| Hastings and District Electric Tramways | |
|---|---|
 Map of the routes of the Hastings and District Electric Tramways | |
| Operation | |
| Locale | Hastings |
| Open | 31 July 1905 |
| Close | 15 May 1929 |
| Status | Closed |
| Infrastructure | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
| Propulsion system(s) | Electric |
| Statistics | |
| Route length | 19.57 miles (31.49 km) |
Hastings and District Electric Tramways operated a tramway service in Hastings between 1905 and 1929. [1]
| Hastings Tramways Act 1900 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to incorporate the Hastings Tramways Company and to empower that Company to make and maintain tramways and other works in the county borough of Hastings and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 63 & 64 Vict. c. cxl |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 30 July 1900 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Hastings Tramways Act 1957 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Hastings Tramways (Extension of Time) Act 1902 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Citation | 2 Edw. 7. c. clix |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Hastings Tramways Act 1957 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Hastings Tramways (Extensions) Act 1903 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 3 Edw. 7. c. xcviii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 July 1903 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Hastings Tramways Act 1957 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Hastings Tramways Act 1905 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to extend the time limited for the completion of the tramways light railways and works authorised to be constructed by the Hastings Tramways Company and to revive the powers for the compulsory purchase of land by that Company and to authorise the construction of certain deviations of their authorised light railways and other works and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 5 Edw. 7. c. xcix |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 11 july 1905 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Hastings Tramways Act 1957 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Hastings Tramways Act 1920 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. lxxxiv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 4 August 1920 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Hastings Tramways Act 1957 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Hastings Tramways Act 1921 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. lxxxv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 17 August 1921 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Hastings Tramways Act 1957 |
Status: Repealed | |
The tramway opened in two sections which operated independently until 1907. Following the passing of legislation permitting the installation of the tramways, [2] services started in Hastings on 31 July 1905. The depot was located in Silverhill at TQ 8017 1067 .
A second depot was built at Bulverhythe ( TQ 7815 0880 ) for services between St Leonards-on-Sea and Bexhill which started on 9 April 1906. That line finally reached Cooden Beach on 28 July 1906. On 12 January 1907, the two systems were connected along the seafront.
The trams ran as far as Bexhill, and were worked by overhead electric wires, except for the stretch along the seafront from Bo-Peep to the Memorial, which was initially worked by the Dolter Stud contact system due to concerns that the overhead cabling would obstruct sea views, a sentiment that was cemented in the legislation permitting the tram service. Following unsuccessful attempts to mount trams for this route with a small petrol engine/generator combination and a further act of Parliament, [2] overhead electrification was extended to this section in 1921.
Under the Hastings Tramways Act 1905 (5 Edw. 7. c. xcix), the councils had an option to buy the Hastings Tramway Company in 1925. They didn't, so the company reviewed its options. The tramway service closed on 15 May 1929 and was replaced by trolleybuses on the same routes, except for a short section of private right of way on Pebsham Marsh, off Bexhill Road and a new link through High Street. [3]
Two tramcars survive, 48 and 56. Both are under restoration by the Hastings Tramway Club.
The Sydney tramway network served the inner suburbs of Sydney, Australia, from 1879 until 1961. In its heyday, it was the largest in Australia, the second largest in the Commonwealth of Nations, and one of the largest in the world. The network was heavily worked, with about 1,600 cars in service at any one time at its peak during the 1930s . Patronage peaked in 1945 at 405 million passenger journeys. Its maximum street trackage totalled 291 km in 1923.
The Mexborough & Swinton Tramways Company was a tramway system in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, founded in 1902 and which began services in 1907 linking Rotherham with the Old Toll Bar, Mexborough. Its routes served Manvers Main Colliery, Wath upon Dearne and the towns of Rotherham, Rawmarsh, Swinton and Mexborough.
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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 Mexborough and Swinton Traction Company was the name adopted by the Mexborough & Swinton Tramways Company in 1929 following the introduction of trolleybuses on all its routes. It operated in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, over routes serving Manvers Main Colliery, Wath upon Dearne and the towns of Rotherham, Rawmarsh, Swinton, Mexborough, Conisbrough and the estate at Conanby.
The stud contact system is an obsolete ground-level power supply system for electric trams. Power supply studs were set in the road at intervals and connected to a buried electric cable by switches operated by magnets on the tramcars. Current was collected from the studs by a "skate" or "ski collector" under the tramcar. The system was popular for a while in the early 1900s but soon fell out of favour because of the unreliability of the magnetic switches, largely due to friction and rapid corrosion affecting its cast iron moving components.
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.
Aberdeen Corporation Tramways formerly served the City of Aberdeen, Scotland.
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Southend-on-Sea Corporation Tramways served the town of Southend-on-Sea in Essex from 19 July 1901 until 8 April 1942.
Torquay Tramways operated electric street trams in Torquay, Devon, England, from 1907. They were initially powered by the unusual Dolter stud-contact electrification, but in 1911 was converted to more conventional overhead-line supply. The line was extended into neighbouring Paignton in 1911 but the whole network was closed in 1934.
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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.
At the peak of Britain’s first-generation tramways, it was possible to travel by tram all the way from Pier Head at Liverpool to the Pennines in Rochdale by tram.
Gravesend and Northfleet Electric Tramways operated a tramway service between Gravesend, Kent and Northfleet between 1902 and 1929.
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.
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