Alexandra Park Electric Railway
| Alexandra Park Electric Railway | |
|---|---|
 Alexandra Park Electric Railway,
Car No. 1, Falkenried Waggonfabrik, Hamburg | |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Maximum slope : | 100 ‰ |
The Alexandra Park Electric Railway was an electric tram in the Wood Green borough of London . The line was the first electric tram in the London area and was only operated by the original operating company in the summer of 1898 and 1899. It later became part of the London Tram .
history
When Alexandra Palace , a leisure and recreation area on a hill in the west of the Wood Green district, was to be reopened for the season of 1898 , plans were made to improve the connection. Until then, there was a railway line of the Great Northern Railway , which ended directly next to the main building, as well as the nearby Wood Green station (now Alexandra Palace station) of the same railway company and the Palace Gates station to the north of the Great Eastern Railway . The Berlin- based electricity company Wandruszka built an approximately 600-meter-long double-track, standard-gauge tram line from Wood Green station on its own track along today's South Terrace to the east side of Alexandra Palace. For the reopening of the Alexandra Palace in April 1898, the railway was not yet completed and was only opened on Friday, May 13, 1898.
The train only ran during the opening hours of the Alexandra Palace. Since this was closed in winter except for a week around Christmas, the tram did not run during this time. The winter break began on November 6th, 1898, and ended on March 30th, 1899. The tramway started operating again the following day. After the end of the season on September 30, 1899, operations were stopped again. Since the operator of the Alexandra Palace had to file for bankruptcy, the tram service was not resumed afterwards. The Wood Green Urban District Council acquired the railway in the fall of 1899, but initially found no operator. The vehicles were sold to the Great Grimsby Tramway .
On October 13, 1904, the Metropolitan Electric Tramways Company leased the railroad facilities, extended the route to Wood Green, and resumed operations on April 11, 1906 with a regular, year-round tram line. During the reconstruction of the line, the turning loop at Alexandra Palace was replaced by a cross-track change and the depot was demolished. In 1933, the route went into the network of the London tram , which it closed on February 23, 1938 and replaced by a bus line. In 2018, the W3 bus line will operate on the route.
Investments
The route was quite steep and overcame an altitude difference of 40 meters with an average gradient of 7.7%. The greatest gradient is given as 10%. The terminus at the train station was dull, at Alexandra Palace there was a tight turning loop from which a track branched off into the small depot of the railway. The depot could accommodate four railcars.
The electrical systems included the catenary, which was attached to masts erected between the tracks, and a small power station in the railway depot.
vehicles
The entire fleet of the railway consisted of four open-sided summer multiple units, which had been delivered by SEG (Falkenried workshop) in Hamburg. The vehicles had 50 seats and two 25 hp engines. The chassis was firmly connected to the car body. Despite the steep route, the cars only had hand brakes. The brake shoes had to be replaced every four weeks.
On the edge of the roof, instead of the lines that were otherwise common on trams at the time, the word Alexandra Park Electric Railway was attached. The color of the car has not been passed down.
business
A train usually ran about every six minutes during the park's opening hours from 10 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. (on Saturdays until 11 p.m.). Since the park was closed on Sundays, the train did not run on those days either. Usually two railcars were sufficient for operation. On public holidays, if required, a 3-minute cycle was offered, for which all four cars had to be used.
In 1898 the fare was two pence for the ascent and one penny for the descent. In 1899 a penny was charged regardless of the direction. Monthly tickets for two shillings and 6 pence were issued for the staff of the Alexandra Palace.
Accidents
On May 30, 1898, a fully occupied car ran out of control on wet tracks and hit another car at low speed. Three people were injured. From this day onwards, operations ceased when it rained.
The catenary masts were only about 90 centimeters away from the tracks, which meant that the trams passed very close to them. On June 17, 1898, a German employee of the railway company tried to get out of the system while driving, despite the warning signs attached to the car, and was so seriously injured by the collision with a mast that he died three days later.
literature
- CS Smeeton: The Metropolitan Electric Tramways. Vol. I - Origins to 1920. Light Rail Transit Association, Broxbourne 1984, ISBN 0-900433-94-9 (English).