History
Horse trams
Powered trams
There were several early attempts to run motor-powered trams on the London tramlines: John Grantham first trialled an experimental steam tramcar in London in 1873 but withdrew it after it performed poorly. From 1885, the North London Tramways Company operated 25 Merryweather & Sons, Merryweather and Dick, Kerr & Co., Dick, Kerr steam engines hauling long-wheelbase Falcon Engine & Car Works trailers, until its liquidation in 1891. Although several towns and cities adopted steam trams, the problems associated with track weight, acceleration, noise and power held back their general acceptance in London. Between 1881 and 1883, a small number of Mekarski system, trams powered by compressed air were trialled on the Caledonian Road tramway. In 1884, a cable tram was introduced for Highgate, Highgate Hill, the first cable tramway in Europe, which was followed by a second cable line to draw trams up Brixton Hill to Streatham. Both these systems were replaced within 15 years by electric trams. The electric tram took some decades to establish itself in London. After the storage battery was invented, an electric tram was tested on the West Metropolitan Tramways line between Acton and Kew in 1883 but it was not until 1901 that Croydon Corporation introduced the first fully operational electric tram services in the Greater London area, using power delivered from overhead wires. Meanwhile, Imperial Tramways, under the directorship of James Clifton Robinson, had acquired the worn-out tram network in West London, which it renovated and extended from Shepherds Bush to Acton, Ealing, Chiswick and Uxbridge, as the London United Tramways Company, using overhead electrification throughout and its own network of ornate power stations, starting with Chiswick.Underground trams
There were plans to run an underground tram line between South Kensington and the Albert Hall but it was withdrawn in 1891 and a pedestrian only route, the South Kensington subway, was built instead. The Kingsway tramway subway did go ahead - this started in 1902 going from Theobalds Road to the Victoria Embankment. In the 1930s, the arched tunnels were removed to accommodate double decker trams. The last tram using the subway system ran on the night of 5/6 April 1952.First electric trams
Abandonment
At this time, trams were starting to be considered out-dated and inflexible and the phasing-out and replacement by diesel buses or Trolleybuses in London, trolleybuses started in earnest around 1935, when a large proportion of the trams and of the tracks and ancillary equipment were nearing the end of their useful life. Replacement continued until hostilities stopped the conversion programme in June 1940, leaving only the South London trams and the routes that went through the Kingsway subway into North London. After World War II, shortages of steel and electrical machinery were cited as reasons for not investing in maintenance, while the LCC reported that the service ran at a loss. On 15 November 1946 the London Passenger Transport Board announced that the remaining trams in London would be replaced by diesel buses, stated as being "eminently flexible and much cheaper". (London Transport Tramways Handbook, Willoughby and Oakley 1972). The market for trams became smaller as other tramways were being forced to close at that time, as the 1948 nationalisation of electricity suppliers removed access to cheap electricity for those undertakings which owned their local power company. Alexander Valentine, one of the five full-time members of the London Transport Executive, saw trams as a major cause of road congestion, which would be relieved by the introduction of buses, with the aesthetic benefit of doing away with overhead wires and their noisy operation. A report in The Economist in 1952 suggested a more comprehensive list of reasons for their demise, including: * the 1870 Tramways Act, which placed a great financial burden on the operator for road maintenance even though it was not responsible for all the wear; * London had streets that were too narrow, unlike continental cities; * London's housing developments were too far away from tram routes; * authorities were prejudiced against trams (Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, Lord Ashfield, chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board, LPTB, was a constant opponent of trams). The capital cost of replacing and updating the worn-out infrastructure and trams was also seen as prohibitive when compared with the £9 m capital cost of buying buses with a slightly smaller carrying capacity. "Operation Tramaway", the replacement of the tram service by diesel buses, was announced in July 1950 by Charles Latham, 1st Baron Latham, Lord Latham of the London Transport Executive. Retirement started in October 1950 and London's last tram week, London's final first-generation trams ran in the early hours of 6 July 1952 to a rousing reception at New Cross Depot. No general improvement in traffic flow was seen after the trams were withdrawn. During the closure cycle of London's tram system, almost 100 of the most modern trams known as the "Feltham" class and dating from 1931 were withdrawn and sold to Leeds where they continued in service until the abandonment of that city's trams in 1959. Some London tramcars have been preserved on static display at London's London Transport Museum, Transport Museum (in Covent Garden) and in working order at the National Tramway Museum at Crich, Derbyshire. A working London tram can also be seen and ridden on at the East Anglia Transport Museum in Carlton Colville near Lowestoft, Suffolk.Current trams
