Leicester Corporation Tramways | |
---|---|
Operation | |
Locale | Leicester |
Open | 1 July 1901 |
Close | 9 November 1949 |
Status | Closed |
Infrastructure | |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
Propulsion system(s) | Electric |
Depot(s) | Abbey Park Road, Narborough Road, London Road (Electric), Thurcaston Road (horse), Humberstone Gate (electric and horse) |
Statistics | |
Route length | 22.74 miles (36.60 km) |
Leicester Corporation Tramways was a tramway system in Leicester, England from 1901 to 1949.
The first tramways in Leicester started horse-pulled operation in 1874, by the Leicester Tramways Company. The first route was from the Clock Tower to Belgrave. This was soon followed by lines to West Humberstone and to Victoria Park, which opened in 1875. 1878 saw further extensions, of the Victoria Park line along London Road to Knighton Road, and new arterial routes along Aylestone Road in the south, and to Woodgate in the north. [1] [2] In 1902 there were 403 horses and 76 vehicles which covered 948,525 miles, and carried 10,743,841 passengers bringing in £47,074 of revenue. [3]
Leicester Corporation took over the tramways in 1901, under the Leicester Corporation Act. The work to convert to electric traction started in April 1903. The work involved lowering the roadway under seven railway bridges by up to 2 feet (0.61 m) The track was relayed with rails from Hadfield’s Steel Foundry of 110 lbs per yard on the straight sections with the steepest gradient being 1 in 16, and the sharpest curve having a radius of 37 feet (11 m). Interlaced track was installed for short lengths on Belgrave Gate, Humberstone Road and Aylestone Road. The track was paved with granite setts from local quarries except in the centre of town where Jarrah and Karri hard wood blocks were used. The relaying cost in the region of £27,000. The first section of newly electrified route opened on 18 May 1904. [4] The power station was erected on Belgrave Road by the canal which along with a tramway laid along Painter Street into the site, provided two options for the delivery of fuel. The main car depot was erected on a 4.5 acre site on Abbey Park Road comprising 3 tracks with accommodation for 56 cars. Altogether the new system cost £650,000 [5] (equivalent to £88,460,000in 2023). [6]
The expansion in 1904 provided links to Highfields, Clarendon Park, Western Park, and Narborough Road. [2] Further expansions took place from 1915 to 1927.
From the 1920s the Corporation Transport department had run a motor bus service, and these started to replace trams in 1933. The last tram ran in 1949, on the Humberstone Road line. The main depot, at Abbey Park Road, continued in use as a bus depot by First Leicester, the successor to Leicester Corporation buses, until 2007 when a new depot opened on Abbey Lane. The site is to be redeveloped as flats. [7] [2] [8] [9] Another depot stood next to the Bell Hotel on Humberstone Gate. [10]
Section | Opened | Electrified | Closed |
---|---|---|---|
Clock Tower – Folly Inn, Belgrave | 1874 | 1904 | |
Clock Tower – Humberstone Gate – Humberstone Road (Ash Street) | 1875 | 1904 | 1949 |
Clock Tower – London Road – Victoria Park Road | 1875 | 1904 | 1949 |
Victoria Park Road – Knighton Drive | 1878 | 1904 | |
Aylestone Road | 1878 | 1904 | 1947 |
Clock Tower – Churchgate – Woodgate | 1878 | 1904 | |
London Road – Melbourne Road – Humberstone Road | 1904 | 1933 | |
Clock Tower – High Street – Braunston Circle | 1904 | ||
Braunston Circle – Hinckley Road – Western Park | 1904 | ||
Braunston Circle – Narborough Road | 1904 | ||
Hinckley Road – Fosse Road – Woodgate – Great Central Street – High Street | 1904 | ||
High Street – Groby Road | 1904 | ||
Belgrave Road – Melton Road | 1905 | ||
Fosse Road – Braunstone Gate | 1915 | ||
Clarendon Park – Welford Road – Aylestone Road | 1922 | ||
Groby Road – Blackbird Road – Abbey Park Road – Belgrave Road | 1924 | ||
Humberstone Road – Coleman Road | 1927 | 1938 | |
Humberstone Road – Uppingham Road – St Barnabas Road – East Park Road – Evington Road – London Road [10] |
Route numbers were introduced in 1932. [10]
From 1904 the tramway used a fleet of 99 double deck trams, supplemented by an additional 40 in 1905. Twenty new trams arrived in 1913/1914 for an experiment with "pay as you enter" boarding. [10] The last new, numbers 161–178, came into service in 1920. [11]
The National Tramway Museum holds tram No. 76, which was introduced in 1904 with electrification and stayed in use until 1947. [12]
In 1950, twenty of the trams were sold and shipped from Birkenhead to Calcutta for service on the tramways there. [13]
In April 2018, the Conservatives announced a policy proposal to revive the tram system should they win control of the city council at the 2019 local elections, similar to the nearby Nottingham Express Transit system, with work proposed to start in 2020. The proposal was criticised by the current mayor of Leicester, Peter Soulsby, who stated that studies exploring a revival of the tramway indicated that Leicester's geography was "unsuitable" for a modern tram network. [14] In March 2019, plans were revealed for a tram network that would have 40 stops and be built in two phases. [15]
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.
