The Howth Tram on the Hill of Howth Tramway was a tram which served Howth Head, near Dublin, Ireland. The termini were at Sutton railway station, by the entrance to the peninsula, and Howth railway station by the village and harbour of Howth.
The Howth Tram on the Hill of Howth Tramway was a tram which served Howth Head, near Dublin, Ireland. The termini were at Sutton railway station, by the entrance to the peninsula, and Howth railway station by the village and harbour of Howth.
The line of the route was designed in-house by the Great Northern Rail staff at their Dublin office, under William Hemingway Mills, chief engineer. The engineer responsible for the detailed design was Joshua Harrison Hargrave, the famous Cork-born photographer/engineer. [1] [ citation needed ]
The service operated from June 1901 to 31 May 1959 and was run by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I)), which viewed it as a way to bring more customers to its railway stations at Sutton and Howth. The tramway replaced a horse bus service, which had run since 1867. [2]
On 1 October 1958, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) took over GNR(I)'s operations in the Republic of Ireland, including the Howth Tram. [3] A year later, the tramway was closed down. It was initially replaced by two CIÉ bus routes – numbers 87 (Sutton to Ceanchor Road) and 88 (Howth to Windgate Road). [4] Two routes were necessary, as several narrow hill curves were not passable by the buses used. Eventually, sections of the disused tram route between the Baily post office and the Summit were expanded to form an extension of Carrickbrack Road; this enabled a single bus route (number 88) to be used.
The area was then served by the 31, 31a and 31b bus routes, which operated from Abbey Street in the city centre. In winter, icy roads on the hill occasionally cause the bus service to be suspended, unlike the tram, which ran in all weather conditions. A public footpath now follows the tram route between Howth station and the Summit.
Four of the trams survive in preservation. No. 9 is now exhibited at the National Transport Museum of Ireland, which is located at Howth Castle, near the former terminus of the tramway at Howth railway station. [5] No. 4 is on display the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra. No. 10 is preserved at the National Tramway Museum in Derbyshire, England; it has been converted to 4' 8.5" gauge and had previously run on the Blackpool Tramway from 1985-89. [6] [7] No. 2 is at the Southern California Railway Museum, California, USA, in operating condition; it has also been converted to 4' 8.5" gauge. [8]
In 2016 Fingal County Council announced that it was issuing an invitation to tender [9] for options for potential reinstatement of the Howth Tramway or part of it, as a possible tourist attraction. [10] [11] Proposals which have been considered included the option of a horse-drawn tram on tracks along the seafront. [12]
Electric double-decker tramcars ran the five-mile route, which went from Sutton station along Greenfield Road and Carrickbrack Road to St. Fintan's Cemetery, then past the Baily post office and Stella Maris convent to Howth Summit. From there, the tramway ran down into Howth, terminating at the railway station. Most of the route was single track, with passing points at the main stopping places. The track gauge was 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in), the same standard as railways in Ireland.
| Stop | Year opened | Year closed | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton Station [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Sutton tramcar shed (connected to mainline in 1951) [13] |
| Sutton Cross [13] | 1901 | 1959 | |
| Marine Hotel [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| Church Road [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop. Formerly called Saxe (or Sax or Sacks) Lane [13] |
| Strand Road [13] | 1901 | 1959 | |
| Howth Desmesne [13] | 1901 | 1959 | |
| St Fintans' Cemetery [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| St Fintans [13] | 1901 | 1959 | |
| St Fintans' Road [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| Barren Hill [13] | 1901 | 1959 | |
| Red Rock [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| Somali Village [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop (also called Bellinghams') [13] |
| Ceanchor Road [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| Baily Post Office [13] | 1901 | 1959 | |
| Convent Gate [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| Stella Maris [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Formerly called Bay View or Baily View [13] |
| Ravensdale [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| Tweedys' Lane [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| Hill of Howth [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Formerly called Howth Summit, renamed 1912 [13] |
| Kitestown Road [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop (formerly called Bakers' Lane) [13] |
| Greys' Lane [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| Dungriffen Road [13] | 1901 | 1959 | |
| Balkill Road [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop (also called Balglass) [13] |
| Island View [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Request stop [13] |
| 'Korea' [13] | circa 1950s | 1959 | Unofficial stopping place [13] |
| Howth Station [13] | 1901 | 1959 | Connection to mainline [13] |
The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area around the border area between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland.
Malahide is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated 14 kilometres (9 mi) north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of 18,608 as per the 2022 census.
Sutton is a residential suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It occupies the tombolo which links Howth Head to the mainland, some of the lower slopes of Howth Hill, and a little of the adjacent coasts. The area lies within the jurisdiction of Fingal County Council. There is a small commercial core at the Sutton Cross road intersection.