The current generation of trams started with the opening of Tramlink in 2000. Croydon previously had many tramlines. The first to close was Addiscombe – East Croydon Station route through George Street to Cherry Orchard Road in 1927 and the last Purley, London, Purley - Embankment tube station, Embankment and Croydon (Coombe Road) - Thornton Heath routes closed in April 1951. However, in spring 1950, the Highways Committee was presented by the Mayor with the concept of running trams between East Croydon station and the new estate being constructed at New Addington. This was based on the fact that the Feltham cars used in Croydon were going to Leeds to serve their new estates on reserved tracks. In 1962 a private study, with assistance from BR engineers, showed how easy it was to convert the West Croydon - Wimbledon train service to tram operation and successfully prevent conflict between trams and trains. These two concepts became joined in joint LRTL/TLRS concept of New Addington to Wimbledon every 15 mins via East and West Croydon and Mitcham plus New Addington to Tattenham Corner every 15 mins via East and West Croydon, Sutton and Epsom Downs. A branch into Forestdale to give an overlap service from Sutton was also included. During the 1970s, several BR directors and up-and-coming managers were aware of the advantages. In fact, Peter Parker was very well aware of this even before becoming chairman. Chris Green, upon becoming managing director, Network South East, published his plans in 1987 expanding the concept to take in the Tattenham Corner and Caterham branches and provide a service from Croydon to Lewisham via Addiscombe and Hayes. Working with Tony Ridley, then managing director, London Transport, the scheme was brought out into the open, and Scott Mackintosh was appointed Light Rail Manager in 1989. The scheme was accepted in principle in February 1990 by Croydon Council, which worked with what was then London Regional Transport (LRT) to propose Tramlink to Parliament, resulting in the Croydon Tramlink Act 1994 giving LRT the legal power to build and run Tramlink. The new Act still incorporated major parts of the 1870 Tramways Act which had held back previous private tram companies. However, as most of the routes affected were managed by the same authority, the obligation to maintain the road surface was not a new cost. Tramlink operates with modern articulated tramcars of Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier low-floor design called Bombardier CR4000, ''CR4000'', based upon the ''K4000'' type of the Cologne Stadtbahn, with the tram units numbered from 2530. This number was the next in sequence from the last London tram, number 2529, withdrawn in 1952. Since it opened on 11 May 2000, the 38 km of track have been operated by FirstGroup on behalf of Transport for London on three routes across South London. It features Accessibility, accessible low platforms that match the 350 mm high car floor or tram stops at the same height as the pavement. Much of the track is dedicated tramway, with some sections shared with other road vehicles, including some of the same roads served by the previous generation of trams. The off-street track includes new rights-of-way, adapted former railway lines and one section running alongside a Network Rail line. Part of the formation between Mitcham and Hackbridge was originally used by the Surrey Iron Railway, the world's first public railway, authorised by Act of Parliament in 1803.Future
New tram systems and extensions to existing tram lines have been discussed or planned: * Tramlink extensions linking the Croydon-Beckenham route from Harrington Road up Anerley Hill to Crystal Palace, London, Crystal Palace, using an existing rail right of way. Previous schemes have considered extensions to Purley, London, Purley, Streatham and Tooting Also, Beckenham extension to Lewisham had been previously mooted. * West London Tram from Shepherd's Bush to Uxbridge. This scheme was "put on hold" after the approval of Crossrail Two more tram systems were planned but their development has been abandoned: * Cross River Tram linking London King's Cross railway station, Kings Cross and Camden Town, Camden to Peckham and Brixton * In the lead-up to the 2008 Mayor of London, mayoral election, Ken Livingstone proposed an Oxford Street Tram that would run along Oxford Street from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road. It would have been tied into plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street and Marble Arch, funded through property development. Construction would have begun in 2012 with completion in 2018Sutton Link Extension
* The Sutton Link is a proposed tram line in South London, aiming to connect Colliers Wood tube station, Colliers Wood to Sutton, London, Sutton via St Helier Hospital, St Helier. Initially proposed in the early 2000s, public consultations on the route were held in the late 2010s. A preferred route was announced in February 2020. However, financial constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led Transport for London to suspend the project in July 2020. Despite being included in the London Plan, the project faced further delays in 2023 due to a "weak business case" and a lack of funding.References
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