Bristol Tramways operated in the city of Bristol, England from 1875, when the Bristol Tramways Company was formed by Sir George White, until 1941 when a Luftwaffe bomb destroyed the main power supply cables.
Sheffield Tramway was an extensive tramway network serving the English city of Sheffield and its suburbs.
The Kingston upon Hull tramway network was a network of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge tram lines following the five main roads radially out of the city centre of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Two of these lines went west, and two east. The fifth went to the north, and branched to include extra lines serving suburban areas. Additionally a short line linked the city centre to the Corporation Pier where a ferry crossed the Humber Estuary to New Holland, Lincolnshire.
Birmingham Corporation Tramways operated a network of tramways in Birmingham from 1904 until 1953. It was the largest narrow-gauge tramway network in the UK, and was built to a gauge of 3 ft 6 in. It was the fourth largest tramway network in the UK behind London, Glasgow and Manchester.
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.
Reading Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Reading in the English county of Berkshire between 1901 and 1939.
Aberdeen Corporation Tramways formerly served the City of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Lowestoft Corporation Tramways was the operator of the electric tramway system that served Lowestoft from 22 July 1903 until 8 May 1931.
Between 1901 and 1949 Manchester Corporation Tramways was the municipal operator of electric tram services in Manchester, England. At its peak in 1928, the organisation carried 328 million passengers on 953 trams, via 46 routes, along 292 miles (470 km) of track.
Northampton Corporation Tramways operated the tramway service in Northampton between 1901 and 1934.
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.
Cambridge Street Tramways operated a horse-drawn tramway service in Cambridge, England, between 1880 and 1914.
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.
Halifax Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England between 1898 and 1939. After considering lifts and inclined planes to assist trams in negotiating the steep hills to the south of the town, they obtained permission to build a conventional system in 1897, and the first three routes opened in 1898. By 1905 there were 37 miles (60 km) of track and 96 tramcars, supplied by two manufacturers. In 1921, an additional route was added to the system, and the Corporation embarked on a programme of building their own tramcars, some of which replaced existing vehicles, while some extended the fleet. During the 1930s, the trams were gradually replaced by motor buses, either run by the Corporation or by private companies, and the last tram ran on 14 February 1939.
The tramways in Plymouth were originally constructed as four independent networks operated by three different companies to serve the adjacent towns of Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport in Devon, England. The merger of the 'Three Towns' into the new borough of Plymouth in 1914 was the catalyst for the three companies to join up under the auspices of the new Plymouth Corporation. The network was closed in 1945, partly as a result of bomb damage during World War II.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Leicester, the county town of Leicestershire, in England.
The Great Grimsby Street Tramways Company was a tramway serving Grimsby and Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire, England. It was a subsidiary of The Provincial Tramways Company. They opened a horse tramway in 1881, running from the Wheatsheaf Inn in Bargate to the border with Cleethorpes, with a branch along Freeman Street, and extended the line into Cleethorpes in 1887. It followed the trend of many British systems, and was converted to an electric tramway in December 1901. Small extensions were made to the system at both ends, but the basic plan of the system remained the same throughout its life.
The Leicester Tramways Company operated a horse-drawn tramway service in Leicester from 1874 to 1901.