Swindon Corporation Tramways operated an electric passenger tramway service in

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

between 1904 and 1929.The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.

History

Swindon Corporation was the local council formed by the 1901

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

charter, with the amalgamation of the Old and New Swindon councils; a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

was built in Corporation Street. On the same site at was the tram depot. The corporation started to operate electric trams in 1904. A total of of gauge track was laid down from the Great Western Railway Station to Rodbourne, Gorse Hill and the Market Square in Old Town. A small fleet of nine 48 seater trams were bought at the time of inception with four further cars purchased at a later date. In 1906, the Swindon tram disaster occurred. A number 11 tram taking passengers from the

Bath and West Show The Royal Bath and West is an agricultural show for the West of England. Held every year at its permanent show ground near Shepton Mallet, Somerset, it is one of a number of County shows in the United Kingdom and is a four-day show. In 2009 and ...

being held in Old Town suffered brake failure driving down Victoria Hill and crashed in Regents Circus killing 5.

Closure

After only 25 years of operation, Swindon's trams were phased out by buses in 1929. Tramcar 13 survived and is under restoration.

References

External links

Swindon Corporation Tramways at the British Tramway Company Badges and Buttons website.

Swindon Corporation Tramways Car 13 at the Vintage Carriages Trust website
{{Historic UK Trams Tram transport in England Transport in Swindon 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in England