| Derby Tramways Company | |||||||||||
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 Tram on London Road, Derby ca. 1895 | |||||||||||
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| Locale | Derby, Derbyshire, England | ||||||||||
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The Derby Tramways Company operated horse-drawn tramway services in Derby, England from 1880 to 1904.
| Derby Tramways Company | |||||||||||
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| Tram on London Road, Derby ca. 1895 | |||||||||||
| Operation | |||||||||||
| Locale | Derby, Derbyshire, England | ||||||||||
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The Derby Tramways Company operated horse-drawn tramway services in Derby, England from 1880 to 1904.
The registration of the Derby Tramways Company took place in October 1877. In November 1879 it was reported that navvies were laying down the tracks in London Road. [1] The innovation was not welcomed by all the residents of the town. An article appeared in the Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald on 15 November 1879 which read:
The Derby Tramway Company have got their works in busy construction. London road and St Peter’s street, which cost the suffering ratepayers a stiff sum in renewal only a short time since, and which had got splendidly consolidated, are being ruthlessly torn up by the invaders. They seem to take possession of as much road as possible, and are not adverse to depositing their plant on a slice of the pavement. Steaming black kettles of pitch - more obnoxious that the Witches caldrons in Macbeth - fill the air with smoke and stench. The tram rails are of steel, laid on cast iron chairs placed, barely an inch apart, on a bed of solid concrete, paved with granite sets. In a short space of time the tinkle of the bell of the tramcar will be heard on the road. The busses are, of course, doomed. But the Tram Car Company take over the Derby Omnibus Company, Limited. This will surely handicap the first year’s profits of the concern; but the arbitrary condition was adroitly imposed by the Corporation, several members which are interested in the ‘Buss Company. “Veels within veels, Samivel.” What compensation do the proprietors of the private ‘busses, Messrs. Horsly and Hunt, get for their “vested interests,” I wonder? [2]
The trams arrived in Derby in January 1880. [3] The tramway was inspected by Major Hutchinson of the Board of Trade on 3 March 1880. [4] The initial service was provided with four tramcars, each hauled by one horse, except for the stretch along St Peter’s Street where an additional horse was attached. The horses had bells attached to their collars. The first line opened on 6 March 1880 from the Market Place along St. Peter's Street to Midland Railway station. [5] Further lines on Osmaston Road and Friar Gate lines had a total length of about two and a half miles. The lines were laid by Messrs. Mousley & Co. [6] The Ashbourne road extension was opened on 1 October 1880, and the Osmaston extension was opened on 8 October 1880. [7]
At their General Meeting in 1881, the company reported that total receipts from 6 March to 31 December 1880 were £4,924 12s 1d (equivalent to £521,500in 2021), [8] with expenditure of £3,575 2s 11d (equivalent to £378,600in 2021), [8] leaving a profit of £1,349 9s 2d [9] (equivalent to £142,900in 2021). [8] They had carried 470,547 passengers, on tramway along 3 miles, 1 furlong, 5 chains of streets. There were two depots, one adjoining the arches of the Great Northern Railway which accommodated 87 horses and 21 cars, and the other near the Midland Railway station which accommodated 20 horses and 5 cars. The total fleet was 69 horses, 12 cars, and 8 omnibuses. The directors considered a petition from 6,000 residents of Derby objecting to running on Sunday, but decided not to suspend Sunday services.
The fourth extension of the tramway from the Royal Hotel along Normanton Road to the Normanton Hotel was opened on 27 May 1881. [10] In June 1881 the company provided an extension to serve the Royal Agricultural Show. [11] The Normanton and Osmanton extensions provided disappointing financially, and at the General Meeting in 1882 the Directors had resolved to resist calls to extend the tramway along the Uttoxeter Road, and the powers had lapsed. The directors experimented with reducing fares from 2d (equivalent to £0.89in 2021) [8] to 1.5d (equivalent to £0.67in 2021). [8] The receipts for 1881 were £8,254 8s 4d (equivalent to £885,900in 2021), [8] with expenses of £6,866 19s 10d (equivalent to £739,100in 2021). [8] The number of passengers carried was 907,892. There were 65 horses and 16 cars. [12]
The main depot was in Friar Gate, on Short Street, with a small depot near Derby Midland station at the junction of Midland Road and Carrington Street. Tramlines can still be seen at the Short STreet site as of 2022.
The initial rolling stock consisted of single-deck cars by Starbuck Car and Wagon Company (Nos. 1-16), and double-deck cars (Nos. 17-18 of 1887 and 19-20 of 1894).
With the Derby Corporation Act of 1899 the Corporation purchased the existing company and on 1 November 1899 took control of the services. [14] A second corporation act in 1901 gave them powers to construct new lines and electrify the existing lines as Derby Corporation Tramways.
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It amalgamated with several other railways to create the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at grouping in 1923.
Chesterfield railway station serves the market town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Midland Main Line. Four tracks pass through the station which has three platforms. It is currently operated by East Midlands Railway.
Derby Nottingham Road railway station was a railway station about half a mile north of Derby station on the Midland Railway line from Derby to Leeds and the line from Derby to Ripley in England.
Clay Cross railway station was a railway station built by the North Midland Railway in 1840. It served the town of Clay Cross in Derbyshire, England.
Alexander MacPherson,, was an English architect. Although born in Nottingham he worked for the majority of his career in and around Derby, where he had moved in 1880. He served as president of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Architectural Society.
Nottingham Corporation Tramways was formed when Nottingham Corporation took over the Nottingham and District Tramways Company Limited, which had operated a horse and steam tram service from 1877.
Peartree railway station is a railway station serving the areas of Pear Tree, Normanton and Osmaston in the city of Derby, England. It is one of three stations remaining open in the city, and is situated about one mile south of Derby station on the main line to Birmingham New Street. For a short period, Derby - Birmingham local services called at Peartree, but it is now served by four trains each way on weekdays on the Crewe–Derby line, a community rail line also known as the North Staffordshire line. The station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway.
Matlock Cable Tramway was a cable tramway that served the town of Matlock, Derbyshire, UK between 28 March 1893 and 30 September 1927.
Ilkeston Corporation Tramways was a tramway network in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands of England run firstly by Ilkeston Borough Council and from 1916 by the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Tramways Company. The system ran between 1903 and 1931. Ilkeston was the first town in Derbyshire to adopt and operate a fully electrical tramway system.
Derby Corporation Tramways was the tram system serving the city of Derby, England. It opened on 27 July 1904.
Whittington railway station is a former railway station on the southern edge of New Whittington, Derbyshire, England.
Northampton Corporation Tramways operated the tramway service in Northampton between 1901 and 1934.
The Northampton Street Tramways Company operated a horse powered tramway service in Northampton between 1881 and 1901.
Ipswich Tramway operated a horse-drawn tramway service in Ipswich between 1880 and 1903.
Wolverhampton Tramways Company operated a tramway service in Wolverhampton between 1878 and 1900.
Edwalton railway station served the village and district of Edwalton in the English county of Nottinghamshire. It was opened on the Midland Railway Melton direct route between London and Nottingham, avoiding Leicester.
John Holloway Sanders FRIBA was an architect based in England and chief architect of the Midland Railway until 1884.
St Augustine's Church, Derby is a Church of England parish church in Derby, Derbyshire.
Lenton railway station was situated on the Midland Railway line on Derby Road in Lenton, Nottingham, England.
The Staffordshire Potteries Street Railway operated a horse-drawn tramway service between Hanley and Burslem from 1862 to 1880.
Tramways in Derbyshire | |
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