The London County Council Tramways was an extensive network of public street tramways operated by the

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

throughout the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Governmen ...

, UK, from 1899 to 1933, when they were taken over 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 ...

Acquisition of tramways

Under the

Tramways Act 1870 The Tramways Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict c 78) was an important step in the development of urban transport in United Kingdom. Street tramways had originated in the United States, and were introduced to UK by George Francis Train in the 1860s, the fi ...

local authorities were permitted to acquire privately operated tramways in their area after they had been operating for twenty-one years. Accordingly, in October 1891 the LCC decided to exercise its option to take over four and a half miles of route operated by the

London Street Tramways Company 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 maj ...

. The company disagreed with the price offered by the council, and the sale did not go through until 1 March 1895. As the LCC had no powers to operate tramways itself, it put the operation of the line out to tender, which the incumbent London Streetways won, being the only applicant. In 1896 the London Street Tramways offered its network for sale to the county council, as did the North Metropolitan Tramways Company. The council purchased the lines, and the North Metropolitan was awarded a fourteen-year lease to operate them. The council succeeded in having the London County Council Act 1896 passed, which gave it powers to operate trams. The next system to be acquired was that of the

London Tramways Company 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 ma ...

in 1899, and from that date all lines taken over were operated by the county council itself. By 1909 most of the tramways in the county had been taken over, the LCC operating of tramways.

Electrification

In 1900 a further

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislat ...

gave the council the power to electrify its system. On 15 May 1903 the first electrified section from

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Saxon times. ...

was opened by

The Prince ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''Th ...

and Princess of Wales who rode the route in a specially decorated tramcar, and paid their fares with halfpenny coins minted for the occasion. The last horse tram ran on 30 April 1915. Much of the system used overhead power pickup, but also the conduit system of electric current, as the

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropoli ...

s had the power of veto on the installation of overhead wires.

Expansion

The tramways north and south of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

were almost completely separate until the opening of the Kingsway Subway in 1908. From 1 July 1921 the LCC Tramways assumed operation of the Leyton Urban District Council Tramways trams. London tram cars

In 1933, the LCC Tramways had of tracks in operation, of which about nine were in Leyton, and a quarter of a mile owned by the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. Much of Central London was never served by trams, these being excluded from the area by legislation passed in 1872. LCC trams could also be seen outside the county of London. Apart from operating the Leyton system, there were connections and joint running arrangements with the neighbouring company and municipal systems. This brought council trams to Purley on the

Croydon Corporation The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of Croydon in north east Surrey, England from 1889 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the London Borough of Croydon within Greater London. His ...

system, Barnet and Enfield on that of

Metropolitan Electric Tramways Metropolitan Electric Tramways Limited (MET) operated electric tram services in suburban areas of Middlesex and Hertfordshire from 1904 to 1933, when its services passed to the London Passenger Transport Board. History The company originated i ...

, and

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

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 18 ...

metals. The council opened a coal-fired power station for the tramways on the Thames at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...

in 1906. As well as 22 tram depots around the county, refurbishment and maintenance works were opened at

Charlton Charlton may refer to: People * Charlton (surname) * Charlton (given name) Places Australia * Charlton, Queensland * Charlton, Victoria * Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wale ...

in 1909.

Transfer to LPTB

On 1 July 1933, the London County Council Tramways passed to the

(LPTB), known as ''London Transport''. However, the LCC tram management operated the large tram and small trolleybus fleet of London Transport at takeover and expanded the trolleybus fleet at the expense of the tram fleet, such that trams were virtually eliminated North of the Thames by 1940.

Sources

''London's Trams and Trolleybuses'', John R Day, published by London Transport in 1979 {{Historic UK Trams Trams in London Defunct transport authorities in London Defunct intermodal transport authorities London County Council