Walthamstow Urban District Council Light Railways operated a tramway service in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

between 1905 and 1933.

History

The Walthamstow and District Light Railway Order of 1903 authorised Walthamstow Urban District Council to start electric tramway services on 3 June 1905. The "and district" referred to the lines beyond the Walthamstow boundary into Chingford, where the terminus was just short of the "Prince Albert" pub, and Leyton, where the line ended at the "Bakers' Arms" PH. The depot and offices were located in Chingford Road at . The tramways became immortalised in January 1909, in national newspapers. The incident was known as the ''Walthamstow Tram Chase'' or

Tottenham Outrage The Tottenham Outrage of 23 January 1909 was an armed robbery in Tottenham, North London, that resulted in a two-hour chase between the police and armed criminals over a distance of , with an estimated 400 rounds of ammunition fired by the thie ...

. Two Latvian revolutionaries attacked a clerk in Tottenham and stole a large amount of money. Pursued by the police and the public there was shooting and some people were killed. The thieves commandeered a tram towards Highams Park. Both men eventually killed themselves and the money was never found. The incident later became the subject of a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

.Tottenham outrage- silent film
Retrieved 10 November 2008.

Closure

The services were taken over by

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

on 1 July 1933.

References

{{coord, 51.5937, N, 0.0191, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Tram transport in England Walthamstow 1900s in Essex 1910s in Essex 1920s in Essex 1930s in Essex