Croydon tram
The Croydon tram was a tram network that operated from 1879 in the British city of Croydon , a borough of London since 1965 . It was integrated into the London tram network in 1933 and, as part of this network, was in operation in sections until 1951. The Tramlink trams have been running in Croydon since 2000 , but mostly on different routes than the original tram.
history
Croydon Tramways Co. (1878-1883)
On August 8, 1878, the Croydon Tramways Company was founded in Croydon . The concession comprised the following lines, which were to be built as a horse-drawn railway in standard gauge :
- from Thornton Heath Pond along London Road, North End and High Street to the center of Croydon on Crown Hill (corner of High Street and George Street),
- from London Road branching off along Oakfield Road and St. James's Road to Windmill Bridge (corner of Milton Road),
- from St. James's Road branching off along Whitehorse Road to "Gloster" on the corner of Northcote Road, as well
- from Red Deer (near Sanderstead Road) in South Croydon along Brighton Road, South End and High Street to Green Dragon (at Scarbrook Road) with no connection to the rest of the network.
A connection of the southern and northern power supply along the High Street was initially not possible because the street was too narrow for a tram service at the time. All licensed routes were built immediately and opened as follows:
| date | Route section |
|---|---|
| October 9, 1879 | Thornton Heath Pond - West Croydon Railway Station |
| January 1, 1880 | West Croydon Railway Station - Crown Hill |
| London Road / Oakfield Road - Windmill Bridge | |
| St. James's Road / Whitehorse Road - "The Gloster" | |
| May 14, 1880 | "Green Dragon" - South Croydon, "Red Deer" |
The depot of the northern network was located near the terminal in Thornton Heath at "Fern Cottage". A small depot was built on Brighton Road for the route to South Croydon, which is separate from the rest of the network. It was in the back yard of the Swan and Sugarloaf pub where the South End becomes Brighton Road. The depot had no rail connection to the route, the wagons had to be pushed across the street into the depot by man.
In 1880 the administration of the railway company granted an expansion license for:
- a cross connection from Thornton Heath Pond along Brigstock Road, Colliers Water Lane (now part of Brigstock Road), Thornton Heath High Street and Whitehorse Road to "The Gloster", as well
- a stretch from the North End along George Street, Cherry Orchard Road and St. James's Road East (now Lower Addiscombe Road) to Addiscombe , Alma House (corner of Clyde Street).
First, the section from the North End to East Croydon Station was built and opened on January 15, 1881. The remainder of the line to Addiscombe was completed in March 1881, but did not go into operation until March 6, 1882, after a building materials dealer on Cherry Orchard Road sued the tram because the tracks passed too close to their building and so on there was no place for a sidewalk. On December 12, 1881, the link from Thornton Heath Pond to Gloster was opened.
On the short section from St. James's Road / Whitehorse Road to the Windmill Bridge, there was no economic success and the line was soon shut down, at the latest in early 1883. The length of the entire route network after this closure was 12 kilometers. The network was laid out on a single track with evasion. The following lines were operated in 1883 and distinguished by the color of the cars:
| Lines | operated with |
|---|---|
| Crown Hill - West Croydon Railway Station - London Road - Thornton Heath Pond | dark green biplane |
| Crown Hill - West Croydon Train Station - Whitehorse Road - Thornton Heath - Thornton Heath Pond | blue monoplane |
| Crown Hill - East Croydon Station - Addiscombe, Alma House | red monoplane |
| "Green Dragon" - South Croydon, "Red Deer" | red monoplane |
On July 24, 1882, the Norwood District Tramways Company was founded in neighboring Norwood . She received the concession for the construction and operation of several standard-gauge horse-drawn railway lines, some of which were supposed to connect to the existing Croydon network.
The company began construction work on a line from Selhurst to Crystal Palace in May 1883, but did not have sufficient funds to complete any of the lines.
Croydon and Norwood Tramways Co. (1883-1889)
On August 2, 1883, the routes and concessions of the Croydon Tramways Co. and the Norwood District Tramways Co. were taken over by the newly founded Croydon and Norwood Tramways Company . The new company also received concessions for longer routes:
- an extension of the South Croydon Line to Purley , Godstone Road and
- a link between Northcote Road and London Road along Windmill Road
Furthermore, 16 additional diversions on the existing network and the introduction of steam operation in South Norwood were approved. Initially, the railway company built three lines, all of which opened on December 15, 1883. This included a stretch from "Gloster" through Northcote Road, Selhurst Road and South Norwood High Street to South Norwood, Portland Road, and a stretch from Addiscombe, Alma House, through Lower Addiscombe Road, Spring Lane and Portland Road to South Norwood . The two lines were connected in South Norwood, but there was no connecting curve from Portland Road to High Street towards Croydon, so that a ring traffic was not possible. The cars from Addiscombe ended at the rail bridge on Portland Road. In addition, a short line was built from Whitehorse Road / Whitehorse Lane through Whitehorse Lane and Clifton Road to Selhurst Road, which was initially served by a shuttle car, but apparently ceased operations after a few weeks. The route initially remained as an operating route.
