Bradford Tramways Company
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Bradford Corporation Tramways were 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 network in the city of
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
,
West Riding of Yorkshire 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 ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
which operated trams from 1882 until 1950 and trolleybuses from 1911 until 1972. The track gauge of the tramways was .


History


Origins

In 1880 the Bradford Corporation had gained parliamentary approval under the Bradford Corporation Tramways Order to construct a tramway system in the city. Construction of the first section of single-line track tram line on Manningham Lane started in September 1881. The finished line ran from Rawson Square in the city centre to Lister Park Gates. Since at that time local councils were not allowed to operate their own tramway system, the line was leased to the Bradford Tramways Company (later the Bradford Tramways and Omnibus Company). The line was opened to the public after a Board of Trade inspection took place on 31 January 1882. The first service ran at 8 am on 2 February 1882. The first additional line opened on 8 August 1882 along Leeds Road to Stanningley and was operated using steam traction because of the gradients involved. A further other radial line, also steam operated, was built to Tong Cemetery, Allerton via Four Lane Ends, and the horse-drawn line was extended from Manningley to Undercliffe. Another new line was constructed in 1884 from the Town Hall Square to
Shelf Shelf ( : shelves) may refer to: * Shelf (storage), a flat horizontal surface used for display and storage Geology * Continental shelf, the extended perimeter of a continent, usually covered by shallow seas * Ice shelf, a thick platform of ice f ...
, together with a branch line from Odsal to Wyke. Although the Bradford Tramways and Omnibus Company was offered the operating lease, it did not show sufficient interest. The Corporation therefore invited offers and leased the new line to the newly formed Bradford and Shelf Tramways Company for 19 years. This lease expired on the same date (31 January 1903) as those of the Bradford Tramways and Omnibus Company. When an 1896
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
removed the prohibition on local authorities operating their own tramways, Bradford Council constructed and operated its own electric tramway. On 30 July 1898 an electrified line to Bolton Junction opened, and a line to Great Horton on 27 August 1898.


Consolidation and extension

An expansion of the tramway network was prepared by laying more tracks. A comprehensive system could, however, not be developed until the leases of the Bradford Tramways and Omnibus Company and of the Bradford and Shelf Tramway Company expired. The Corporation obtained therefore statutory powers to terminate the Companies leases before their expiry date, and purchased them on 1 February 1902, after which date both tramway companies went into liquidation. Some of the steam engines and cars from the former tramway companies were hired until the electric system was fully operational. The horse trams on the Manningham Lane line were retired on 31 January 1902. In 1903 steam services on the former Bradford and Shelf Tramway lines ceased, and the Bradford tramway system became fully electrified. By 1905, there were demands from the public for trams to run between Bradford and Leeds, despite the fact that Bradford used a gauge of and the Leeds system used the standard gauge. Christopher John Spencer was the General Manager at the time, and with his engineer J W Dawson, designed wheel sets where the wheels were mounted on a splined axle, allowing the wheels to move outwards when heading for Leeds, and to move inwards when heading for Bradford. A special length of transition trackwork was laid in Town Street, Stanningley, and staff from both systems met on the night of 22 January 1907 to test the system, by travelling from Thornbury to Bradford, and then back to Armley. Further trials took place, fares were agreed, and a batch of new
variable gauge A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges. For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge whe ...
tramcars were built. The through service began on 7 June 1909, and ran until the middle of 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 ...
, when maintenance issues resulted in through running being withdrawn. The Mid-Yorkshire Tramway Company of Shipley was purchased in 1904 and incorporated into the Bradford system. The last extension from
Bingley Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census. Bingley railwa ...
Post Office to
Crossflatts Crossflatts is a ribbon development in Airedale along the old route of the A650 road between Bingley and Keighley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The opening of the Aire Valley Trunk road in 2004 has seen a r ...
was opened in 1914.


