Scarborough Tramways Company

The Scarborough Tramways Company provided an electric tramway service in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, between 1904 and 1931.[1]

Scarborough Tramways Company
Scarborough Tramways Company sign at the National Tramway Museum
Operation
LocaleScarborough, North Yorkshire
Open6 May 1904
Close30 September 1931
StatusClosed
Infrastructure
Track gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Propulsion system(s)Electric
Depot(s)Scalby Road
Statistics
Route length4.59 miles (7.39 km)
System map

History

Scarborough Corporation obtained parliamentary powers under the Scarborough Tramways Act 1902 to operate tramways in the town. The Scarborough Tramways Company was formed under this Act to build and work the tramways.[2]

The main contractor for construction was the parent company, Edmundson's Electricity Corporation, and the general layout of the system was to the design of Mr. Swinton, with Mr. Waler as consultant engineer. The tramways were laid with 6 inch grooved 45 foot girder rails weighing 90 pounds per yard, supplied by the North Eastern Steel Company of Middlesbrough, with points and crossings manufactured by Hadfields Limited of Sheffield. The contract for the overhead work was awarded to Robert W. Blackwell & Company of London.

The power for the system was obtained from Edmundson's Electricity Corporation from their town power station off Seamer Road.

The car depot was located off Scalby Road at TA 0308 8820.

Construction began on 12 October 1903 and was complete by the following May. After an inspection by Colonel Pelham von Donop on 4 May 1904, the system was opened to the public on 6 May 1904.

The costs of construction, including an extension to the power station, was £96,000 (equivalent to £10,419,550 in 2019).[3]

Fleet

The initial 22 tramcars were built by Brush Electrical Machines.[4]

  • 1–15 delivered in May 1904
  • 16–18 delivered later in 1904
  • 19–22 delivered in 1905

Five further cars and one spare car body were obtained second hand from Ipswich Corporation Tramways. One was numbered 21, to replace the original 21 destroyed in the accident on 16 September 1925. The remaining cars were numbered 23 – 25

Routes

After a rationalisation in 1906, the company operated 6 routes as follows:[5]

  • Route 1 – West Pier to Scalby Road via Foreshore Road, Vernon Place, and Falsgrave Road (returning via Prospect Road, Hanover Road, Westborough and Eastborough). 1.9 miles.
  • Route 1A – Aquarium to Scalby Road via Eastborough, Newborough, Westborough and Falsgrave Road (returning via Prospect Road, Hanover Road and Vernon Place). 1.7 miles.
  • Route 2 – Aquarium to Manor Road via Eastborough, Newborough, Westborough, Hanover Road, and Prospect Road (returning via Scalby Road, Falsgrave Road and Vernon Place). 2.25 miles.
  • Route 2A – West Pier to Manor Road via Foreshore Road, Vernon Place, Hanover Road, and Prospect Road (returning via Scalby Road, Falsgrave Road, Westborough, Newborough and Eastborough). 2.12 miles
  • Route 3 – Railway Station and North Side via Westborough, Aberdeen Walk, Castle Road and North Marine Road. 1.2 miles
  • Route 4 – South Sands (Marine Drive South Toll House) and North Side via Sandside, Foreshore Road, Vernon Place, Aberdeen Walk, Castle Road, and North Marine Road. 1.9 miles.

Closure

The system was bought by Scarborough Corporation and closed on 30 September 1931, to be replaced by omnibuses.[6]

References
  1. The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.
  2. "The Scarborough Tramways", H.V. Jinks, Tramway Review, Vol. 11, No. 82, Summer 1975.
  3. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  4. "The Scarborough Tramways", H.V. Jinks, Tramway Review, Vol. 11, No. 83, Autumn 1975.
  5. Scarborough Tramways, B. Marsden, Middleton Press 2007
  6. Chester, Sir Daniel Norman (1936). Public Control of Road Passenger Transport: A Study in Administration and Economics. Manchester University Press. p. 32. GGKEY:KF79Q1LX159.
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