The two routes newly licensed in 1883 and the routes to Penge and Crystal Palace also planned were not built for the time being. Another depot was built behind St. Luke's Church on Spring Lane. The planned steam operation was also not introduced. From 1883 onwards, management was the responsibility of a Steam Tramways Traction Company , which had leased the network, but was handed over to Croydon & Norwood on December 31, 1884.
In 1887 the railway company got increasingly into financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy on October 25th of that year. The less popular sections of Addiscombe, Blackhorse Lane to South Norwood including the depot in Spring Lane, as well as the section from Whitehorse Road / High Street to Selhurst Road / Clifton Road, both of which only opened at the end of 1883, as did the section from "Gloster" on the corner of Whitehorse Road and High Street were shut down and dismantled. There was also no regular service between Addiscombe, Alma House and the end of the track on Blackhorse Lane. On August 26, 1889, the railway company was reorganized into the Croydon Tramways Company and was given the name that the previous company had until 1883.
Croydon Tramways Co. (CTC) (1889-1900)
The company continued to operate unchanged. New routes were not built under the direction of the CTC. However, the company experimented with alternative propulsion options on the line from Thornton Heath Pond to Crown Hill. Two different accumulator railcars were tested here in 1891 and 1892 . At the end of 1893, a railcar powered by light oil carried out test drives on the line. A coal gas powered wagon also ran in 1893. An improved version of the coal gas wagon was tested in regular service between Thornton Heath Pond and Crown Hill for several months in 1894. However, none of the wagons could convince and so it was initially the horse business. In 1894 the railway company also requested a concession to extend the route on London Road from Thornton Heath Pond to Streatham, where it would have met the existing London tram network. The concession was granted, but the financial means for the construction of the route could not be raised, so it expired.
In the years 1893 and 1894, the Croydon Corporation , which belongs to the city of Croydon, widened the High Street by demolishing the old buildings, including the city's old town hall, and built a rail link between the two route networks on its own, which opened on June 6, 1897 and simultaneously was leased to the CTC. The main line of the CTC now ran from Thornton Heath, High Street through Croydon to Red Deer in South Croydon. The remaining lines continued to end at George Street or West Croydon Station. The line from Addiscombe, Alma House to Blackhorse Lane, which has not been used on a regular basis since 1887, was closed in 1897 at the latest. The railway underpass at Bingham Road station was already too low for the double-deckers, which now only formed the fleet. The track remained in place until the underpass and was later reactivated.
Croydon Corporation Tramways (1900-1933)
As with all tram companies in the Greater London area, the Croydon tram also had a 21-year deadline for municipalization of operations, i.e. a purchase right by the city or the administrative district. The Croydon Corporation took over under application of that law on 22 January 1900 the streetcar enterprise and let it out to the British Electric Traction Company Ltd. (BET), which aimed to electrify the lines. Unlike in many other cases in the Greater London area, there was no resistance to communalization in Croydon.
The new owner initially built some line extensions as a horse-drawn tram. So on May 2, 1901, an extension of the South Croydon Line went into operation over the route to Purley, Brunnen (corner of Godstone Road), which was already licensed in 1883. On August 3, 1901, the extension of Thornton Heath Pond on London Road to the London city limits at Hermitage Bridge, where London Road merges into Streatham High Road, opened. In Norbury there was a possibility to change trains from 1909, but initially no rail connection, to the London tram. The tracks of the two companies ended there with a distance of only 15 centimeters.
The electrification of the route network took place in several steps:
| date | Route section |
|---|---|
| September 26, 1901 | Norbury Railway Station - Thornton Heath Pond - West Croydon Railway Station - Croydon High Street - South Croydon - Purley, Fountain |
| January 4, 1902 | Crown Hill - East Croydon Station - Addiscombe, Bingham Road stop |
| January 10, 1902 | Thornton Heath Railway Station - Thornton Heath Pond |
| January 24, 1902 | London Road / Oakfield Road - Whitehorse Road - Selhurst Station |
| March 14, 1902 | Selhurst Station - South Norwood, High Street / Portland Road |
| Mid-1902 | Thornton Heath, High Street / Whitehorse Road - Thornton Heath Railway Station |
| 17th November 1902 | Norbury, Hermitage Bridge - Norbury Railway Station |
The lowering of the road under the railway bridge in Norbury was not yet completed when the electric tram opened, so the electric tram initially ended on the south side of Norbury station. The same problem existed at Thornton Heath. In Addiscombe, the remainder of the former horse-drawn railway line to South Norwood was electrified and reopened as far as the Bingham Road stop. Some sections of the route have been expanded to double tracks. In Purley, a new depot was also built on the corner of Purley Downs Road. The old makeshift depot on Brighton Road had already been closed in 1897.
