The Rotherham Tramway was a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

way system serving the

West Riding 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 ...

town of

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 ...

. 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

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and Mexborough & Swinton. Rotherham tramways ran on six lines joining in the town's centre and serving

Thrybergh Thrybergh is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England, from Rotherham. It had a population of 4,327 in 2001, reducing to 4,058 at the 2011 Census. History Thrybergh – which is mentione ...

, Silverwood Colliery and Broom Road to the East,

Canklow Canklow is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Canklow is less than south from Rotherham town centre and approximately north-east from Sheffield city centre. It forms part of the Boston Castle ward for the Metropolitan Borough of ...

and

to the South,

Kimberworth Kimberworth is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is located in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) north-west of Rotherham town centre and 4.7 miles (7.6 km) north-east of the City of Sh ...

to the West and

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. ...

to the North. The line to Sheffield was Rotherham's busiest as it served the main steel producing area of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. It required an almost constant flow of tramcars to meet demand. Track was re-laid in 1933 as well as single-ended double-decker tramcars purchased to serve on this particular line. Indeed, the line was built with loop termini. The tramcars used for the

service were equipped with only one entrance and staircase and like on traditional

double-decker bus A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...

es, seats were made to be comfortable. Tram service ended on this route in 1948 and

trams ended at Tinsley (where the change of owner occurred until 1926 when the

Sheffield Corporation Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under No Overall Contr ...

purchased the line up to Vulcan Road). An extension of the line to Broom Top to Maltby was opened for

trolleybuses 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 troll ...

in 1912, this being the third trolleybus line in Great Britain. Trolleybuses were permitted to reach the town centre in 1924 along with trams. Tram routes to Rawmarsh Road, Broom Road,

and

were converted to trolleybuses in 1929 and 1931. The line to

was converted to motorbuses in 1934. Double-decker trolleybuses were built from the single-deck fleet from 1955. Twenty-three of these were sold in Spain with the last trolleybus running in 1965. Trams returned to Rotherham in October 2018 when the

Sheffield Supertram The Sheffield Supertram is a tram and tram-train network covering Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. The infrastructure is owned by the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), with Stagecoach responsible for th ...

was extended to Rotherham Parkgate.Rotherham tram-train to launch this month
''

Metro Report International ''Metro Report International'' is a business journal for urban transport professionals which covers the metro, light rail, tram and commuter rail industries worldwide. It includes news and articles looking at urban transport around the world, ...

'' 4 October 2018

References

{{coord, 53.4324, -1.3636, type:tramway, display=title Rotherham Tram transport in England Rail transport in South Yorkshire 1903 establishments in England 1949 disestablishments in England