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This fascinating selection of photographs gives an insight into the history of tram and bus operations in the Leeds area.
29 October 1891 was a day of major significance both for Leeds and for the development of electricity as a power source for public transport when on that day the first vehicles in Europe to receive current through a roof mounted collector from an overhead supply wire operated from Sheepscar to Oakwood, at that time the entrance to Roundhay Park. Full public service started on 10 November 1891 and was continued successfully until 31 July 1896. This book is published as my personal commemoration of the centenary of that event, a hundred years during which developments have reached a point beyond the wildest imagination of those present on the day. Leeds was a fast growing town with a great civic pride at the time the tramcar began to spread over Great Britain. No civic decisions of that time had a more profound effect on the city than the introduction of horse drawn trams by the Leeds Tramways Company in 1871, the subsequent purchase of the system by the Corporation in 1894 (the year after incorporation as a city) and its electrification from 1897 to 1902. As well as the very important event already referred to Leeds also scored firsts with the Maley combined electro-magnetic and mechanical track brake in 1907 and with trackless trams (trolley buses) in 1911. The city was also very early in the field with motor buses (1906), reserved tracks (1922), roller bearings and air brakes (1926) and modern high speed cars (1933). I have therefore attempted to produce a compact history of the city's street rail transport, not ignoring the growth of the buses which ultimately replaced the trams in 1959, and to relate it to the general history of the city, especially to housing development on which the early electric tram system had a profound effect. A very different picture is to be seen in many European cities where the principles recommended for Leeds in 1944-50 were adopted and very modern rail systems have developed. There is now increasing interest in similar new developments in America and Great Britain and it seems a pity that Leeds missed the opportunity to repeat its great pioneering role of 1897-1906. In piecing together during 1968 that part of the story up to 1940 which I did not witness personally I have examined the Annual Reports of the Tramways and later Transport Committee to the Leeds City Council and various other volumes in the Local History Section of Leeds Public Library and must acknowledge the help of the staff in that section at the time in bringing out and putting away so many heavy volumes. I must also particularly acknowledge the assistance afforded at the same period by Mr. J. R. Blakeborough in allowing me to examine the tramcar records retained by Leeds City Transport as well as the photographs and negatives in their possession. Prints of some of these and also some from the Yorkshire Post and Leeds City Library collections are included and I acknowledge their courtesy in giving permission for their reproduction.
Lost Tramways of England: Leeds West is the first of two volumes in the series covering the history of trams in the city, from their origins in the late 19th century through to the final routes in November 1959. This volume examines in detail the early history of the tramways, including the horse, steam and pioneering Roundhay electric trams, as well as concentrating on the tramways that served to the western side of the city - such as those to Stanningley, Pudsey, Whingate, Elland Road and Kirkstall Abbey.The Lost Tramways of England series documents the tram networks which were at the heart of many of England's growing towns and cities from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century.As well as rigorously detailed transport history, these volumes provide an intimate glimpse into life as it was lived during this period, and the recognisable streets which have been maintained or transformed through the decades. An informative, accessible and portable resource for the tram enthusiast as well as the general reader, and a superb souvenir or gift for visitors past and present.
From the horse-drawn trams of the nineteenth century to the larger electric models of the early twentieth, this reliable form of public transport revolutionised town travel by making it affordable enough for working people to use. From the 1930s, the rise of the trolleybus, which also picked up power from overhead cables but ran without expensive tracks, looked set to supersede the tram – but ultimately, by the 1950s, both fell victim to motor buses and private cars. However, since the 1980s the environmental benefits of light rail have encouraged a growing comeback for trams on our crowded and polluted city streets. Using beautiful contemporary photographs, this is the fascinating story of the rise, fall and revival of this everyday, yet sometimes controversial, mode of urban transport.
Comprises: (1) Annual reports and statements of accounts of: Leeds City Tramways, 1900-1926; Leeds City Tramways and Transport Department, 1926-1934; Leeds City Transport Department, 1934-1939. (2) Tram and bus timetables: Sep 1933, Jan-Feb 1939, 1955?, Sep-Nov 1956, Apr-Jul 1961, Aug-Nov 1961, Oct 1971 - Jan 1972, Sep-Nov 1973; Revised timetable, Apr 1961. (3) Leeds District Metro timetables: Apr-May 1975, Nov 1976. (4) Bus route maps: May 1971, Jan 1973. (5) Goodall's ABC guide and directory: Sep 1954, Sep-Oct 1954; Sep-Nov 1957. (6) Photocopy of Leeds tramway and bus routes official guide, 1926.