London, Deptford and Greenwich Tramways
The London, Deptford and Greenwich Tramways Company operated horse-drawn trams in south London as part of the larger London tram network . The company operated from 1880 to 1904 routes with a total length of ten kilometers in Bermondsey , Rotherhithe and Deptford .
history
The company received under the name Southwark and Deptford Tramways Company on July 3, 1879 a concession to build and operate trams on the route from Bricklayers Arms through Bermondsey New Road (now Tower Bridge Road), Grange Road, Spa Road, Marine Street , Jamaica Road (partly Old Jamaica Road, Thurland Road), Lower Road and Evelyn Street to Deptford, where the terminus was at Noah's Ark (corner of Deptford High Street ). A stretch from Grange Road / Spa Road through Grange Road, Blue Anchor Road (now Southwark Park Road), Raymouth Road and Rotherhithe New Road to Lower Road was also approved. Both lines were opened in sections in 1880 and 1881. They were single-track with a total of 27 switches and built in standard gauge .
On December 17, 1882, two more routes went into operation, for which the railway company had received the concession in 1881. The first started at the canal bridge on Old Kent Road and ran through St. James's Road and Rotherhithe New Road to Raymouth Road. The other route ran from the corner of Tooley Street and Bermondsey Street through Tooley Street and Jamaica Road to Marine Street. These two lines were also single-track. The railway company used both single- deck horse - drawn carriages and double - decker couples .
In detail, the company's routes were opened as follows:
| date | route |
|---|---|
| October 28, 1880 | Grange Road / Spa Road - Spa Road - Marine Street - Jamaica Road (now partly Old Jamaica Road) - Union Road - Lower Road - Evelyn Street - Bridge of the Deptford Harbor Railway (near Bailey Street) |
| June 5, 1881 | Bricklayer's Arms - Bermondsey New Road (now Tower Bridge Road) - Grange Road - Grange Road / Spa Road |
| Harbor Railway Bridge - Evelyn Street - Deptford, Noah's Ark (High Street) | |
| October 12, 1881 | Grange Road / Spa Road - Grange Road - Blue Anchor Road (now Southwark Park Road) - Blue Anchor Road / Raymouth Road |
| Rotherhithe New Road / Raymouth Road - Rotherhithe, Red Lion (Lower Road / Rotherhithe New Road) | |
| December 15, 1881 | Blue Anchor Road / Raymouth Road - Raymouth Road - Rotherhithe New Road / Raymouth Road |
| December 17, 1882 | Old Kent Road / St James's Road (Canal Bridge) - St James's Road - Rotherhithe New Road - Rotherhithe New Road / Raymouth Road |
| Tooley Street / Bermondsey Road - Tooley Street - Jamaica Road (now partly Old Jamaica Road) - Jamaica Road / Marine Street |
In 1889 a route through St. James's Road was approved, but the railway company let the concession expire. She was interested in an extension to Greenwich, but a new road, today's Creek Road, should have been built for it. At that time, however, there was no approval for this. The railway company therefore set up a horse-drawn bus service from Deptford to Greenwich, which ran over Deptford High Street, Deptford Bridge and Greenwich High Road. In 1893 it also changed its name to London, Deptford and Greenwich Tramways Company .
On July 7, 1904, the London County Council bought the train and incorporated it into the London County Council Tramways . The routes were initially operated as a horse-drawn tram. In 1911/12 the LCC electrified the line from Tooley Street to Deptford and extended it to Greenwich. On February 25, 1911, the line in Spa Road and Marine Street was closed. The First World War prevented electrification of the two remaining routes from Bricklayers Arms and from Old Kent Rd (canal bridge) to Rotherhithe. The stretch from the canal bridge to Raymouth Road was closed in July 1913, the other on May 1, 1915 due to the war-related economic constraints. Even after the end of the war, they were not put into operation again. The two routes were the last horse trams in London.
literature
- John R. Day: London's Trams and Trolleybuses . London Transport, London 1977, ISBN 0-85329-082-2 (English).
- ER Oakley: London County Council Tramways, Vol. 1 - South London . London Tramways History Group, Bexleyheath 1989, ISBN 0-9513001-0-5 (English).
- John Reed: London Tramways . Capital Transport Publishing, Harrow Weald 1997, ISBN 1-85414-179-1 (English).