution system works in the conduit tracks; and also interesting accounts of the things that can go wrong. There are also essays on the topic of steam trains, an illustrated account of a course on Steam Locomotive Firing and Driving, and some well chosen links.

According to Alan P Howes (a Public Transport Consultant based in Perthshire, Scotland), writing in newsgroup misc.transport.urban-transit in November 1996, the conduit system in London (with a 3rd and a 4th rail in the conduit) dates back roughly to the turn of the century. The special Festival of Britain tracks described above were at the end of an era, as London trams were generally abandoned in 1952. Conduit was in use in Budapest in 1881, and Cleveland, Blackpool in 1884.

Also, according to Chris Grace, on the same newsgroup, virtually all the lines built by the London County Council, apart from some lines in South East London, were conduit lines containing bot positive and negative t-shaped current rails. The reason for conduit's use was mainly cosmetic, although the negative rail in the conduit also avoided interference with telephone and telegraph systems which also used an earth return. This was also a problem for the early underground railways and was the reason for the 3rd/4th rail system currently used on London Underground.

The Science Museum, London

Telephone +44 171 938 8008

Exhibition Road, London SW7 2DD

This museum houses a Glasgow Corporation Tramcar, No. 585, plus assorted sections of rail, a Lorain surface contact stud of 1902 from the Wolverhampton Corporation Tramway Department, and a London County Council tramways conduit current collector (plough).

Glasgow car No. 585 is a result of four stages of development of this general Glasgow type. It stands in the museum on stone sets and track from Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. It was built at the Glasgow Corporation Tramways depot at Coplaw Hill around 1901-2 as a double decker car with an open upper deck. In phase II of its development, the upper deck was covered except for the ends. By 1927, the phase IV design had increased the wheelbase to 8 feet. Car 585 was later modified to this standard and ran until closure of the system on September 4th, 1962, when it took part in the final procession.

• Length 30 feet
• Width 7 feet, 2 inches
• Seating 38/21
• Truck: Brill 21E 8 feet
• Motors: Two 60 h.p. type MV101 D.R. 600VDC series wound.
• Controller: English Electric type C. D. B2
• Current collector: Fischer Bow
• Brakes: Air; Electro-magnetic track shoes; manual.

The London Transport Museum

24-hour information: +44 171 836 8557, fax +44 171 836 4118

Trams operated in London for nearly 100 years. George Francis Train (see autobiography in References section) operated three tramway systems in 1861 using horse power. Electrification started in 1901; around that time, there were also steam trams in Tottenham and Wood Green, and cable trams in Highgate Hill and Kennington. Even battery and compressed air had been tried (and found to be unreliable). The compressed air system was used in Stratford in the early 1880s. After electrification, use was made of the underground electric conduit system in Central London where the cheaper overhead wires were considered unsuitable (See Dewi's page for information on the London conduit system).

The London Transport (LT) museum houses a wide variety of transportation from London; it is located in the heart of London at Covent Garden, which is a short walk from Trafalgar Square or Charing Cross Road. If you come to London, be sure to see it!

The exhibits start with the "birth of public transport" which includes the London Tramways Corporation Horse Tram No. 284 (1882). What would be good to have there, but is present only in the shape of a scale 1:8 model, is George Train's horse tram called "The People" (1861). This tram was used on George Train's short-lived Victoria Street line between April 1861 and March 1862. It could carry 48 passengers and in that respect outperformed the buses of that time. The original tramcar is thought to have been assembled in Birkenhead, where George Train had opened his first tramway in 1860.

London Tramways Corporation Horse Tram No. 284 (1882) was built by the John Stevenson Company, New York. Two horses could pull up to 26 passengers on city streets. Why did trams appear in those old city streets, and not buses? Well, one reason is that with iron wheels on smooth iron tracks the same horses could pull 50 passengers. These were not the smooth tarmaced roads we are familiar with today. This horse tram was found in 1975, having been used as a shed on a farm in Kent. It was restored with the help of the Museums and Galleries Commission PRISM fund. The first regular horse tram services began in May 1870, and they eventually grew to cover over 100 route miles. This tram started with London Tramways Company on the Greenwich to Westminster route with "Knifeboard" seats, but around 1890, LTC converted it to reversible "Garden" seats. In 1899, the line was taken over by the London County Council who ran it until it was electrified in January 1904.

• Length 9754 mm
• Width 2083 mm
• Seating 20 inside, 24 outside
• Horses 2

There is a 1:16 model of a Highgate Hill tramway (1884). At the time it was found that using moving underground wire cables, pulling the trams along via a suitable linkage, was more efficient for utilising the power of a stationary steam engine. This was a system devised by Andrew Hallidie, a Londoner living in New York. The method was first tried in San Francisco, where it is still in use today. A short stretch of cable tramway was opened along Highgate Hill in 1884, when it was the first of its kind in Europe. A sample of cable wire is shown.

There is a lineup of three trams which are described below. Also shown is a London County Council Tramways conduit tram track assembly, set into a simulated road surface, which was used for training.

West Ham Corporation Tramways No. 102 (1910)

This tramcar was built by the United Electric Car Company of Preston, Lancashire. It was part of a batch of 6 delivered to West Ham Corporation Tramways. It was withdrawn from LT in 1938, and is now shown in its early 1930s livery.

