Newcastle Corporation Tramways

Newcastle Corporation Tramways

Newcastle tram No. 114 at Beamish Museum
Operation
Locale Newcastle upon Tyne
Open 16 December 1901
Close 4 March 1950
Status Closed
Infrastructure
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Propulsion system(s) Electric
Statistics
Route length 51 miles (82 km)

Newcastle Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Newcastle upon Tyne between 1901 and 1950.[1]

History

Tramcar 102 preserved at the National Tramway Museum

Services began on the 16 December 1901. A fleet of twenty ‘A- Class’ tramcars built in 1901 by Hurst Nelson and Co. Ltd. of Motherwell were used in Newcastle.[2] The main routes were complete by 1904. Newcastle Corporation built Manors Power Station to supply electricity to the new tramway system.[3]

Later extensions were made to Fenham 1907, Shieldfield 1912, and Throckley 1914.[4] Progress was limited during the First World War but the tramway eventually reached Forest Hall, Westmoor, and Gosforth Park in 1921. In 1925 it reached Fenham to Westerhope.

There were three depots, Byker, Haymarket and Wingrove. By 1928 there were 300 trams in service.

The name was changed in 1915 to Newcastle Corporation Transport and Electricity Undertaking.

Closure

The system finally closed on 4 March 1950. Some tram services continued to be operated until 4 August 1951 by the Gateshead tramway system.

References

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