Blackburn and Over Darwen Tramways Company

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Blackburn and Over Darwen Tramways Company
Tram Triangle Blue Plaque - geograph.org.uk - 34179.jpg
Plaque marking the turning triangle in Darwen.
Operation
Locale Blackburn, Darwen
Open14 April 1881
Close31 December 1898
StatusClosed
Infrastructure
Track gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Propulsion system(s)Steam
Statistics
Route length 4.9 miles (7.9 km)

The Blackburn and Over Darwen Tramways Company operated a steam tramway service between Blackburn and Darwen between 1881 and 1898. [1]

Contents

History

Steam tram turning triangle in Darwen Old Tram Turning Triangle - geograph.org.uk - 34176.jpg
Steam tram turning triangle in Darwen

The tramway was authorised by the Blackburn and Over Darwen Tramways Act of 1879.

The route started in the centre of Blackburn, and followed Darwen Street, Bolton Road, then through Ewood, Earcroft, Hawkshaw, and terminating in Darwen at Whitehall.

Six steam trams were acquired from Kitson and Company for the inauguration of the service. This fleet was later augmented to 15, with 7 of the additional trams being obtained from Thomas Green & Son.

The initial passenger cars were built by Ashbury on Eades patent reversible trucks. The seating capacity was 20 in the lower saloon and 26 on top. Later passenger cars were obtained from G.F. Milnes & Co. of Birkenhead.

The service came into operation after inspection from General Hutchinson of the Board of Trade. [2]

Closure

The company was acquired by Blackburn Corporation for £22,337 (equivalent to £2,647,138 in 2021) [3] and Darwen Corporation for £26,163 (equivalent to £3,100,554 in 2021) [3] on 31 December 1898. Steam tram services continued until 1901.

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References

  1. The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.
  2. Blackburn Weekly Standard 16 April 1881
  3. 1 2 UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.