The Imperial Tramways Company Ltd (1878 to 1930) was created to bring under common management a number of street tramways. Originally based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, its headquarters moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1892 and from then on it shared its senior management with

Bristol Tramways Bristol Tramways operated in the city of Bristol, England from 1875, when the Bristol Tramways Company was formed by Sir George White, until 1941 when a Luftwaffe bomb destroyed the main power supply cables. History The first trams in Brist ...

under the chairmanship of

George White George White may refer to: Politicians * George White (died 1584) (c. 1530–1584), MP for Liverpool * George White (Liberal politician) (1840–1912), British Liberal member of parliament, 1900–1912 * George E. White (politician) (1848–1935), ...

History

In 1878 Imperial acquired the street tramway systems in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

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 ...

(Southern District),

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, plus the

Corris Railway The Corris Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Corris) is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales. The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, runni ...

in Wales. The Gloucester system was sold in 1881, the Dublin system in 1898, and Reading was taken over by the town council in 1901. The

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

system was added in 1898 and taken over by its local council in 1902. In 1894, Imperial formed

London United Tramways London United Tramways Company Limited was an operator of trams and trolleybuses in the western and southern suburbs of London, UK, from 1894 to 1933, when it passed to the London Passenger Transport Board. Origins The company was formed in 189 ...

to develop the moribund West Metropolitan system and, under the energetic leadership of Clifton Robinson, much of the system was electrified. Control of LUT passed from Imperial in the 1900s (it was later acquired by the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

in 1933), and thereafter Imperial served more as an investment vehicle for the White family than as a developer of tramway systems. The system in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

was acquired in 1896, and was electrified as a part of the

Middlesbrough, Stockton and Thornaby Electric Tramways Company The Middlesbrough, Stockton and Thornaby Electric Tramways Company operated an electric tramway service between Middlesbrough, Thornaby-on-Tees, Stockton-on-Tees and Norton between 1898 and 1921.The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor ...

, re-opening in 1898. This was taken over by the local council in 1921 and from 1926 buses began to replace it and the last tram ran on 9 June 1934. With the sale of the Corris Railway to the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

in 1930 the Imperial company had outlived its purpose and was wound up.

Directors

* Rowland Blennerhassett, from 1878 to 1879 * John Marshall Gillies, from 1878 to 1881 * Joseph William Greig, from 1878 to 1881 * Thomas Miller Mackay, from 1878 to 1880 * Alfred James Lambert, from 1878 to 1891 *

Walter Rathbone Bacon Walter Rathbone Bacon (February 22, 1845 - November 14, 1917) was an American capitalist who organised a system of tramways in Europe. Over his career, Bacon acted as director of Imperial Tramways Company, London Street Tramways Company, Corris Ra ...

, from 1879 to 1883 * William Ward, from 1882 to 1892 *

Edward Temperley Gourley Sir Edward Temperley Gourley (8 June 1826 – 15 April 1902) was a coal fitter, shipowner and politician born in Sunderland, England. He was knighted for his political work. Early life Edward Temperley Gourley - known as E.T. Gourley - was ...

, from 1883 to 1892 *

, from 1892 to 1916 * Hugh Charles Godfray, from 1892 to 1918 * Clifton Robinson, from 1892 to 1910 * Samuel White, from 1902 to 1928 * Hugh Greenfield Doggett, from 1910 to 1915 * James Henry Howell, from 1915 to 1926 * William George Verdon Smith, from 1917 to 1930 * George Stanley White, from 1917 to 1930 *

Sydney Ernest Smith Colonel Sydney Ernest Smith CBE (24 April 1881 – 11 June 1943) was an English pioneer aviator, soldier, airman and company director. Early life Smith was born on 24 April 1881 at Farnham, Surrey. In the 1901 Census of Bristol he was living wi ...

, from 1926 to 1930 * Sidney Edgar Baker, from 1929 to 1930

References

* ''London United Tramways'', Geoffrey Wilson 1971 * ''Corris Railway Society Journal'', 1992 & 1993 {{Corris Railway Tram transport in the United Kingdom Corris Railway Transport companies established in 1878 Transport companies disestablished in 1930 1878 establishments in the United Kingdom