Ayr Corporation Tramways

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Ayr Corporation Tramways

Ayr Corporation Tramways.jpg

Map of the route of Ayr Corporation Tramways
Operation
Locale Ayr
Open 26 September 1901
Close 31 December 1931
Status Closed
Infrastructure
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s) Electric
Depot(s) Alderston Avenue, Ayr
Statistics
Route length 6.39 miles (10.28 km)

Ayr Corporation Tramways operated an electric tramway service in Ayr between 1901 and 1931. [1]

Ayr town and former Royal Burgh situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in the Scotland

Ayr is a town situated on the south-west coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population of 46,490 in 2015, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire and the 14th largest settlement in Scotland. The town is continuous with the smaller town of Prestwick to the north.

Contents

History

Ayr Corporation Tram on Alloway Street ca. 1904 Ayr, Alloway Street.jpg
Ayr Corporation Tram on Alloway Street ca. 1904

Ayr Corporation Tramways opened for public service on 26 September 1901. The depot was located in Alderston Avenue, Ayr (grid reference NS 34410 23498 ). The line ran from Alloway to Prestwick.

Alloway village in United Kingdom

Alloway is a conservation village that is now a suburb of Ayr. It is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns and the setting for his poem "Tam o' Shanter". Tobias Bachope, the mason responsible for the construction of Hopetoun House, Craigiehall, and Kinross House, also hailed from Alloway.

Prestwick town in Ayrshire, Scotland

Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about 30 miles (50 km) south-west of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about 2 miles (3 km) south. It had a population of 14,901 at the 2011 census.

In 1928 two tramcars were obtained from the Dumbarton Burgh and County Tramways. These survived the closure of the Ayr system in 1931 and were transferred to South Shields Corporation Tramways.

Dumbarton Burgh and County Tramways provided a tramway service in Dumbarton from 1907 to 1928.

South Shields Corporation Tramways electric tramway service in South Shields

South Shields Corporation Tramways operated an electric tramway service in South Shields between 1906 and 1946.

The system was taken over on 30 December 1931 by the Scottish Motor Traction Company and closed the following day.

Scottish Motor Traction (SMT) was founded in Edinburgh in 1905 by William Johnston Thomson. It operated buses in much of central Scotland. Aside from its traditional bus operations, it operated an air taxi service with a De Havilland Fox Moth between 18 July and 31 October 1932 and for many years owned Dryburgh Abbey Hotel. Following legislation, which allowed railway companies to invest in bus operators, the London & North Eastern Railway and London, Midland & Scottish Railway took a major stake in SMT in 1929. In 1930, following the takeover of another operator, SMT started its Edinburgh to London express coach service. SMT also acquired control of Walter Alexander & Sons bus services and coachbuilding operations, the Alexander family joining the SMT board.

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References

  1. ↑ The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.
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