MET A class tram No.79 in Lordship Lane, Haringey, 1913
The company originated in 1894 as the Metropolitan Tramways and Omnibus Company Limited. The company hoped to construct horse tramways in the northern suburbs of London. The proposed tramways were not built, but an agreement was entered into with Middlesex County Council to operate the tramway network it was constructing under the Light Railways Act 1896. The company was acquired by British Electric Traction (BET) in 1901, and its name changed to Metropolitan Electric Tramways Ltd. (MET).
The network was rapidly expanded between 1905 and 1911, MET having gained powers to build its own lines as well as operating those constructed by the county council, and by the acquisition and electrification of the North Metropolitan Tramways Company's steam-operated line from Wood Green to Ponders End.
The MET operated London's only regular single-deck electric tram services, on two tram lines serving Alexandra Palace. The first line ran from Turnpike Lane, approaching the Palace from the West via Muswell Hill, and was opened in late 1905; the second line opened a few months later in 1906, and started from Wood Green, entering the Palace grounds from the East.
When MET was taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board on 1 July 1933, it was operating 53.51 miles (86.12km) of route. At that time, company owned 316 tramcars, and 9.38 miles (15.10km) of track, with the remainder being leased from Middlesex or Hertfordshire County Councils.
The outer termini of the MET network were Acton (where it connected with the LUT system), Sudbury, Canons Park, Barnet, Enfield and Waltham Cross. Joint-running with the LUT and London County Council systems brought MET trams into Central and West London.
16 cars received covered tops and reclassified B/2, 1928–29
71 to 130
A
1904–05
reversed Maximum Traction bogie, open-top double-deck
all cars received covered tops, 1928–29. The body of Car 94 was acquired by a group of enthusiasts in 1961, after spending the years since its withdrawal in 1935 as a garden shed at Waltham Cross. Claude Lane allowed the group to keep it at his Eastbourne Tramway, where the initial intention was to restore it to its original condition, but this plan foundered for lack of a permanent site, so Claude Lane took ownership with a plan to convert it to a narrow gauge single deck saloon car for his new project, Seaton Tramway. The move to Seaton delayed the restoration for many years, but it was finally launched into service as Seaton car 14 in 1984, where it still operates in regular service.
131 to 150
E
1905
single truck, single-deck saloon
135, 136, 143, and 144 sold to Auckland (NZ); 132 transferred to LUT (class S/1, No 341)
191
D/1
1905
single truck, open-top double-deck
166 to 190
D
1906
single truck, open-top double-deck
151 to 165
C
1907
reversed Maximum Traction bogie, open-top double-deck
all cars received covered tops and reclassified C/2, 1914–15
192 to 211
C/1
1908
reversed Maximum Traction bogie, open-top double-deck
all cars received covered tops, 1929
212 to 216
F
1908
Maximum Traction bogie, open-top double-deck
217 to 236, 317
G
1909/21
Maximum Traction bogie, open-top double-deck
all cars received covered tops, 1929
237 to 316
H
1909–12
Maximum Traction bogie, open-top double-deck
2, 12, 22, 31, 46, and 82 were rebuilt to this body style
318
"Bluebell"
1926
Maximum Traction bogie, totally enclosed double-deck
Experimental
319
"Poppy"
1927
Maximum Traction bogie, totally enclosed double-deck
Experimental, sold to LUT (November 1927), renumbered 350
A tram is a type of urban rail transit consisting of either individual railcars or self-propelled multiple unit trains that run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or tram networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Due to their close similarities, trams are commonly included in the wider term light rail, which also includes systems separated from other traffic.
Melbourne tram route 96 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Brunswick East to St Kilda Beach. The 13.9 kilometre route is operated out of Southbank and Preston depots with C2, E class, and on occasion A class trams.
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.
There have been two separate generations of trams in London, from 1860 to 1952 and from 2000 to the present. There were no trams at all in London between 1952 and 2000.
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.
Trams in India were established in the late 19th century. Horse-drawn trams were introduced in Kolkata in 1873; in Mumbai, trams began operations in 1874; in Nashik in 1889; electric trams began in Chennai in 1895, and trams were also introduced in Kanpur and Delhi. They were discontinued in all Indian cities between 1933 and 1964, except for Kolkata.
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was London Transport.
London United Tramways Company Limited was an operator of trams and trolleybuses in the western and southern suburbs of London, UK, from 1894 to 1933, when it passed to the London Passenger Transport Board.
The London County Council Tramways was an extensive network of public street tramways operated by the council throughout the County of London, UK, from 1899 to 1933, when they were taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board.
The Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway was a tram service that ran initially from Cosham to Horndean in Hampshire, England.
The Swansea Improvements and Tramway Company operated street trams in and around Swansea in Wales from 1878 to 1937.
The Union Construction Company (UCC) was a company set up in 1901 and associated with Charles Yerkes, an American associated with the London Underground at that time. It was part of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and was based in Feltham, Middlesex, England.
In 1929 the Metropolitan Electric Tramways (MET) placed into service an experimental tramcar, No. 320, manufactured by the Union Construction Company which was located in Feltham. This tram was of a significantly more advanced design than other experimental cars that the MET had trialled in the previous few years, and was the first of three prototypes that led to the final design of what became known as the "Feltham" trams. Two more experimental tramcars were then constructed: MET No. 330 later the same year, and No. 331 the next. After experience in passenger service was assessed, the best features of each were combined to form the final design.
Gloucester Corporation Tramways operated an electric tramway service in Gloucester between 1904 and 1933.
Coventry Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Coventry, England, between 1912 and 1940.
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.
Rhondda Tramways Company operated a tramway service in Rhondda, Wales, between 1904 and 1934.
Llanelly and District Electric Tramways operated a standard gauge tramway service in Llanelli, Wales, between 1908 and 1933. It was the successor to a 3 ft gauge horse tramway, which ran from 1882 until 1908. A complex series of negotiations took place in the early 1900s, resulting in the horse tramway being converted to an electric tramway. Standard gauge horse trams were run initially, until the company completed North Dock power station, which supplied electricity to the tramway. Two of the employees who worked on the construction went on to found Balfour Beatty.
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.
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