Likewise, the electric railways in South Norwood now ran back to Portland Road. The horse-drawn trams had previously had their terminus at the clock tower (corner of Station Road) since 1887. The line from West Croydon station via Selhurst to South Norwood was also rebuilt. In the city direction, the cars continued to drive along the old route through Oakfield Road. Landing, they drove a new route through Station Road and Wellesley Road to Whitehorse Road, where they met the old route. On December 14, 1905, the Croydon Corporation also opened the route from South Norwood to Penge, where the terminus was on Penge Road / Selby Road (on the Norwood / Penge boundary). The section was built by the Croydon Corporation with the financial contribution of BET. The extension to Penge was built by BET itself and opened on February 13, 1906. A new railway company, the South Metropolitan Electric Tramways and Lighting Company Ltd. (SMET), founded. Initially, the new route was served continuously by the Croydon Line, which until then had ended at the city limits. However, the lease with BET expired on June 1, 1906 and the Croydon Corporation operated the route network in Croydon on its own, while the BET-owned route from the city limits to Penge was operated by SMET with a shuttle car. Only later was it agreed on continuous operation to Penge with Croydon wagons, while the SMET line to Crystal Palace, which opened a short time later, was served from West Croydon station via Croydon tracks with SMET vehicles. Continuous operation began on June 24, 1907.
Now one of the lines closed in 1887, the cross connection from Thornton Heath to "Gloster", was rebuilt by the Croydon Corporation and reopened on November 19, 1906 as a double-track electric tram. There were now two lines going to Thornton Heath, High Street, one from South Croydon via Thornton Heath Pond and the other from West Croydon station via "Gloster". At Thornton Heath, there was a carriage pass to the other line, creating a ring line. The Croydon Corporation's route network had thus reached its maximum length of around 17 kilometers. The ring line was canceled on January 15, 1908, and the line from South Croydon ended at Whitehorse Lane, while a shuttle car ran from there to the "Gloster", which ceased operations on July 4, 1908. From July 28, 1911 to March 8, 1913, the Thornton-Heath line was extended again to the "Gloster". However, this should be the last scheduled service on the double-track route on northern Whitehorse Road. The section was dismantled around 1926.
After numerous men were drafted into military service for the First World War , there was a shortage of personnel on the tram. The railway administration first hired women as conductors in 1915. When female drivers were also to be hired, the male tram workers went on strike on June 2, 1916. The dispute was settled and the strike ended within five weeks. Drivers were not hired. By May 1919, all conductors had also been dismissed and replaced by former workers who had returned from military service.
1916 introduced the SMET line numbers and suggested this to the Croydon Corporation. Officially, the four lines of the Croydon Corporation were given the numbers 1 to 4. These numbers were also shown on the route maps that were issued by the tram companies. However, the Croydon Corporation refused to lead them to the car. It ran Line 1 (Norbury - Purley), Line 2 (Norbury - Thornton Heath), Line 3 (High Street - Addiscombe) and Line 4 (West Croydon Station - Penge). From January to October 1924, line 4 ran south to the "Greyhound" in the High Street (south of the Mint Walk junction) to strengthen inner-city traffic. From November 3, 1924, line 2 only went to South Croydon, "Red Deer". During this time, almost all the lines in the network were renewed and additional sections were expanded to double-track. Only the line to Addiscombe retained its poor track condition.
The London tram began on February 7, 1926, after a rail link had been established on the city limits in Norbury in September 1925. The London lines 16 and 18 now ran from the Embankment to Purley and replaced the Croydoner line 1. Line 2 now ended at the "Greyhound", only individual trips continued to the "Red Deer" in school traffic. In 1926, the loop ride for the lines from Selhurst was given up at West Croydon Station and the route in St. James's Road and Oakfield Road closed. In Station Road and Wellesley Road, turnouts were installed and the terminus of line 4 and SMET line 5 at West Croydon station was now in Station Road at the confluence with North End.
On March 29, 1927, the line from Crown Hill to Addiscombe (line 3) was shut down and replaced by a bus line operated by the London General Omnibus Company after the track position had deteriorated noticeably due to the lack of repairs. By April 1933, the double-track expansion of the main line from Norbury to Purley through downtown Croydon between Crown Hill and Parker Road was completed. The terminus of Line 2 was relocated to Davis Theater on the corner of Whitgift Street, where a new platform change was installed. The Croydon Corporation handed over a route network of 14.93 kilometers to the London Passenger Transport Board on July 1, 1933 . On December 6, 1933, line 4 was set and the line to Penge closed. Bus lines operated by a private company had been running in parallel here since the early 1920s. The last tram for the time being went through Croydon on April 7, 1951 with lines 16, 18 and 42 (formerly line 2).
