| Blackpool Electric Tramway Company | |
|---|---|
 Car No. 4 at the National Tramway Museum | |
| Operation | |
| Locale | Blackpool |
| Open | 29 September 1885 |
| Close | 10 September 1892 |
| Status | Closed |
| Infrastructure | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Propulsion system(s) | Conduit electric |
| Depot(s) | Blundell Street |
| Statistics | |
| Route length | 1 mile (1.6 km) |
Blackpool Electric Tramway Company operated a tramway service in Blackpool between 1885 and 1893. [1] It was the first electric tramway in England.
On 3 December 1884, Blackpool Corporation agreed to use Michael Holroyd Smith's conduit tramway and granted him a seven-year concession.
The Blackpool Electric Tramway Company was formed in January 1885, and set up with capital [2] of £30,000 (equivalent to £4,093,092 in 2023). [3] The first rail was laid in March and the first test runs were made on 29 June. The tramway was officially opened on 29 September 1885. The Chairman of the company was Alderman Richard Horsfall. The location caused many problems for the conduit system and the company employed horses to pull trams when the track was flooded.
With further extensions, the line ran from Cocker Street to Dean Street near South Pier [4] and from Manchester Square along Lytham Road.
The tramway was a financial success. In 1890 the profits of the year were £2,983 (equivalent to £414,675 in 2023), [3] out of which a dividend of 7 per cent was paid.
When the lease expired, the Corporation took over the tramway on 18 September 1893, and it continued as Blackpool Corporation Tramway. The Blackpool Electric Tramway Company was wound up. [5]
Car 4 survived and is preserved at the National Tramway Museum in Crich, Derbyshire. [6]
Brush Traction was a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England whose operations have now been merged into the Wabtec company's Doncaster UK operations.
The National Tramway Museum is a tram museum located at Crich, in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England. The museum contains over 80 trams built between 1873 and 1982 and is set within a recreated period village containing a working pub, cafe, old-style sweetshop and tram depots. The museum's collection of trams runs through the village-setting with visitors transported out into the local countryside and back and is operated by the Tramway Museum Society, a registered charity.
Conduit current collection is an obsolete system that was used by some electric tramways to pass current to streetcars via a "conduit", a small tunnel under the roadway. Modern systems fall under the term ground-level power supply.
The Blackpool Tramway runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on The Fylde in Lancashire, England. The line dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is operated by Blackpool Transport Services (BTS) and runs for 18 km. It carried 4.9 million passengers in 2022/23.
A double-decker tram or double-deck tram is a tram that has two levels or decks. Some double-decker trams have open tops. Double-deck trams were once popular in some European cities, like Berlin and London, throughout the British Empire countries in the early half of the 20th century including Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington in New Zealand; Hobart, Tasmania in Australia and in parts of Asia. They are still in service or even newly introduced in Hong Kong, Alexandria, Oranjestad, Blackpool, Birkenhead, Franschhoek, Auckland and Douglas, mostly as heritage or tourist trams.
Blackpool Transport Services Limited is a bus and tram operator running within the boroughs of Blackpool and Fylde and into the surrounding area, including Fleetwood, Lytham St Annes, Poulton-le-Fylde, Cleveleys, Fleetwood and Preston. Blackpool Transport is owned by Blackpool Council.
Derby Corporation Tramways was the tram system serving the city of Derby, England. It opened on 27 July 1904.
Leeds Corporation Tramways formerly served the city of Leeds, England. The original trams were horse-drawn, but the city introduced Britain's first overhead-powered electric trams in 1891, and by 1901, electrification had been completed. The tramway opened on 29 October 1891.
Edinburgh Corporation Tramways was a Scottish tram network that formerly served the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. The city used four-wheeled double-decked trams painted dark red (madder) and white – a livery still used by Lothian Buses and the modern light rail Edinburgh Trams.
Trams operated in Edinburgh from 1871 to 1956, and resumed in 2014. The first systems were horse-drawn, while cable-haulage appeared in the city in 1888. Electric trams first ran on systems in neighbouring Musselburgh (1904) and Leith (1905), meeting the Edinburgh cable-trams at Joppa and Pilrig respectively. Electrification meant cable trams last ran in 1923, with through running now possible to Leith and as far east as Port Seton. The various systems were operated by different private and municipal entities over the years; the Edinburgh and Leith systems had been merged under Edinburgh Corporation by 1920, but it wasn't until 1928, after the partial closure of Musselburgh line, that all trams operating in Edinburgh were in the sole control of the corporation. The last electric trams ran in 1956, but electric trams returned in 2014 with the opening of Edinburgh Trams. Many of the trams from the horse/cable/first electric era were built in Shrubhill Works. Two trams have been preserved, a horse tram and an electric tram, built by Shrubhill in 1885 and 1948 respectively. A 1903 Dick Kerr cable-tram has also been purchased for preservation. Remnants of the cable-tram system can be seen in Waterloo Place and Henderson Row, and of the Musselburgh line at Morrison's Haven.
Manchester Corporation Tramways 765 is the only remaining electric tramcar from Manchester Corporation Tramways in regular operation. It is at Heaton Park, Manchester, UK.
Lincoln Corporation Tramways operated an electric tramway service in Lincoln, England between 1905 and 1929.
Northampton Corporation Tramways operated the tramway service in Northampton between 1901 and 1934.
The Lytham St. Annes Corporation Tramways and its predecessor companies operated an electric tramway service in Lytham St Annes between 1903 and 1937.
Coventry Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Coventry, England, between 1912 and 1940.
Tramways in Exeter were operated between 1882 and 1931. The first horse-drawn trams were operated by the Exeter Tramway Company but in 1904 the Exeter Corporation took over. They closed the old network and replaced it with a new one powered by electricity.
Dundee and District Tramways operated a tramway service in Dundee between 1877 and 1899.
The Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramroad operated a tramway service between Blackpool and Fleetwood from 1898 to 1920.
Blackpool Heritage Trams are a mixed fleet of restored vehicles that run on the Blackpool Tramway, which runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England. The line dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is operated by Blackpool Transport (BT) and is the last surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. Excluding museums, it is one of only a few tramways in the world to still use double-decker trams.