Introduction of trolleybuses

Where the population of an area was too small to warrant a tramway service, bus services were established. Bradford had given preference to the
trolleybus 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 ...
over the motor bus, and after inspection of several European systems, a first trolleybus service was opened between Laisterdyke and Dudley Hill on 20 June 1911. Although R. Wilkinson, the transport department manager around 1920, favoured the trolleybus as a replacement for the tramway, the Transport Committee decided to retain the tramway system. Nevertheless, the trolleybus fleet was increased and modernised over the years, and further trolleybus lines were opened, such as services to Odsal to Oakenshaw (1914),
Bolton Woods Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th centu ...
and Frizinghall (1915), Clayton (1926), Allerton (1929),
Saltaire Saltaire is a Victorian era, Victorian model village in Shipley, West Yorkshire, Shipley, part of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, in West Yorkshire, England. The Victorian era Salt's Mill and associated residential district locate ...
via
Thackley Thackley is a small suburb near Bradford, West Yorkshire in England. The village is loosely bordered by the village of Idle to the south, to the west by the West Royd area of Shipley and elsewhere by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Thackley is ...
(1930), Greengates via
Idle Idle generally refers to idleness, a lack of motion or energy. Idle or ''idling'', may also refer to: Technology * Idle (engine), engine running without load ** Idle speed * Idle (CPU), CPU non-utilisation or low-priority mode ** Synchronous ...
(1931), Duckworth Lane (1935),
Tong Tong may refer to: Chinese *Tang Dynasty, a dynasty in Chinese history when transliterated from Cantonese *Tong (organization), a type of social organization found in Chinese immigrant communities *''tong'', pronunciation of several Chinese char ...
Cemetery (1938), Saltaire, Bingley and Crossflatts (1939), Bradford Moor (1949), Wibsey (1955),
Buttershaw Buttershaw is a residential area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded by Horton Bank Top to the north, Wibsey to the east, Woodside to the south and Shelf to the west. Buttershaw consists mostly of 1940s council housing with t ...
(1956) and Holme Wood (1960).


Motor bus services

After short-lived trials of motor bus services in 1897 and from 1900 to 1902, licenses to operate private motorbuses on 14 services in Bradford were granted on 17 May 1926. The Corporation had obtained similar powers through the Bradford Corporation Act of 1925, but the use of their buses was initially restricted to the city. The first scheduled bus service of the Corporation started from Lister Park to
Bankfoot Bankfoot is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately north of Perth and south of Dunkeld. Bankfoot had a population of 1,136 in 2001. In the 2011 Census the population of Bankfoot was 1,110 people with there being a slightly hi ...
on 13 May 1926 in deliberate competition with a local operator who ran buses in competition with the tramways. In 1926 bus services started to Bierley and
Fagley Eccleshill is an area, former village, and ward within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The ward population of Eccleshill is 17,540, increasing at the 2011 Census to 17,945. Eccleshil ...
, in 1927 to
Little Horton Little Horton (population 17,368 - 2001 UK census) is a ward in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in the county of West Yorkshire, England, named after the de Horton family, who were once Lords of the Manor. The population at ...
from Duckworth Lane, to Horton Bank Top from Bankfoot, and to Tong, and after the Bradford Corporation Act of 1928 had authorised the operation of Bradford buses outside the city limits, in 1928 to Greengates, Leeds and
Tyersal Tyersal is a village east of Bradford and west of Leeds and has a population of 2,605 according to Bradford Community Statistics Project. The district is split between both City of Bradford metropolitan borough and the City of Leeds metropol ...
. Motor buses were first used as replacement for tramway services on 16 April 1928 between Undercliffe and Greengates, and by 1935 more tramway routes had been replaced by buses.


Decline of the tramway system

While investment in the tramway continued in the 1920s, a strike by tramways staff in 1926 had allowed private bus operators into the city and highlighted the shortcomings of the tramway system. When worn tramway tracks were due for repair in 1928, a replacement of the tram by trolleybuses was suggested, which was to cost only one quarter of the cost of completely renewing the track. Although the official policy still provided for all three forms of transport in Bradford, plans were already made to replace the tramcars. The Allerton tram line was replaced by trolleybuses in 1919, causing some older tramcars to be withdrawn. In 1930 the trams on the Thackley and Saltaire route were replaced by trolleybuses, and by 1931 construction of tramcars had ceased. Much of the tram system had closed in 1939, and the remainder was to be abandoned in the following years. The onset of World War II delayed the plans. Motor bus services were affected by restrictions in fuel, while the tram and trolleybus services continued normally. After the war, the remaining tram lines were closed, and the last Bradford tramcar (No. 104) returned to Bankfoot depot for the final time on 6 May 1950.