South Metropolitan Electric Tramways and Lighting Co. (1904-1933)
As early as 1901, the Croydon Rural District Council had applied for a tram in Mitcham and received the concession to build three routes that were to start at the corner of London Road and Upper Green East in Mitcham and to Tooting Junction station , to Cricket Green and along the Croydon Road should lead to the Croydon city limits. On January 15, 1902, the Council sold the concession to British Electric Traction Co. Ltd. (BET), which had leased the Croydon tram since 1900 and operated it. On August 3, 1904, BET named its subsidiary, the County of Surrey Electrical Power Distribution Co. Ltd. to the South Metropolitan Electric Tramways and Lighting Company (SMET) in order to expand the Croydon route network on their own and to build and operate the tram in Mitcham. The concessions for the planned routes had already been approved in 1902 and 1903, respectively. All extensions totaling 21.05 kilometers were opened in 1906:
| date | Route section |
|---|---|
| February 13, 1906 | Penge, Selby Road (city limits) - Croydon Road - Penge, Croydon Road / Penge High Street |
| April 12, 1906 | Croydon Road / Penge High Street - Penge High Street - Penge West Station - Penge High Street - Penge West, Thicket Road |
| Croydon Road / Anerley Road - Anerley Road - Crystal Palace Train Station (Low Level) | |
| May 26, 1906 | Tooting Junction Station - London Road - Mitcham, Upper Green East - Commonside West - Croydon Road - Mitcham Road - Mitcham Road / Canterbury Road |
| Mitcham, Upper Green East - London Road - Mitcham, Cricket Green (London Road / Lower Green West) | |
| May 28, 1906 | Crystal Palace Train Station (Low Level) - Anerley Hill - Crystal Palace , Parade |
| July 14, 1906 | Mitcham Road / Canterbury Road - Mitcham Road - Pitlake - Lower Church Street (now partially Cairo New Road) - Church Street / Tamworth Road |
| October 9, 1906 | Church Street / Tamworth Road - Tamworth Road - West Croydon Railway Station |
| November 11, 1906 | Church Street / Tamworth Road - Reeves Corner - Church Street - St. John's Road - Waddon Road - Epsom Road - Stafford Road - Stanley Park Road - Boundary Road - Park Lane - Ruskin Road - Carshalton Place |
| December 21, 1906 | Carshalton Place - Ruskin Road - Beynon Road - Carshalton Road - Ringstead Road - Westmead Road - Lower Road - Benhill Avenue - Benhill Street (now Benhill Avenue) - Sutton , "The Grapes" (High Street / Benhill Street) |
The network had three depots, namely in Penge on Oak Grove Road, Aurelia Road in West Croydon, and Sutton on Westmead Road. The short distance to Cricket Green in Mitcham was only served by a shuttle car from Tooting Junction station for events there.
When the management of the municipal Croydon route network was transferred to the Croydon Corporation on June 1, 1906, when the lease agreement was terminated, SMET's plans for continuous operation from Mitcham and Sutton to Penge and Crystal Palace came to an end, as the Croydon Corporation had to cross the London Road with SMET vehicles and also the installation of a track connection from Tamworth Road to London Road. Therefore, you always had to change trains at West Croydon station. The line to Penge was operated by the Croydon Corporation until May 31, 1906. After the separation of the two railway companies, an SMET line ran from Crystal Palace to Penge West and another from Crystal Palace to the city limits on Selby Road, where it was possible to transfer to the Croydon Corporation car. From the beginning of 1907 the two lines ran from the city limits to Penge West and Crystal Palace. On June 24, 1907, the two companies agreed to form a joint operation. The Croydon Line (later line 4) ran continuously to Penge West and an SMET line now ran from Crystal Palace to West Croydon station on Croydon tracks. The three lines of SMET now started at West Croydon station and led to Crystal Palace (later line 5), Tooting (later line 6) and Sutton (later line 7). At Tooting Junction station there was a transition to the London tram from 1907. However, a track connection was not initially established. The London tram also ran with an underline, while the SMET carriages were powered by an overhead contact line.
The BET owned not only the SMET, but also the Metropolitan Electric Tramways Company Ltd. (MET) in northwest London and The Tramways (MET) Omnibus Company Ltd. , a bus company that also operated in north-west London and mainly operated feeder lines to the MET. Another company, Underground Electric Railways Company of London Ltd. , operated a large part of the London Underground , the London United Tramways (LUT) in west London and the London General Omnibus Company Ltd., the largest bus operator in London at the time, with several thousand buses traveling across the city. Both holding companies jointly founded the London and Suburban Traction Company Ltd. on November 20, 1912 , which simultaneously took over MET and LUT and set up joint operations management for the two railways. It also took over SMET on June 14, 1913. The SMET company officially continued to operate under the old name.