Howth is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes the island of Ireland's Eye, which holds multiple natural protection designations.
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Howth Head is a peninsula northeast of the city of Dublin in Ireland, within the governance of Fingal County Council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while the village of Howth and the harbour are on the north-eastern face. Most of Howth Head is occupied by the Hill of Howth, though there are other regions, such as the tombolo at Sutton, extensive beaches on the northern shores, and small ones in other parts. The Baily Lighthouse is on the southeastern part of Howth Head. Nearby are the districts of Baldoyle and Portmarnock, and adjacent is the nature reserve of North Bull Island.
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The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland jointly nationalised the company in 1953, and the company was liquidated in 1958: assets were split on national lines between the Ulster Transport Authority and Córas Iompair Éireann.
Howth station, is a railway station in Fingal, Ireland that serves Howth village and one side of Howth Head.
Carrickbrack Road is a road in Dublin, Ireland, a constituent part of the R105 Regional Road. It leads east-southeast from Sutton Creek around the southern part of Howth Head, up to the eastern part of the headland near Howth Summit, to Thormanby Road. It is the main thoroughfare through the southern part of the headland. Greenfield Road links it to Sutton Cross. Howth Golf Club is located on it, as are Bellingham’s farm, Howth Celtic Football Club, St. Fintan's Cemetery, St. Fintan's National School and various private residences.
Dublin and Drogheda Railway (D&D) was a railway company in Ireland which publicly opened its 31¾ mile main line between Dublin and Drogheda in May 1844. It was the third railway company in Ireland to operate passenger trains and the first to use the Irish standard 5 ft 3 in gauge. It later opened branches to Howth and Oldcastle. The opening of the Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway (D&BJct) between the D&D at Drogheda and the Ulster Railway (UR) at Portadown in 1852 saw an almost continuous main line connection between Dublin and Belfast, which was resolved by the official opening of the Boyne Viaduct in April 1855. Amalgamations between these and other companies in 1875 and 1876 saw the creation of the Great Northern Railway of Ireland GNR(I).
The Dublin United Transport Company (DUTC) operated trams and buses in Dublin, Ireland until 1945. Following legislation in the Oireachtas, the Transport Act, 1944, the DUTC and the Great Southern Railways were vested in the newly formed Córas Iompair Éireann on 1 January 1945.
Dublin tramways was a system of trams in Dublin, Ireland, which commenced line-laying in 1871, and began service in 1872, following trials in the mid-1860s. Established by a number of companies, the majority of the system was eventually operated by forms of the Dublin United Tramways Company (DUTC), dominated for many years by William Martin Murphy. Most of the services ran within the city centre and near suburbs, with the majority of major suburbs served. Additionally, there were two longer-range services, one reaching the "excursion" destination of Poulaphouca Falls, and two services concerning Howth.
The Clontarf and Hill of Howth Tramroad Company (C&HoHTCo) operated a tram service from central Dublin via Dollymount in Clontarf to Howth Harbour in the Dublin area of Ireland from 1900 to 1941. Formed in the 1880s, it was a separate entity from the other Dublin tramways, notably the Dublin United Tramways Company (DUTC), but worked closely with the latter, who owned the line as far as Dollymount, for most of its operating existence.
The R105 road is a regional road in north Dublin, Ireland. It travels from the city centre to Howth, and loops at both ends; the road fully encircles Howth Head. Along the way, the road passes through Fairview, the western end of Clontarf, Killester, Raheny, the coastal edge of Kilbarrack and Sutton. Its biggest component is Howth Road.
Southend-on-Sea Corporation Transport was the overarching name given to the local municipal transport services provided to the town of Southend-on-Sea by the local council. Initially started as a tramway, although known officially as Southend-on-Sea Corporation Light Railway, the trams started operating on 19 July 1901 until the service was terminated on 8 April 1942. A trolleybus system was introduced in 16 October 1925, gradually replacing the tramway, before it closed on 28 October 1954. Motorbuses were first run by the Corporation in 1914, but two years later they withdrew the services. Buses did not return to the Corporation's service until 1932, eventually replacing the trams and trolleybuses. In 1974, the organisation was renamed Southend Transport, and after the Transport Act of 1985, it became involved in a price war with rival Thamesway. The council sold Southend Transport to British Bus group in June 1993, which in turn was taken over by the Cowie group.. Cowie was renamed Arriva in August 1998, with Southend Transport becoming Arriva serving Southend.
Bradford Corporation Tramways were a tramway network in the city of Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England which operated trams from 1882 until 1950 and trolleybuses from 1911 until 1972. The track gauge of the tramways was 4 ft.
