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Metropolitan Electric Tramways Limited (MET) operated electric tram services in suburban areas of
The company originated in 1894 as the Metropolitan Tramways and Omnibus Company Limited. The company hoped to construct horse tramways in the northern suburbs of London. The proposed tramways were not built, but an agreement was entered into with 
The network was rapidly expanded between 1905 and 1911, MET having gained powers to build its own lines as well as operating those constructed by the county council, and by the acquisition and electrification of the North Metropolitan Tramways Company's steam-operated line from Wood Green to
Not all trams survived into London Transport ownership, and many that did were withdrawn before receiving their new LT numbers.
Many of the modern UCC (Feltham) tramcars were sold for further service in
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
and Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
from 1904 to 1933, when its services passed to 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 ...
.
History
The company originated in 1894 as the Metropolitan Tramways and Omnibus Company Limited. The company hoped to construct horse tramways in the northern suburbs of London. The proposed tramways were not built, but an agreement was entered into with Middlesex County Council
Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965.
The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the coun ...
to operate the tramway network it was constructing under the Light Railways Act 1896
The Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c.48) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
History
Before the Act each new railway line built in the country required a specific Act of Parliament to be ob ...
. The company was acquired by British Electric Traction
British Electric Traction Company Limited, renamed BET plc in 1985, was a large British industrial conglomerate. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Rentokil in 1996, and the merged company is now known as Rent ...
(BET) in 1901, and its name changed to Metropolitan Electric Tramways Ltd. (MET).
The first section of line was opened on 22 July 1904, with services from Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
to Manor House
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
(where a connection with the London County Council Tramways
The London County Council Tramways was an extensive network of public street tramways operated by the council throughout the County of London, UK, from 1899 to 1933, when they were taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board.
Acquisiti ...
was made) and Wood Green
Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...
. On 3 December a separate section from Cricklewood
Cricklewood is an area of London, England, which spans the boundaries of three London boroughs: Barnet to the east, Brent to the west and Camden to the south-east. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north- ...
to Edgware
Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...
via Hendon
Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
opened.
The network was rapidly expanded between 1905 and 1911, MET having gained powers to build its own lines as well as operating those constructed by the county council, and by the acquisition and electrification of the North Metropolitan Tramways Company's steam-operated line from Wood Green to Ponders End
Ponders End is the southeasternmost part of Enfield, north London, centred on the Hertford Road. Situated to the west of the River Lee Navigation, it became industrialised through the 19th century, similar to the Lea Valley in neighbouring Edm ...
.
The MET operated London's only regular single-deck electric tram services, on two tram lines serving Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...
. The first line ran from Turnpike Lane, approaching the Palace from the West via Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross.
Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...
, and was opened in late 1905; the second line opened a few months later in 1906, and started from Wood Green, entering the Palace grounds from the East.
On 1 January 1913, MET became a subsidiary of the London and Suburban Traction Company
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
(LSTC), jointly owned by BET and the Underground Group. LSTC also owned the two other company-operated tramways in London, 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 ...
(LUT) and South Metropolitan Electric Tramways
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
(SouthMET).
When MET was taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board on 1 July 1933, it was operating of route. At that time, company owned 316 tramcars, and of track, with the remainder being leased from Middlesex or Hertfordshire County Councils.
The outer termini of the MET network were Acton Acton may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Acton
Australia
* Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie
* Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton
Canada ...
(where it connected with the LUT system), Sudbury, Canons Park
Canons Park is a public park and the name of its surrounding residential area, in the Stanmore district of the London Borough of Harrow, north west London. Canons Park was a country estate which partially survives today as a public park. St. La ...
, Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
, Enfield
Enfield may refer to:
Places Australia
* Enfield, New South Wales
* Enfield, South Australia
** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb
** Enfield High School (South Australia)
...
and Waltham Cross
Waltham Cross is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, located north of central London. In the south-eastern corner of Hertfordshire, it borders Cheshunt to the north, Waltham Abbey to the east, and Enfield to the south ...
. Joint-running with the LUT and London County Council systems brought MET trams into Central and West London.
Tramcars
Not all trams survived into London Transport ownership, and many that did were withdrawn before receiving their new LT numbers.
Many of the modern UCC (Feltham) tramcars were sold for further service in Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
(331 going to Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
), lasting until the late 1950s.
Sources
* * * * * {{Cite book, title=The Metropolitan Electric Tramways, Vol.2 – 1921 to 1933, author=Smeeton, C.S., publisher=The Light Rail Transit Association, year=1986 Trams in London Defunct intermodal transport authorities