| Gateshead and District Tramways | |
|---|---|
 Car 10 preserved at the Beamish Museum | |
| Operation | |
| Locale | Gateshead |
| Open | 22 October 1883 |
| Close | 4 August 1951 |
| Status | Closed |
| Infrastructure | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
| Propulsion system(s) | Steam, then Electric |
| Statistics | |
| Route length | 12.47 miles (20.07 km) |
The Gateshead and District Tramways operated a tramway service in Gateshead between 1883 and 1951. [1]
The Gateshead and District Tramways commenced services on 22 October 1883 with steam-hauled tramcars operating on three routes centred on Gateshead High Street.
In 1897, British Electric Traction took ownership of the company [2] and the Gateshead and District Tramways Act of 1899 authorised the modernisation and electrification of the system.
Electric services started on 8 May 1901.
On 5 February 1916, a runaway tram crushed a family of three and a soldier, home on leave due to injuries received in France, [3] on Bensham Hill. [4] The crashed occurred when the tram's driver, who was aged 20, left his tram to aid his colleagues in a oncoming tram in which a fight was occurring. Whilst the driver was away from his tram, more passengers boarded, causing the tram to roll back and run away. The tram driver was acquitted of manslaughter at Durham Assizes. [4]
On 12 January 1923, through running to the Newcastle Corporation Tramways was possible across the North Eastern Railway's High Level Bridge over the Tyne.
The last tram operated on 4 August 1951. Several tramcars survived the closure. Nineteen cars were sold to the Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway. Two of these survived into preservation. No 5 is at the National Tramway Museum and No 10 is at the Beamish Museum. [5]
Hong Kong Tramways (HKT) is a 3 ft 6 in narrow-gauge tram system in Hong Kong. Owned and operated by RATP Dev, the tramway runs on Hong Kong Island between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan, with a branch circulating through Happy Valley.
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Sheffield Tramway was an extensive tramway network serving the English city of Sheffield and its suburbs.
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Wrexham and District Electric Tramways was a company that operated an electric tramway service in Wrexham, Wales between 1903 and 1914 when it was renamed Wrexham and District Transport Company Limited. Trams continued to operate until 1927.
The Potteries Electric Traction Company operated a tramway service in The Potteries between 1899 and 1928.
Swindon Corporation Tramways operated an electric passenger tramway service in Swindon between 1904 and 1929.
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Wigan Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Wigan, England, between 1901 and 1931. The first tramway service in the town was run by the Wigan Tramways Company, whose horse trams began carrying passengers in 1880. They began replacing horses with steam tram locomotives from 1882, but the company failed in 1890 when a Receiver was appointed to manage it. The Wigan & District Tramways Company took over the system in 1893 and ran it until 1902. Meanwhile, Wigan Corporation were planning their own tramway system, obtaining an authorising Act of Parliament in 1893, and a second one in 1898. This enabled them to build electric tramways, and in 1902, they took over the lines of the Wigan & District Tramways Company.
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Bath Tramways Company and its successors operated a 4 ft horse-drawn tramway service in Bath between 1880 and 1902. From 1903 until its closure in 1939 an expanded route carried electric trams operated by Bath Electric Tramways Company.
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Huddersfield Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Huddersfield, England, between 1883 and 1940. It initially used steam locomotives pulling unpowered tramcars, but as the system was expanded, a decision was taken to change to electric traction in 1900, and the first electric trams began operating in February 1901. The system was built to the unusual gauge of 4 ft 7+3⁄4 in, in the hope that coal wagon from neighbouring coal tramways, which used that gauge, could be moved around the system. This did not occur, but two coal trams were used to delivered coal to three mills.
The Belfast Street Tramways operated horse-drawn tramway services in Belfast from 1872 to 1905. Its lines later formed a major part of the Belfast Corporation Tramways.
The F-class trams were a class of two-bogie California combination car trams operated on the Sydney tram network with longitudinal seating in the open part of the car. They were later rebuilt as the L-class trams and some again as the L/P-class trams.
Stockport Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Stockport, England, between 1901 and 1951. It was preceded by a horse tramway from Levenshulme to Stockport, which opened in 1880, and was ultimately run by the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company. A second independent horse tramway opened in 1890, running to Hazel Grove. In 1899 the Corporation bought the first line, electrified it, and leased it back to the operating company. Their powers to buy the Stockport and Hazel Grove Tramway, authorised by the same Act of Parliament, were not exercised until 1905.