1916 introduced the SMET line numbers. It left the numbers 1 to 4 to the Croydon Corporation, with line 4 running to Penge West partly on SMET tracks. Lines 5 (Crystal Palace), 6 (Mitcham / Tooting) and 7 (Sutton) were now operated by SMET, which, unlike the Croydon Corporation, also had the line numbers on the vehicles. Line 5 ran between West Croydon Station and the Penge city limits (Selby Road) on Croydon Corporation tracks.
In September 1922, a connecting curve from London Road to Tamworth Road was built at West Croydon station, which was not linear and could only be used between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. This made it possible to move wagons from the depots in Sutton and West Croydon to the depot in Penge and vice versa. The Croydon Corporation had to be given 24 hours' notice of every trip around the curve. The workshop facilities in Penge were then given up and Sutton was retained as the only repair workshop of SMET.
On September 1, 1926, like the Croydon Corporation a few months earlier, SMET introduced joint transport with the London tram. A rail link was installed at Tooting Junction station in August of that year, and London Line 8 continued from London Victoria Station to Mitcham, where it ended at Cricket Green. The SMET line 6 in turn was withdrawn to London Road / Upper Green East in Mitcham. The route from Tooting Junction to Mitcham was leased to the London Tram. From July 19, 1928, instead of line 8, the London line 6 ran to Mitcham. In 1931, SMET decided to shut down the line to Penge West, as bus lines had been running parallel here since the early 1920s.
On July 1, 1933, SMET handed over its route network of 21.05 kilometers to the London Passenger Transport Board, which closed the routes until 1937. Most of the routes were then served by the London trolleybus until 1959/60 . The line to Penge West (line 4) was closed on December 6, 1933 and replaced by diesel buses. On the same day, SMET line 6 was replaced by an extension of London line 30, which now ran from Kensal Green to West Croydon station. The London Line 6 was withdrawn to Tooting Junction station, so that the short distance to Cricket Green in Mitcham could also be closed.
Shutdown (1933–1951)
Eight lines were operated on the Croydon network when it was taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board:
| line | History (in italics : not part of the Croydon network and partially closed later) |
|---|---|
| 2 | Thornton Heath, Whitehorse Lane - Thornton Heath Pond - West Croydon Station - Crown Hill - Davis Theater |
| 4th | West Croydon Station, Station Road - Gloster - Selhurst - South Norwood - Robin Hood (Croydon Road / Anerley Road) - Penge - Penge West, Thicket Road |
| 5 | West Croydon Station, Station Road - "Gloster" - Selhurst - South Norwood - "Robin Hood" - Anerley - Crystal Palace |
| 6th | City (Southwark Bridge) - Elephant & Castle - Stockwell - Balham - Tooting - Tooting Junction - Mitcham, Cricket Green |
| 6th | West Croydon Station, Tamworth Road - Mitcham Common - Mitcham, Fair Green |
| 7th | West Croydon Station, Tamworth Road - Waddon - Wallington - Carshalton - Sutton |
| 16 | Victoria Embankment - Blackfriars Bridge (landward) / Westminster Bridge (cityward) - Kennington - Brixton - Streatham - Norbury - Thornton Heath Pond - West Croydon Station - Crown Hill - Davis Theater - South Croydon - Purley, Fountain |
| 18th | Victoria Embankment - Blackfriars Bridge (cityward) / Westminster Bridge (landward) - Kennington - Brixton - Streatham - Norbury - Thornton Heath Pond - West Croydon Station - Crown Hill - Davis Theater - South Croydon - Purley, Fountain |
With the shutdown of line 4 to Penge West on December 6, 1933, the previously called line 5A repeater trips from Selby Road (during rush hour) or Croydon Road / Anerley Road to Crystal Palace were abandoned and the frequency of line 5 was doubled instead . On the same day, December 6, 1933, London line 6 was also withdrawn to the former terminus at Tooting Junction station, London line 30 and SMET line 6 were linked, so that line 30 now coming from Kensal Green via Tooting Junction and Mitcham drove to West Croydon Station. The short branch line in Mitcham from the Fair Green to the Cricket Green could be shut down and was now only used by buses. The depot in West Croydon has now also been shut down, but the facilities initially remained operational. The connecting switch was dismantled on December 8, 1935, but was used again on June 2, 1936 in order to be able to scrap wagons that were no longer needed in this depot. The direction of entry was changed. In the past you could only drive to the depot from Mitcham, now you can do so from Croydon. On October 3, 1934, line 2 was renamed 42 to avoid duplication of line numbers in London.
In June 1935, another section of the main line in the South End was double-tracked between Parker Road and Aberdeen Road. The only single-track section between Norbury and Purley was now at the southern end of North End, on Crown Hill. It should remain single-track until the tram was closed.
