Swindon Corporation Tramways operated an electric passenger tramway service in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

between 1904 and 1929.The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.

History

Swindon Corporation was the local council formed by the 1901

Municipal Borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

charter, with the amalgamation of the Old and New Swindon councils; a

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

was built in Corporation Street. On the same site at was the tram depot. The corporation started to operate electric trams in 1904. A total of of gauge track was laid down from the Great Western Railway Station to Rodbourne, Gorse Hill and the Market Square in Old Town. A small fleet of nine 48 seater trams were bought at the time of inception with four further cars purchased at a later date. In 1906, the Swindon Tram disaster occurred. A number 11 tram taking passengers from the

Bath and West Show The Royal Bath and West is an agricultural show for the West of England. Held every year at its permanent show ground near Shepton Mallet, Somerset, it is one of a number of County shows in the United Kingdom and is a four-day show. In 2009 and 2 ...

being held in Old Town suffered brake failure driving down Victoria Hill and crashed in Regents Circus killing 5.

Closure

After only 25 years of operation, Swindon's Trams were phased out by buses in 1929. Tramcar 13 survived and is under restoration.

References

External links

Swindon Corporation Tramways at the British Tramway Company Badges and Buttons website.

Swindon Corporation Tramways Car 13 at the Vintage Carriages Trust website
{{Historic UK Trams Tram transport in England Transport in Swindon 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in England