Rawtenstall Corporation Tramways operated a passenger tramway service in

Rawtenstall Rawtenstall () is a town in the borough of Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The town lies 15 miles/24 km north of Manchester, 22 miles/35 km east of Preston and 45 miles/70 km south east of the county town of Lancaster. The town is at the ...

between 1908 and 1932.The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.

History

In January 1908 the newly formed Rawtenstall Corporation Tramways acquired the part of the

Accrington Corporation Steam Tramways Company Accrington Corporation Steam Tramways Company operated a steam-powered passenger tramway service in Accrington between 1886 and 1907. History The Accrington Corporation Tramways Act of 1882 authorised a joint venture between the corporation an ...

’s line within its boundary, and on 1 October 1908, they took over the

Rossendale Valley Tramways Company Rossendale may refer to several places and organizations in Lancashire, England: Places *Rossendale Valley, a river valley *Borough of Rossendale, a local government district * Rossendale (UK Parliament constituency), a former parliamentary constit ...

. An electrification and modernisation programme was undertaken, and until this was ready on 22 July 1909, steam trams continued to run. This was the last regular steam tramway on street in Britain. The first electric services started on 15 May 1909, to Crawshawbooth and to

Loveclough Loveclough is a small hamlet at the edge of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England, near Crawshawbooth and Rawtenstall, 20 miles north of Manchester, 21 miles east of Preston, and 44 miles south east of Lancaster. Governance Loveclough ...

. On 23 July 1909, the

Bacup Bacup ( , ) is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, east of ...

to Lockgate section was converted. Lastly, an extension to Water, from the Bacup line at Waterfoot opened on 21 January 1911. For maximum electrical efficiency RCT used the

regenerative brake Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. In this mechanism, the electric traction mo ...

system of Raworth’s Traction Patents Ltd., but following a serious accident in 1911 an embargo was placed on this form of traction; although reintroduced 20 years later.

Fleet

*1-16

United Electric Car Company The United Electric Car Company was a tramcar manufacturer from 1905 to 1917 in Preston, Lancashire, England. History The Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works was formed in 1897 registered on 25 April 1898 to acquire works at Preston, ...

1907 *17-24

1912 *25-32 Brush of Loughborough 1922

Closure

In 1928, a joint enterprise bus service was started by Accrington, Haslingden and Rawtenstall Corporations, following the tram route from Bacup to Accrington. This resulted in a decision in 1929, to abandon the tram service. In 1931 the tram service to Loveclough was withdrawn, and on 31 March 1932 the same happened to the route to Water. A closing ceremony took place on 7 April 1932. Tramcar 23 from 1912 survives and is awaiting restoration at the

Heaton Park Tramway The Heaton Park Tramway is a heritage tramway that operates within Heaton Park, a large municipal park in the English city of Manchester. It is operated by the Manchester Transport Museum Society, a registered charity. In normal times, the tram ...

References

{{Borough of Rossendale culture Tram transport in England History of the Borough of Rossendale Historic transport in Lancashire 4 ft gauge railways in England