The transport company intended to gradually convert the entire London tram network to trolleybus operation over the next ten years or so. On December 8, 1935, line 7 was the first to be shut down in Croydon and the new trolleybus line 654 replaced it. This led at both ends over the former tram route. In Sutton it continued from the tram terminus through the High Street to Bushey Road. In Croydon, the trolleybus route crossed North End and led through Station Road to the corner of St Michael's Road, where a large bus turning loop is still located today. On February 9, 1936, line 5 was also shut down and replaced by the extension of trolleybus line 654 to Crystal Palace. The depot in Sutton now served the trolleybus, while the one in Penge was shut down and sold.
The Thornton Heath Line (42) was briefly extended on November 17, 1936, when a piece of the disused route in Whitehorse Road to Talbot Road was re-used to avoid the busy junction of High Street / Whitehorse Lane from the trams to relieve.
From May 30, 1937, line 6 went back to Mitcham, but only to Fair Green. On September 12, 1937, this traffic ended and the line from Tooting Junction station through Mitcham to West Croydon station was closed. The new trolleybus line 630 now ran from Harlesden, College Park on the route of tram line 30 to the trolleybus loop at West Croydon station in Station Road. A second trolleybus line, line 612, ran from Prince's Head in Battersea to Mitcham, Fair Green and thus replaced the no longer available tram line 6 between Tooting and Mitcham. At the end of 1937, the Purley depot was also closed because the closings at Thornton Heath depot had created enough capacity for the remaining lines 16, 18 and 42. However, the facilities in Purley remained operational and war-damaged wagons were parked here during the Second World War.
The Second World War brought Croydon considerable damage from aerial bombings, which also hindered tram traffic on several occasions. The conversion of the tram network to trolleybus operation was initially suspended in 1940. The depot in Purley was now used regularly again, but on a very small scale. Three cars were stationed here in 1944 for lines 16 and 18. In June 1945 these three cars were relocated and the facility in Purley was again used exclusively for parking damaged cars. From October 25, 1944, line 42 no longer turned at the Davis Theater, but a short distance further south on Coombe Road, but drove from the Davis Theater to there as an empty trip. It was not until August 16, 1946 that passengers were carried to Coombe Road.
After the damaged wagons were repaired or scrapped in the Purley depot, the depot was rededicated as a workshop. From September 7, 1948, tram cars were repaired and painted here. When the railway administration decided to close the narrow depot in Thornton Heath, all cars there were relocated to Purley on January 1, 1950 and this depot was now reintegrated into regular line operations. Ten coaches from lines 16 and 18 were now used from here. Six more drove as amplifiers on these lines during rush hour. The 13 cars required on line 42 were now also used from Purley.
The first trolleybus line in London that was discontinued was line 612 to Mitcham on October 1, 1950, from that day the bus line 44 ran on its route. The trolleybus line 630 continued through Mitcham, so that no trolleybus route had to be dismantled here. On the same day, the tram shutdown program started again. The remaining route network, which was almost exclusively south of the Thames , should gradually shrink every three months. The routes in Croydon were scheduled for the third stage and on April 7, 1951 the last trams on lines 16, 18 and 42 drove through the city. Unlike before the Second World War, the routes were converted directly to diesel bus operation. The Purley depot was finally closed. The site of the closed depot at Thornton Heath was used for a bus depot, which was opened at the same time. Lines 16 and 18 were replaced by bus line 109, which initially traveled the same route, line 42 by bus line 190.
The only electric means of transport in Croydon besides the railway were the trolleybus lines 630 and 654. The line 654 ran for the last time on March 3, 1959, and from the following day the bus lines 154 and 157 operated on the route. The trolleybus line 630 was still up in use on July 20, 1960 and was then replaced by bus routes 64 and 220.
Fleet
Horse tram
When the company opened in 1879/80, there were initially only five single -decker pairs available, which had been built by Starbuck (later GF Milnes & Company ) in Birkenhead . Two more cars, which were somewhat smaller and therefore only single-horse, were procured in 1880 for the isolated line to South Croydon. From 1883 on the main line Crown Hill – Thornton Heath Pond double-deck coaches with an open upper deck were used, of which seven were then in the inventory. 17 more double-decker cars were added by 1897 from different manufacturers, including Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company , Falcon Works and John Stephenson Car Company . By April 1897, however, all the monoplane and some of the older double-deckers had already been scrapped.
In 1900, the Croydon Corporation took over 18 horse-drawn trams (numbers 14 to 31) and 175 horses from the Croydon Tramways. The colors of the cars were different and depended on the route they were driving on. As the electrification of the route network progressed, the cars were gradually scrapped.
Croydon Corporation
The regular fleet of the Croydon Corporation consisted exclusively of double-decker railcars. Sidecars were not used. Various work vehicles were also available for route maintenance. Unlike the horse-drawn trams, the wagons had a uniform ivory-chocolate-brown paint scheme and had the words Croydon Corporation Tramways in gold letters . In 1927 the brown lacquer areas were changed to wine red, in 1928 the ivory-colored parts were changed to pearl gray. After the London Tram took over in 1933, the remaining vehicles were gradually repainted in the red London livery.
