The Mexborough & Swinton Tramways Company was a tramway system in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, founded in 1902 and which began services in 1907 linking

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

with the Old Toll Bar, Mexborough. Its routes served

Manvers Main Colliery Manvers Main Colliery was a coal mine, sunk on land belonging to the Earl Manvers on the northern edge of Wath-upon-Dearne, between that town and Mexborough in the Dearne Valley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The regional headquar ...

Wath upon Dearne Wath upon Dearne (shortened to Wath or often hyphenated) is a town south of the River Dearne in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, north of Rotherham and almost midway between Barnsley and Doncaster. It had a po ...

and the towns of

Rawmarsh Rawmarsh (locally ) is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-northeast from Rotherham town centre and south-southwest of Swinton. ...

, Swinton and

Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Situated between Manvers and Denaby Main, it lies on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road runs through the town. It is contiguo ...

Early history

Although plans were originally put forward in 1876 and again in 1881 it was not until August 1905 that construction of a standard gauge tramway finally commenced. The system commenced with a connection to that operated by Rotherham Corporation at the borough boundary, the point where the road crossed a small bridge on Earl Fitzwilliam’s

Greasbrough Canal The Greasbrough Canal was a private canal built by the Marquess of Rockingham to serve his coal mining interests in and around the village of Greasbrough, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1780, and the Newbiggin branch was ...

close by

Rotherham Road railway station Rotherham Road railway station, named Park Gate until 1 November 1895, was a railway station situated in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was built close to the Rotherham borough boundary with access from Rawmarsh Road, Rotherham and serv ...

. The line ran through Parkgate, Rawmarsh, Swinton and Mexborough before terminating at the Old Toll Bar at the east end of Mexborough, a point just prior to the crossing of the

South Yorkshire Navigation 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 ...

. The system was built by the

National Electric Construction Company National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(NEC), which owned other systems in England, using the Dolter system of stud contact power supply (the reason given for this being the unsightliness of conventional overhead wiring) and public services began on Wednesday 6 February 1907 with a route linking College Square, Rotherham and Parkgate, this being extended to the company’s Dale Road depot in Rawmarsh three days later. The remainder of the line opened on 3 August. In the Dolter system the current was supplied from metal studs placed between the rails that became live and rose from the road to energize the motors of the tram passing over, being then supposed to become dead. This proved unsatisfactory since on occasions the studs remained upright and live so that horses following the tram hauling drays could receive an electric shock. In August 1908, following instructions from the Board of Trade, the company converted their system to overhead pick-up.

The network

The original Tramways Act also provided for a branch to serve

Manvers Manvers is a suburb of Wath upon Dearne in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It lies across the border with the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, whilst Mexborough is part of Doncaster. It is situated between Mexb ...

Main colliery; this was never built. In 1915 the company opened two

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

routes: the first ran from Mexborough town centre to

although failing to reach the main gates of the colliery due to a low bridge below the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

line; the second ran from the Old Toll Bar to

Conisbrough Conisbrough () is a town within the City of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. It is roughly midway between Doncaster and Rotherham, and is built alongside the River Don at . It has a ward population (Conisbrough and Denaby) of 14,333. ...

, the terminus being two miles away from that of Doncaster Corporation's tramways. Manvers is the only locality in

to have had a trolleybus before a tramway. Mexborough & Swinton's lines were in contact with other tramway companies' line in two localities. It met the Dearne District Light Railways at Woodman Inn, Swinton, and the

Rotherham Tramway The Rotherham Tramway was a tramway system serving the West Riding town of Rotherham. Service began on 31 January 1903 and ended on 13 November 1949. The network of six lines spread across the town and was linked to the tramway networks of She ...

at the borough boundary.

Rolling stock

The tramway passed beneath two low bridges at Parkgate and Swinton. Because of this, the sixteen Mexborough trams and the Rotherham trams used for through joint service to and from the town were fitted with low-height top covers.

Conversion

The tramways were closed and the routes became operated by twenty single-deck trolleybuses in 1928 and 1929. The company also removed the word "tramways" from its title and replaced it with "traction" to reflect this change in vehicles. The

Mexborough and Swinton Traction Company The Mexborough and Swinton Traction Company was the name adopted by the Mexborough & Swinton Tramways Company in 1929 following the introduction of trolleybuses on all its routes. It operated in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, over routes ...

was born, becoming part of the

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 Rento ...

Group in 1931.

References

* Official company (Mexborough & Swinton Traction Company) 60th anniversary handbook, (1962). {{Historic UK Trams Companies based in Rotherham Mexborough Swinton, South Yorkshire Tram transport in England