• Body UEC 54 seats
• Truck Peckham R7 Radial Truck
• Motors 2 General Electric 200K 35/40 hp
• Controller Westinghouse T2G
• Electrical Supply 600VDC 80A
• Unladen Weight 11185 kg; 11 tons
• Wheelbase 2.13m; 7ft

E/1 Class No. 1025 (1908)

This tram passed to LT in 1933; it is shown in its final operating livery which includes blacked-out headlights, which remained after World War 2. It was in service until withdrawn on January 6th, 1952.

• Body LCC 73, 27 seats lower deck, 46 upper deck.
• Truck Hurst Nelson Maximum Traction Type
• Motors 1908-1924: 2 Westinghouse Type 220, 42 hp. 1924-1952: 2 English Electric DK31C 63hp.

Type UCC "Feltham" No. 355 (1931)

This was operated by Metropolitan Electric Tramways until it was passed to LT in 1933. It was renumbered LT 2099, and was finally withdrawn in September 1949. It then served for 10 further years with Leeds City Tramways after which it was bought by the "Feltham Fund", a group of enthusiasts. It was restored to its working condition and original livery. It is interesting to note that this tramcar carries two trolley poles, aligned in opposite directions.

• Body UCC 54 seats; 22 lower deck, 42 upper deck.
• Truck Electro-Pneumatic Brake Company Maximum Traction Type
• Motors 2 BTH Type 509 P1 70 hp
• Controller BTH OK 33B
• Electrical Supply 600VDC
• Unladen Weight 18607 kg; 18 tons 6 cwt
• Wheelbase Truck 1.37m; 4ft 6inch
• Overall Wheelbase 5.38m; 17ft 8inch

Lowestoft

The East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville, Nr. Lowestoft (01502-518459) is well worth a visit. The exhibits include a Blackpool double decker, and London double deckers.
Thanks to Pete Watkins.

Manchester

Manchester UK Page

http://www.eskimo.com/~pageless/home/manchester/
A General Page concerning the Manchester Area
Contains a tram-related picture. I have previously seen a picture of a Metrolink Tram arriving at St Peters Square here, but the last time I looked the picture was a Metrolink Tram passing G-Mex Exhibition Centre (Formerly Central Train Station).

Seaton, Devon

Seaton Tramway is located in Devon, not far from Exmouth, Exeter, and the M5. Seaton lies alongside the section of Devon coastline that takes you westward via Beer, Sidmouth, Budleigh Salterton, finally to Exmouth.

Magicians, clowns, music, etc. are an extra feature on Sunday 28th July and August 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th in 1996. Also on the 25th August is a Tram Pull Competition, which is a trial of strength against the trams. The 14th/15th of September is a Gala weekend: Saturday 14th features depot visits, photo stops, film shows, and tram driving lessons. Sunday will see every tram running with up to 7 in action at once. Tram driving lessons are also available every Friday and Saturday morning during the season, except July 19th to August 24th.

Opening times: Good Friday to end October, 9.40 am to 5.20 pm. July 20th to August 30th evening service last departure 8.40 pm. Private hire is available year-round, telephone 01297 21702 or write to Mrs. S. Gerdner, Seaton Tramway, Harbour Road, Seaton, Devon, EX12 2NQ.

The Seaton Fleet The Seaton & District Tramway Company has its own collection of purpose built trams.
-The fleet includes:

• No. 2: Built 1964, and based on an early London Metropolitan design.
• No. 7: Built 1957, based on the open top Llandudno & Colwyn Bay tram.
• No. 17: Built 1988, based on the Isle of Man "Toast Rack". Especially suitable for wheelchairs.

-amongst several others.

Sheffield

University of Sheffield: travel information

http://www.shef.ac.uk/genref/univ/direct.html

The Sheffield Supertram system is now completed, there are three routes. Two good places to join the system are Meadowhall ( free parking ) and Cricket Inn Road where there is a park and ride facility ( parking is charged for ). Park and ride is also available near the Hillsbrough Stadium at Middlewood. Supertram information is available on 0114-2728282.

Include a direct link from Sheffield mainline railway station to the Sheffield Station Supertram stop.
Thanks to Pete Watkins.

Wales

Llandudno & Colwyn Bay

Toast Rack Trams [2 Photos by Dewi Williams]

The Great Orm Tramway is a cable system covering 1,600 yards at Llandudno in North Wales. There are four cable hauled cars, two on each incline. Passengers change cars halfway.
Thanks to Pete Watkins.

Mumbles Railway

An Act of Parliament provided for "making and maintaining a Railway or Tramroad, from the Town of Swansea, into the Parish of Oystermouth, in the Couty of Glamorgan" in June 1804.

The original horse-drawn carriages consituted the first passenger-carrying railway in the world, starting 25th March 1807.

The Swansea and Mumbles Railway commenced first use of tramway style enclosed steam locomotives on passenger service in urban streets on 17th August 1877. It closed on January 5th, 1960.

Wolverhampton

See under Birmingham.

Miscellaneous

Viva Tram

(Formerly "Do you think that trams are tops or do you say no to trams?")

http://www.mantis.co.uk/~ian/tram.html
A Love Story, Tram Mail, News from MA, Spy Trams, and More Info...
...Trams in majestic splendour.

Contact point for "TRAMS ARE TOPS" fanzine, published in Cambridge, UK.