Two series of railcars were not owned by the Croydon Corporation, but by BET, which operated the electric tram network in the early years. After the breakup from the Croydon Corporation in 1906, these cars remained with BET and were used on the SMET network.
The series designations were introduced in 1927 to better delimit the different types of railcars in the London area. They were the same for all of London. After the London tram took over the fleet in 1933, all cars were given a letter for the car number, which was also attached to the car to distinguish it from the vehicles taken over from other companies. The Croydon Corporation wagons were given the letter E. Most of the wagons were integrated into the numbering system of the London company in the following years.
| Railcar (BR = series) |
Construction year | Manufacturer (WK = car body, FG = bogie , M = motors) | power | Seats (up / down) |
design type | Whereabouts (a = retired, U = conversion, KV = war loss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-35 | 1901 | WK: Milnes , FG: Peckham (Tw 1-8, 11-12, 15, 23-26, 35), Brill (others), M: General Electric | 2 × 27 hp | 22/30 | open upper deck | 13, 25, 34, 35 1918 U ( 35 receives Brill-FG); 13, 25, 34, 35 1927 to SMET; Remainder 1927 a |
| 36-45 | 1902 | WK / FG: Milnes, M: General Electric | 2 × 27 hp | 22/33 | open upper deck | 1906 to SMET (there Tw 17-26) |
| 46-55 (BR B ) | 1902 | WK: Milnes, FG: Brill, M: General Electric | 2 × 25 hp | 30/39 | open upper deck | 1927 47 in 22 I and classified as BR B / 1; Remainder 1928 at 21 I and 23 I -30 I and classified as BR B / 2; 1933 on London tram and in 21 E –30 E ; 1933/34 at 365-374 ; all 1936/37 a |
| 56-60 | 1902 | WK / FG: Brush , M: General Electric | 2 × 25 hp | 30/39 | open upper deck | 1906 to SMET (there Tw 27–29, 31, 35) |
| 36 I -45 I , 56 I -60 I (BR W / 1 ) | 1906 | WK: Brush, FG: Mountain & Gibson, M: Westinghouse | 2 × 31 hp | 22/32 | open upper deck | 36-40 1918 U on Brill-FG; 37–38 1924 U on BT-H engines . ; 43-44 1927 to SMET (44 there Tw 53); 41, 57 1927 a; 60, 59, 58, 56, 45, 42, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36 in that order 1927 in 10 I -20 I ; 1933 on London tram and in 10 E –20 E ; 11 E , 17 E 1933/34 in 355, 349 ; 19 E 1934 U in snow plow, remainder 1934 a ( 349 only 1935 a); 19 E 1937 a |
| 61–70 (BR W / 1 ) | 1907 | WK: Brush, FG: Brill, M: Westinghouse | 2 × 31 hp | 22/32 | open upper deck | 62-64, 66-67, 69, 1927 to SMET; 70, 68, 65, 61 in that order 1927 in 6 I -9 I ; 1933 on London tram and in 6 E –9 E ; 1934 a |
| 71-75 (BR W / 1 ) | 1911 | WK / FG: Brush, M: Westinghouse | 2 × 31 hp | 22/32 | open upper deck | 75, 74, 73, 72, 71 in that order 1927 in 1 I -5 I ; 1933 on London tram and in 1 E –5 E ; 1933/34 1 E -3 E in 345-347 ; 4 E -5 E 1934 a; Remainder 1936 a |
| 31 II -40 II (BR E / 1 ) | 1927 | WK / FG: Hurst-Nelson , M: General Electric | 2 × 65 hp | 27/42 | closed upper deck | 1933 on London tram and in 31 E -40 E ; 1933/34 in 375-384 ; 376 1945 KV; 384 1951 a; Remainder 1952 a |
| 41 II -55 II (BR E / 1 ) | 1928 | WK / FG: Hurst-Nelson, M: General Electric | 2 × 65 hp | 27/42 | closed upper deck | 1933 on London tram and in 41 E –55 E ; 1933/34 in 385-399 ; 396 1941 KV; 387, 397 1951 a; Remainder 1952 a |
South Metropolitan Electric Tramways
Most of the SMET wagons were double-deckers; it was not until 1920 that the first borrowed monoplane was used on the route network. In the opening year of the operation, two series of new cars were procured, additional cars were used from the Croydon Corporation and taken over from Gravesend. The SMET cars were painted dark green and cream and initially drove with the company logo "South Metropolitan Electric Tramways". In 1928 they were labeled SouthmeT on the sides.
Series designations were introduced at SMET as early as 1916. From 1920 onwards, some used vehicles were bought or borrowed from other companies, including monoplane. In 1921 the color scheme of the cars was changed to the red and white that is common for the Underground group. In 1933, the SMET handed over a total of 52 wagons in regular service to the London Passenger Transport Board. They were given the code letter S or were scrapped after a short time.
