Chester Tramways Company operated a horse-drawn tramway service in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

between 1878 and 1901.

History

The Chester Tramways Company was incorporated by the ( 41 & 42 Vict. c. clxxiv) with powers to construct a standard-gauge tramway from the General Station to Curzon Street in Saltney. Construction started in 1878 and on 28 May 1879 the route was inspected by Major General

Charles Scrope Hutchinson Major-General Charles Scrope Hutchinson (8 August 1826 – 29 February 1912) was Chief Inspecting Officer for Railways from 1892 to 1895. Family Hutchinson was born in Hythe, Kent, son of Scrope Hutchinson, M.D. He was educated at University C ...

R.E. of the Board of Trade and declared fit for operation. Services started on 10 June 1878 with a route from

Chester railway station Chester railway station is located in Newtown, Chester, England. It was designed by the architect Francis Thompson and opened as a joint station in 1848. From 1875 to 1969, the station was known as ''Chester General'' to distinguish it from C ...

and the Castle. This was extended to Curzon Street,

Saltney Saltney is a town straddling the counties of Flintshire and Cheshire on the England–Wales border. The local government Community (Wales), community of Saltney lies entirely in Wales, while the English areas are Unparished area, unparished. The ...

on 21 June 1879. The initial purchase of 8 Eades Patent Reversible tramcars was soon found unsatisfactory, and these were replaced by eight cars constructed locally by Mr Kerneen. The fleet increased slightly over the years, and eventually numbered eleven tramcars. The company was required by the Chester Tramways Act 1878 ( 41 & 42 Vict. c. clxxiv), to pay to the Dee Bridge Commissioners an annual sum for the use of

Grosvenor Bridge Grosvenor Bridge, originally known as, and alternatively called Victoria Railway Bridge, is a railway bridge over the River Thames in London, between Vauxhall Bridge and Chelsea Bridge. Originally constructed in 1860, and widened in 1865 and ...

. The Chester Improvement Act 1884 gave the company the option of either contributing £1,000 towards freeing the tolls, or paying £85 per annum to Chester Corporation until 1899 The fares were set at 3d () inside or 2d outside irrespective of distance, but the inside fare was reduced to 2d () once the bridge toll was abolished on 1 January 1885. The tramway company sold car number 5 to Hughes & Lancaster who converted it to run on compressed air and tested it on the streets of Chester, but it did not prove satisfactory. The operation of the tramway was not initially an overwhelming commercial success. In addition to the tramway it also operated a fleet of 19 horse buses. This required the company to maintain a stable of 76 horses, each with an average life of around 6 years. The average price of a horse was £33 (). A permanent staff of six men and a boy were employed just to look after the horses. The financial position changed around 1885 when John Gardner was appointed manager and the company managed to pay a dividend to the shareholders.

Notable people

General Managers

*T.E.J. Lloyd 1878 - 1885 *John Gardner 1885 (formerly employed by Liverpool United Tramways) - 1901

Closure

Under the Chester Corporation Act 1901, the council took up its option to purchase the assets of the company. It did this for a cost of £18,000 (equivalent to £ in ), and services continued as Chester Corporation Tramways.

References

Sources

; Works cited * {{Historic UK Trams Tram transport in England Companies based in Chester