Nostalgia on Tuesday: A tram timeline

Many towns and cities up and down the country embraced horse, steam and electric tramways during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Hull's tramways  Hull Victoria Square with tramsHull's tramways  Hull Victoria Square with trams
Hull's tramways Hull Victoria Square with trams

Street tramways had originated in the United States, and were introduced to Britain by George Francis Train in the 1860s. The first recorded installation was a short line in the town of Birkenhead. Yet, when Train started laying lines on top of the highway in London, he was arrested and fined – even though he argued he thought he had obtained permission.

Under the Tramways Act of 1870 local boroughs or urban district councils could grant a 21-year concession to a private operator. Operators could construct the track but were responsible for the repair of the public highway between the tracks and a short distance either side. The local authority could construct the track themselves, if they wished to retain complete control of the highway, but not operate trams. At the conclusion of the lease, the local authority could purchase the complete undertaking, including the trams, steam engines and horses.

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Several sections of the Act were later repealed or superseded. Under newer Acts, local authorities could construct and operate their own tramways, and municipal ownership became the norm when the original concessions expired.

Hull's tramways  Laying of Hull's first electric  tram rail by Alderman Larard 9 june 1898Hull's tramways  Laying of Hull's first electric  tram rail by Alderman Larard 9 june 1898
Hull's tramways Laying of Hull's first electric tram rail by Alderman Larard 9 june 1898

The Continental & General Tramways Company was authorised to construct horse-drawn tramways in Hull during the early 1870s. But, after the opening of the first line – the Beverley Road route, on January 9 1875, it was authorised to sell its interests to the Hull Street Tramways Company.

On the first day of operation on the Beverley Road route, 1,116 passengers were carried. A half hourly service was provided by two trams hauled by Flemish horses. The first licensed drivers and conductor of street tramways in Hull were Charles Sissons and William Jackson (drivers) and Edward Read (conductor).

The Hull Street Tramways Company obtained powers in 1875 to complete the partly constructed tramways started by the Continental & General Tramways Company. Thus, further routes were opened, including the Hessle Road branch, on 7 April 1877; the Anlaby Road route shortly after a trial run on May 25 1877 and a service between Spring Bank and the Pier in February, 1878. A service to Holderness Road also commenced.

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By this time there were seven miles of track and over 31,500 passengers were being carried each week. Four years later the Hull Street Tramways Company owned 121 horses and 25 trams. There were three company depots, on Hessle Road (near Regent Street), Temple Street, and at Jesmond Gardens.

Hull's tramways

Tram Anlaby Road HullHull's tramways

Tram Anlaby Road Hull
Hull's tramways Tram Anlaby Road Hull

In 1889 a route along Hedon Road was served by steam trams of the Drypool & Marfleet Steam Tramways Co. Hull Corporation acquired the Hull Street Tramways Company in May 1895 for £12,500. In the following year the corporation accepted a tender from a Mr Nettleton to operate the horse trams for a period of a year at a time. The corporation completed the purchase of the Drypool & Marfleet Steam Tramways Company, agreed at a price of £15,500 in 1894, but not completed until October 1899.

On Thursday June 9 1898 the first Hull Corporation electric tramway rail was laid in Porter Street. Siemens supplied the electrical equipment, the rails, 4ft 81/2in. gauge, from Société Anonyme des Aciéries d’Angleur (Belgium), were an unusual centre groove profile. Trams began running on Anlaby Road and Hessle Road from July 5 1899, and Holderness Road on April 12 1900.

A main Hull tram depot with workshop facilities was built at Liverpool Street on the Hessle Road route and there was also a depot on Wheeler Street on the Anlaby Road route. A maintenance depot was on Stepney Lane (Beverley Road route) from 1898. Steam trams were operated for a time on the Hedon Road route owing to problems of electric trams crossing a railway line. But this was overcome in December 1903.

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The Spring Bank route was extended along Princes Avenue on October 8 1903, and a service to the Pier was opened in October 1903. The Marfleet line was introduced in 1903, Spring Bank West, October 1913 and Hessle Road-Pickering Park,

Hull's tramways

Hull tram bound for Spring BankHull's tramways

Hull tram bound for Spring Bank
Hull's tramways Hull tram bound for Spring Bank

February 1914. Routes were denoted by a letter on the tram: A, Anlaby Road; B, Beverley Road; D, Dairycoates (Hessle Road); H, Holderness Road; S, Spring Bank; P, Pier; M, Marfleet; SW, Spring Bank West; DP, Hessle road- Pickering Park.

By 1927, the Hull tram system had reached its maximum extent, at 20.48 miles (32.96 km).

In 1930 the electric power station on Osborne Street was closed; afterwards the power supply for the trams was purchased from Hull City Corporation. In 1931 the tram service to Victoria Pier was replaced with a motorbus service.

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In 1934 the City of Hull Transport Corporation entered into an agreement with East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS). Thus, services were divided into three areas: Hull City, its suburbs and the surrounding countryside. Revenues were split between the two companies irrespective of service provider.

Hull's tramways

Tug of war teamHull's tramways

Tug of war team
Hull's tramways Tug of war team

It became uneconomic to operate the outlying tram routes; services on most of the routes built in the 1920s were replaced by buses.

In 1936 the construction of a trolleybus system was authorised; with the exception the Hedon Road route, which was replaced by a motorbus service, the remaining tram routes were replaced by trolleybus operation between 1936 and 1945.

The final tram (no. 169) ran on June 30 1945; from Hessle Road to the depot at Liverpool Street. The vehicle was illuminated by 800 lights and about 50,000 people attended the farewell event.

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