Most of the wagons retired in 1927 were not scrapped, but remained in the depots for some time as spare parts donors.
| Railcar (BR = series) |
Construction year | Manufacturer (WK = car body, FG = bogie , M = motors) | power | Seats (up / down) |
design type | Whereabouts (a = retired, U = conversion, KV = war loss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–16 (BR J ) | 1906 | WK: UEC , FG / M: Brush | 2 × 40 hp | 28/30 | open upper deck | 16 1918 U and reclassified as BR J / 1; 16 1928 U and now classified as BR J / 2; Remainder 1928 U (remain BR J); 1933 on London tram; all 1935 a |
| 17-26 (BR K ) | 1902 | WK / FG: Milnes, M: General Electric | 2 × 27 hp | 22/33 | open upper deck | 1906 taken over by the Croydon Corporation (ex Tw 36-45); 17 1927 a; 21, 22, 26 1927 U ( 26 reclassified to BR K / 2); 20, 24-25 1927 turned off operationally; 21 1927 a; 19 approx. 1928 in a tow truck; 1933 on London tram; all 1934 a |
| 27–29, 31, 35 (BR L ) | 1902 | WK / FG: Brush, M: General Electric | 2 × 25 hp | 30/39 | open upper deck | 1906 taken over by the Croydon Corporation (ex Tw 56-60); all turned off operationally in 1931; 1933 on London tram; all 1934 a |
| 30, 32-34 (BR O ) | 1902 | WK: ERTCW , FG: Brill, M: Dick & Kerr | 2 × 30 hp | 34/34 | open upper deck | 1906 (Tw 30, 32) and 1907 (Tw 33, 34) taken over by the Gravesend tram ; all turned off operationally in 1931; 1933 on London tram; all 1934 a |
| 36–51 (BR M ) | 1906 | WK / FG / M: Brush | 2 ×? PS | 24/26 | open upper deck | 47 1927 to the MET (there Arbeits-Tw 04); 37, 38, 41, 43, 46, 48 1929/30 U; 1933 on London tram and in 36 S -46 S , 48 S -51 S ; all 1936 a |
| 145, 150 (BR E ) | 1905 | WK / FG: Brush, M: General Electric | 2 × 27 hp | 36 | monoplane | Borrowed from MET in 1920 (kept their numbers there); Returned to MET in 1925 |
| (13 I , 25 I , 34 I -35 I ) | 1901 | WK: Milnes, FG: Brill, M: General Electric | 2 × 27 hp | 22/30 | open upper deck | Acquired by Croydon Corporation in 1927 and retained their numbers; 13 directly to LUT (there Arbeits-Tw 006); Rest directly a |
| 17 I , 21 I , 52, (62-63, 69) (BR P ) | 1907 | WK: Brush, FG: Brill, M: Westinghouse | 2 × 31 hp | 22/32 | open upper deck | 1927 taken over by the Croydon Corporation ( 17, 21, 52 ex Tw 64, 66, 67, the rest kept the numbers); 62-63 direct a; 69 directly to MET (there work Tw 09); Remainder of 1933 at London Tramway; 1934 a |
| (43 I ), 53 (BR P ) | 1906 | WK: Brush, FG: Mountain & Gibson, M: Westinghouse | 2 × 31 hp | 22/32 | open upper deck | Acquired by Croydon Corporation in 1927, 43 kept its number, 53 (ex Tw 44); 43 directly to MET (there work Tw 07); 53 1928 in 47 I ; 1933 on London tram and in 47 S ; 1934 a |
| 267–269, 271–272, 276, 278, 286, 290, 293 (BR U ) | 1902 | WK: Milnes, FG: Brill, M: Westinghouse | 2 × 31 hp | 30/39 | open upper deck | Borrowed from LUT in 1931 (kept their numbers there); 286 returned approx. 1932; Loan canceled by the takeover of both operations by London Tramway |
| 299 (BR U ) | 1902 | WK: Milnes, FG: Brill, M: Westinghouse | 2 × 31 hp | 30/39 | closed upper deck | borrowed from LUT approx. 1932 (kept its number there); Loan canceled by the takeover of both operations by London Tramway |
literature
- GE Baddeley: The Tramways of Croydon . Light Rail Transit Association, Broxbourne 1983, ISBN 0-900433-90-6 (English).
- John R. Day: London's Trams and Trolleybuses . London Transport, London 1977, ISBN 0-85329-082-2 (English).
- Robert J. Harley: Croydon Tramways . Capital Transport Publishing, Harrow 2004, ISBN 1-85414-278-X (English).
- John Reed: London Tramways . Capital Transport Publishing, Harrow Weald 1997, ISBN 1-85414-179-1 (English).