Horse trams in London by George Train

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The horse-drawn trams in London by George Train were the first trams in London . They opened in 1861 and closed again after a few months. It was not until 1870 that a permanent tram network was established with the London tram.

Prehistory and construction

George Francis Train had operated the Birkenhead tram since 1860 and now wanted to gain a foothold in London. However, its originally proposed ring line was rejected by the city. So he proposed the construction of three independent horse-drawn railways , the Marble Arch Street Railway , the Westminster Street Railway and the Lambeth Street Railway . In February 1861 he founded the Street Rail Company for this purpose . The first track was built from Marble Arch on Bayswater Road to the junction of Porchester Terrace, about a mile long , and opened on March 23, 1861. Charles Dickens and George Cruikshank , among others, were present at the opening ceremony . This train was the first tram in London. The Westminster Street Railway ran from Pimlico Station (now Victoria Station) through Victoria Street to the intersection of Tothill Street with a length of about 1.1 kilometers. It went into operation on April 15, 1861. The last one to open was on August 15, 1861, in Lambeth , at that time outside the city of London. It began at the east end of Westminster Bridge and led about 2.2 kilometers through Westminster Bridge Road and Kennington Road to Kennington Park .

Systems and vehicles

The system at Marble Arch was single-track with four turnouts. Nothing is known about the tracks of the other two railways. As rails in all three lanes were angled rails in standard gauge used. The fare was two pence each. There was a single horse-drawn carriage for each line, which was called Princess Royal on the Marble Arch line . The People drove in Westminster . The name of the car in Lambeth is unknown. It is also not known where the cars were parked overnight.

Shutdown

The rails that protruded from the street level posed a traffic safety problem that ultimately led to the closure of the three railways. Train was charged and found guilty of causing public offense. At the same time, the shutdown of the Marble Arch line was ordered by October 4, 1861, the train met on time. The last day of operation of the Westminster line was March 6, 1862 and on June 21, 1862 the last trains ran in Lambeth. The tracks were then removed by court order. Thus the first tram service in London ended after a little over a year. Trams would never run again on either Bayswater Road or Victoria Road. The Lambeth Line was rebuilt in 1870/71 by the Metropolitan Street Tramways .

literature

  • John R. Day: London's Trams and Trolleybuses. London: London Transport, 1977.