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Wallasey Corporation Tramways

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Wallasey Corporation Tramways
Wallasey tram 78 on the Wirral Tramway
Operation
LocaleWallasey
Open17 March 1902
Close30 November 1933
StatusClosed
Infrastructure
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Propulsion system(s)Electric
Depot(s)Seaview Road
Statistics
Route length12.025 miles (19.352 km)

Wallasey Corporation Tramways operated an electric tramway service in Wallasey between 1902 and 1933.[1]

History

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Wallasey Corporation Tramways

Wallasey Corporation Tramways was a direct successor of the Wallasey United Tramway and Omnibus Company, which had provided horse-drawn tramway services in Wallasey since 1879. The Wallasey Tramways and Improvements Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. xv) gave the corporation the power to obtain the tramway company, which it did on 1 April 1901 for the price of £20,500 (equivalent to £2,811,156 in 2023).[2]. This included seven 34-seater double deck tramcars, and 78 horses.

The corporation relaid the track and on 17 March 1902, the first line was opened, from Seacombe Ferry to New Brighton Ferry via Wheatland. Two days later the direct route from Seacombe to New Brighton via Seabank Road was opened, replacing a horse bus service.

On 17 May 1902 a third line was opened from Seacombe to New Brighton via Brighton Drive, Church Street, Liscard Road, Seaview Road and Warren Drive.

The depot was in Seaview Road.

The contractor for the system was R.W. Blackwell and Co.

Fleet

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Car 78

The Wallasey tramway rolling stock consisted at maximum of 78 cars which were delivered at intervals between 1902 and 1920. Since the picture is of car 78, this was the last tram to be delivered, this was in 1920 and ran in the town for 13 years. Wallasey 78 has now run on the Wirral Tramway for longer than it did on its original line.[3]

Closure

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The decline set in on 20 January 1929 when the Seabank Road service was withdrawn. There were subsequent closures and re-organisations until the whole system was closed on 30 November 1933. The legal powers were abandoned by the Wallasey Corporation Tramways (Cesser of Power) Order 1934 (SR&O 1934/354).

Car 78 is preserved at the Wirral Transport Museum and is in use on the Wirral Tramway.

References

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  1. ^ The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.
  2. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  3. ^ The Tramways of Wallasey, Norman N. Forbes, Tramway Review, Vol. 2, Issue. 9, 1953.
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