From trolleybuses to motor buses

The undertaking changed its name to Bradford City Transport in 1952. The Bradford trolleybus system covered 47 route miles and operated 200 vehicles at its peak. An increased diesel fuel duty in 1952, coupled with a decrease in electricity costs, meant that trolleybuses were more economical to operate than motor buses. By 1962 the position had been reversed, so that the Transport Committee voted to replace the trolleybuses by the more flexible motor bus. In March 1961 the trolleybuses on the City to Bradford Moor route were withdrawn, followed by those on the Eccleshill to St. Enoch's Road route in November 1962. In 1967 less than 100 trolleybuses remained in service, and No. 844, the last trolleybus to carry fare paying passengers in Bradford, and also the last in Britain, returned to
Thornbury Thornbury may refer to: Places ;Australia *Thornbury, Victoria * Thornbury railway station, Melbourne ;Canada * Thornbury, Ontario ;England *Thornbury, Devon * Thornbury, Herefordshire *Thornbury, Gloucestershire **Thornbury Castle **Thornbury (UK ...
depot on Sunday, 26 March 1972, for the last time. Bradford City Transport was absorbed into West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive on 31 March 1974.


Fleet details


Bradford Tramways and Omnibus Company

The first cars of Bradford Corporation Tramways were six horse-drawn open-top 38-seat double-deckers numbered 1 to 6. These were built by Ashbury of Manchester to Eades' reversible patent. The steam engines of the line to Stanningley were built by
Kitson Kitson may refer to: People with the surname Kitson: * Kitson (surname) Other * Kitsonville, West Virginia, an unincorporated community, United States * Kitson & Co., locomotive builders * Kitson Meyer, an articulated locomotive * Kitson (store) ...
of Leeds, and the first trailer cars were converted from the Ashbury-built horse cars. G.F. Milnes & Co. supplied new trailer cars.


Bradford and Shelf Tramways Company

The first five steam engines of the Bradford and Shelf Tramways Company were built by Thomas Green & Son of Leeds and supplemented by 6 Starbuck-built 58-seat double-deck trailers.


Bradford Council tramways

16
Brush A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...
-bodied open-top double-deck cars (nos. 1-16) were taken into service in 1898, 8 similar tramcars (nos. 17-24) and four trailer cars (nos. 25-28) were delivered in 1899. The first two trolleybuses were built upon Railless single-deck chassis with
Hurst Nelson Hurst, Nelson and Company Ltd was a railway rolling stock manufacturer based in Motherwell, Scotland. The company also built many railway wagons, as well as trams and trolleybus carosseries for several local authorities. Products Glasgow Subway ...
B28R bodies and numbered 240 and 241. Bradford Corporation eventually decided to have its own vehicles (both tramcars and trolleybuses) built. The first Bradford Corporation tram (No. 210) built on Brush 21E bogies entered service in 1912, and during the next few years over 150 cars were built at the Corporation's Thornbury Works. Between 1913 and 1918, an improved series of single-deck trolleybuses was also built there for the Corporation, and Britain's first top-covered double-deck trolleybus underwent trials in 1920.


Preservation

At least one of the tramway cars built by Starbuck Car and Wagon Company survives. A single deck vehicle was built by Starbuck in 1880 for the
Bath Tramways Bath Tramways Company and its successors operated a horse drawn tramway service in Bath between 1880 and 1902. From 1903 until its closure in 1939 an expanded route carried electric trams operated by Bath Electric Tramways Company. History T ...
, and bought by Bradford in 1884, presumably for use as a trailer car. An upper deck was fitted, but in 1894, the vehicle was sold again to
Cambridge Street Tramways Cambridge Street Tramways operated a horse-drawn tramway service in Cambridge, England, between 1880 and 1914. History When railways reached Cambridge in the 1840s, the main station was built around from the city centre, as a result of sustai ...
, where it worked as horse tram number 7 until the demise of that system in 1914. It was sold at auction when the system closed, and became a workshop extension to a bungalow in
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...
, where it remained until it was bought for preservation by
Ipswich Transport Museum The Ipswich Transport Museum is a museum in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, devoted principally to the history of transport and engineering objects made or used in its local area. The museum collection was started by the Ipswich Transport Preservat ...
. Work began on restoring it in 2012, partly funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, and its previous history became apparent as the paintwork was stripped away.


See also

*
Gauge Change Train The Gauge Change Train (GCT) or is the name given to a Japanese project started in 1994 to develop a high-speed train with variable gauge axles to allow inter-running between the Shinkansen network, and the narrow gauge regional rail network. ...
*
Variable gauge A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges. For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge whe ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Historic UK Trolleybuses Transport in Bradford Tram transport in England Defunct transport companies of the United Kingdom 1880 establishments in England 1974 disestablishments in England 4 ft gauge railways in England Rail transport in West Yorkshire Trolleybus transport in the United Kingdom British companies disestablished in 1974 British companies established in 1880