The Howth Tram on the Hill of Howth Tramway was a
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
which served
Howth Head
Howth Head ( ; ''Ceann Bhinn Éadair'' in Irish) is a peninsula northeast of the city of Dublin in Ireland, within the governance of Fingal County Council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while the village of Howth and the harbour are on t ...
, near
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland. The termini were at
Sutton railway station, by the entrance to the peninsula, and
Howth railway station
Howth DART station ( ; ga, Stáisiún Bhinn Éadair), is a railway station in Fingal, Ireland that serves Howth village and one side of Howth Head.
History
The Station opened on 30 May 1847, The Howth tram ran between here and Sutton railwa ...
by the village and harbour of
Howth
Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes ...
.
Design
The line of the route was designed in-house by the Great Northern Rail staff at their Dublin office, under
William Hemingway Mills
William Hemingway Mills (1834-1918) was a British civil engineer known for his work with the Great Northern Railway of Ireland (GNR(I)) from its formation in 1876 until his retirement in 1910.
Life
Mills was born in Yorkshire, England in 1834. ...
, chief engineer. The engineer responsible for the detailed design was Joshua Harrison Hargrave, the famous Cork-born photographer/engineer.
History
The service operated from June 1901 to 31 May 1959 and was run by the
Great Northern Railway (Ireland)
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The government ...
(GNR(I)), which viewed it as a way to bring more customers to its railway stations at
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location
* S ...
and Howth. The tramway replaced a horse bus service, which had run since 1867.
Closure and replacement
On 1 October 1958,
Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) took over GNR(I)'s operations in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
, including the Howth Tram. A year later, the tramway was closed down. It was initially replaced by two CIÉ bus routes – numbers 87 (Sutton to Ceanchor Road) and 88 (Howth to Windgate Road). Two routes were necessary, as several narrow hill curves were not passable by the buses used. Eventually, sections of the disused tram route between the Baily post office and the Summit were expanded to form an extension of
Carrickbrack Road
Carrickbrack Road is a road in Dublin, Ireland, a constituent part of the R105 Regional Road. It leads east-southeast from Sutton Creek around the southern part of Howth Head, up to the eastern part of the headland near Howth Summit, to Thorma ...
; this enabled a single bus route (number 88) to be used.
The area was then served by the 31, 31a and 31b bus routes, which operated from
Abbey Street
Abbey Street () is located on Dublin's Northside, running from the Customs House and Store Street in the east to Capel Street in the west. The street is served by two Luas light rail stops, one at the Jervis shopping centre and the other near ...
in the city centre. In winter, icy roads on the hill occasionally cause the bus service to be suspended, unlike the tram, which ran in all weather conditions. A public footpath now follows the tram route between Howth station and the Summit.
Preservation
![Cultra a17](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Cultra_a17.jpg)
Four of the trams survive in preservation. No. 9 is now exhibited at the
National Transport Museum of Ireland
The National Transport Museum of Ireland ( ga, Iarsmalann Náisiunta Iompair na hÉireann) is based in the grounds of Howth Castle in Ireland.
The museum is located in the Heritage Depot, Howth Demesne, Howth
Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) i ...
, which is located at
Howth Castle
Howth Castle ( ) and estate lie just outside the village of Howth, County Dublin in Ireland, in the administration of Fingal County Council. The castle was the ancestral home of the line of the St Lawrence family (see: Earl of Howth) that had h ...
, near the former terminus of the tramway at
Howth railway station
Howth DART station ( ; ga, Stáisiún Bhinn Éadair), is a railway station in Fingal, Ireland that serves Howth village and one side of Howth Head.
History
The Station opened on 30 May 1847, The Howth tram ran between here and Sutton railwa ...
. No. 4 is on display the
Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past ...
at Cultra. No. 10 is preserved at the
National Tramway Museum
The National Tramway Museum (trading as Crich Tramway Village) is a tram museum located at Crich (), Derbyshire, England. The museum contains over 60 (mainly British) trams built between 1873 and 1982 and is set within a recreated period vill ...
in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, England; it has been converted to
4' 8.5" gauge and had previously run on the
Blackpool Tramway from 1985-89. No. 2 is at the
Southern California Railway Museum
The Southern California Railway Museum (SCRM, reporting mark OERX), formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is a railroad museum in Perris, California, United States. It was founded in 1956 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles before moving ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, in operating condition; it has also been converted to 4' 8.5" gauge.
Possible plans to reinstate the tramway
In 2016 Fingal County Council announced that it was issuing an invitation to tender for options for potential reinstatement of the Howth Tramway or part of it, as a possible tourist attraction. Proposals which have been considered included the option of a horse-drawn tram on tracks along the seafront.
Howth tram is on course to be running again
by Tom Prenderville, Irish Independent, 15 July 2012.
Route
Electric double-decker tramcars ran the five-mile route, which went from Sutton station along Greenfield Road and Carrickbrack Road
Carrickbrack Road is a road in Dublin, Ireland, a constituent part of the R105 Regional Road. It leads east-southeast from Sutton Creek around the southern part of Howth Head, up to the eastern part of the headland near Howth Summit, to Thorma ...
to St. Fintan's Cemetery, then past the Baily post office and Stella Maris convent to Howth Summit. From there, the tramway ran down into Howth, terminating at the railway station. Most of the route was single track, with passing points at the main stopping places. The track gauge was , the same standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
as railways in Ireland.
Stops
See also
* Dublin United Transport Company
The Dublin United Transport Company (DUTC) operated trams and buses in Dublin, Ireland until 1945. Following legislation in the Oireachtas, the ''Transport Act, 1944'', the DUTC and the Great Southern Railways were vested in the newly formed CÃ ...
- The largest tramway operator in Dublin (pre-1945)
* Clontarf and Hill of Howth Tramroad
The Clontarf and Hill of Howth Tramroad Company (C&HoHTCo) operated a tram service from central Dublin via Dollymount in Clontarf to Howth Harbour in the Dublin area of Ireland from 1900 to 1941. Formed in the 1880s, it was a separate entity ...
* Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway
The Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (DBST), later the Blessington and Poulaphouca Steam Tramway, operated steam-powered trams between Terenure in Dublin and Blessington in Co. Wicklow from 1888 until 1932.
History
On Wednesday, August 1, 1888 ...
* Dublin tram system
Dublin tramways was a system of trams in Dublin, Ireland, which commenced line-laying in 1871, and began service in 1872, following trials in the mid-1860s. Established by a number of companies, the majority of the system was eventually operat ...
References
Footnotes
Sources
*
Further reading
* Kilroy, James: ''Howth and her Trams: Stories and Sketches of the Howth Tram'', Fingal Books, Dublin (1986).
* Kilroy, James: ''Trams to the Hill of Howth: A Photographic Tribute'', Colourpoint Books, Newtownards, Co. Down (1998) ,
External links
National Transport Museum of Ireland
''Once upon a Tram'', 1958 film of the Hill of Howth Tram
{{coord missing, County Dublin
Hill of Howth Tramway
The Howth Tram on the Hill of Howth Tramway was a tram which served Howth Head, near Dublin, Ireland. The termini were at Sutton railway station, Dublin, Sutton railway station, by the entrance to the peninsula, and Howth railway station by the ...
Howth
Irish gauge railways
Tram transport in the Republic of Ireland
Transport in Fingal