Birmingham Corporation Tramways

For the football club, see Birmingham Corporation Tramways F.C.
Birmingham Corporation Tramways

Birmingham Corporation Tram in 1953, shortly before the service was scrapped.
Operation
Locale Birmingham
Open 4 January 1904
Close 4 July 1953
Status Closed
Infrastructure
Track gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Propulsion system(s) Electric
Statistics
Route length 80.5 miles (129.6 km)

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, built to a gauge of 3 ft 6 inches. It was the largest tramway network in the UK after London, Glasgow and Manchester.

There were a total of 843 trams (with a maximum of 825 in service at any one time), 20 depots, 45 main routes and a total route length of 80 12 miles (129.6 km).[1]

Birmingham Corporation built all the tramways and leased the track to various companies.

Birmingham was a pioneer in the development of reserved trackways which served the suburban areas as the city grew in the 1920s and 1930s.

History

Trams and buses on Corporation Street in 1931.
The last tram to run in 1953.

The first trams operated in Birmingham from 1872, and the network expanded throughout the late 19th Century. Initially these were horse and steam operated, the first electric trams operated from 1901. Under the terms of the Tramways Act 1870 the Birmingham Corporation owned all of the tracks within the city boundaries, however, they were forbidden from operating the trams themselves, and so various private companies operated them under lease. It wasn't until 1904 that the Birmingham Corporation took advantage of new legislation, which allowed it to operate trams in its own right as the original concessions expired. By 1912, the Corporation had taken over all of the privately operated lines, it also took over other district tramways as the city boundaries were expanded. BCT continued to expand the network into a comprehensive system, and also took over routes extending into the Black Country. The last new route to Stechford was opened in 1928.[2]

Decline set in during the 1930s, when several tram lines were converted to trolleybus operation, as this was seen as being a more economic option than replacing worn out track and rolling stock. Several of the least used lines were also abandoned, and replaced by diesel buses. Reflecting the fact that it now operated buses and trolleybuses as well as trams, BCT changed its name to Birmingham City Transport in 1937.

However, most of the tram network remained in operation until large scale closures began in 1947. The last three lines to Short Heath, Pype Hayes and Erdington were closed simultaneously on 4 July 1953.[2]

Trams returned to Birmingham city centre on 6 December 2015, after a 62-year gap, when the first part of the Midland Metro city-centre extension was opened to Bull Street tram stop.[3]

Timeline

Routes

Map of the tram routes in 1930

Depots and Works

Model of a BCT tram, at the National Tramway Museum

Tramcar fleet

Statistics

Year No of vehicles Miles run Passengers Revenue
1904 to 190520266,5264,709,798£19,103 (£1,849,983 in 2015),[6]
1913 to 191455114,268,244146,930,986£635,471 (£54,999,635 in 2015),[6]
1923 to 192465817,521,741214,338,365£1,337,093 (£68,775,829 in 2015),[6]
1933 to 193476217,368,227201,442,970£1,171,481 (£75,004,622 in 2015),[6]
1943 to 194449911,206,698130,665,152£1,088,824 (£43,249,989 in 2015),[6]
1953 to 19541203,391,58035,554,412£398,122 (£9,830,204 in 2015),[6]

Surviving artefacts and infrastructure

Tram no 395 seen preserved at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum.

Tramcars

Shelters

Depots

Track

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birmingham Corporation Tramways.

References

Notes

  1. Birmingham City Transport, Malcolm, etc. Keeley, Transport Pub. Co 1978 ISBN 0-903839-18-0
  2. 1 2 "Birmingham Corporation Transport The Tramways 1872-1953". petergould.co.uk. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  3. "Extensions open in Birmingham and Manchester". British Trams Online. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  4. Tramways of the Black Country: Company-operated Lines of South Staffordshire and North Worcestershire, J S Webb Staffs., 1954
  5. Aston Manor Road Transport Museum
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2016), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.
  7. Historic England. "Moseley Road Depot  (Grade II) (1386758)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 January 2015.

Literature

Video and DVD

External links

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