Dartford Tram
The Dartford tram ( English : Dartford Council Tramways ) was a small municipal tram network of eight kilometers in length that was operated in the British city of Dartford from 1906 . It was integrated into the London tram network in 1933 and shut down until 1935.
history
The plans for a tram in Dartford date back to 1876 when the construction of two horse-drawn tram lines was planned. However, it took until February 1902, until a concession was granted, now for an electric, standard-gauge tram from Dartford to Woolwich partly using existing lines of other companies and for a route from Dartford station to Wilmington . In 1903 the concession for an extension of the main line to Horns Cross was granted.
The construction was carried out by JG White & Company Ltd. which initially also ran operations on behalf of the Dartford Urban District Council . The wagons were labeled Dartford Council Tramways . The two routes were opened on February 14, 1906. The trams ran from Bexleyheath , Gravel Hill, where you could change to the Bexley tram , along Watling Street, London Road, Crayford Road, Dartford Road, West Hill, Spital Street, Overy Liberty, East Hill, The Brent and London Road to Horns Cross , Hedge Place Road. The second line ran as planned from the city station through Hythe Street, Spital Street and Lowfield Street to Wilmington.
In 1909 the construction company Balfour Beatty & Company Ltd. the management of the railway on behalf of the District Council. On the late evening of August 6, 1917, after closing time, a fire broke out in the railroad depot on Victoria Road, which destroyed the depot and all of the cars in it. For a short time from August 9th of that year the Bexley tram took over the management with its cars and some vehicles borrowed from London. On April 1, 1921, an operating and administrative association was formed with this railway, so that no more vehicles were required. The main Dartford tram line was now connected to that of the Bexley tram (line 96) and the trams ran from Woolwich to Horns Cross. The line from the station to Wilmington was number 94.
On July 1, 1933, the London Passenger Transport Board took over the Dartford tram. It closed line 94 from the station to Wilmington on April 19, 1934 and replaced it with a diesel bus line. Line 96 was finally shut down on November 24, 1935 and replaced by a trolleybus line.
Fleet
When the company opened, twelve double-decker railcars (No. 1 to 12) from the Union Electric Car Company were available. They had 54 seats, bogies from JG Brill Company and engines from Dick Kerr. The wagons were painted maroon and yellow. In 1915, the Dartford tram also acquired a used one-story railcar from the Erith tram , which was given the number 13.
After the destruction of the 13 railcars by the fire on August 6, 1917, the Dartford tram no longer had its own vehicles. From now on the Bexley tram ran in Dartford.
literature
- John R. Day: London's Trams and Trolleybuses . London Transport, London 1977, ISBN 0-85329-082-2 (English).
- John Reed: London Tramways . Capital Transport Publishing, Harrow Weald 1997, ISBN 1-85414-179-1 (English).