Sunderland Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in

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 ...

(then part of

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

) between 1900 and 1954.

History

In 1900 Sunderland Corporation bought the Sunderland Tramways Company which had operated a horse-drawn tramway in the town since 1879. Electrification of the service took place rapidly with the first converted service opening from Roker to Christ Church on 15 August 1900. The remaining services were upgraded by 1904. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Sunderland, like many other local authorities, employed women on the tramcars as conductresses. There were 10 employed by 1915, although on lower wages than their male counterparts - 6s - 10s per week, compared with 11s - 15s per week for the men. In April 1916, the town was attacked by a Zeppelin, and tram no 10 was badly damaged, along with the Tramway offices. By 1920 the conductresses had retired, as the men who had returned from the war returned to their previous employment. On 3 January 1921 the company started a joint service with the Sunderland District Electric Tramways to

Houghton-le-Spring Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, North East England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It is s ...

. On 2 December 1925 a new route was opened along Durham Road to Barnes Park, and then further extended four years later to Humbledon Hill. Twelve years later, the route along Fulwell Lane was extended on 10 May 1937 along Dykelands Road to Seaburn. In 1932 two tramcars were obtained from the

Mansfield and District Light Railways Mansfield & District Light Railways was an electric tramway network operating in Mansfield from 16 July 1905 to 9 October 1932. The tramway company was a subsidiary of Midland Counties Electric Supply Company, who in turn were owned by Balfo ...

. In 1948 the Durham Road line was extended to Grindon Lane, and in 1949 on to Thorney Close Road. In the 1950s tram services began to close, beginning with the Villette Road route in 5 November 1950. On 1 October 1954 a final procession of trams left the Town Hall for Seaburn. By 1959 the last of the tram lines had been taken up.

Depots

There were two depots. The main tramshed and offices were at Wheatsheaf corner in Monkwearmouth, grid reference , and workshops were located off Hylton Road, grid reference .

General Managers

*Harry England 1900 - 1903 *Archibald Dayson 1903 - 1928 *Charles Albert Hopkins 1929 - 1948 *Harry Snowball 1948 - 1952 *Norman Morton 1952 – 1954 (General Manager of Sunderland Corporation Transport until 1969)

Surviving trams

Car 16 was withdrawn in 1954 and spent some time at a football ground and then as farm accommodation. It was purchased for restoration in 1989 and was restored in 2003. It is operational at the

Beamish Museum Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it wa ...

Closure

The system was closed on 1 October 1954.

References

External links

Sunderland Corporation Tramways at the British Tramway Company Badges and Buttons website.
{{Historic UK Trams Tram transport in England Transport in the City of Sunderland