Edinburgh

First and Last Trams

 

1870s

Horse-drawn Trams

Question

What is known about horse-drawn trams?

 

1899

Cable Cars Introduced in Edinburgh

Cable Car - Trial Run - Leith Walk - 1 June 1899 ©

Leith Walk

1899

Cable Car - Trial Run - Leith Walk - 1 June 1899 - zoom-in ©

Leith Walk

1899

 

1905

Leith's first Electric Tram

The Official Opening of Leith Corporation Tramways - 3 November 1905 ©

Official Opening of Leith Corporation Tramways

 

1907

Edinburgh's last Horse-drawn Tram

Edinburgh's Last Horse-drawn Tram - 24 August 1907 ©

Last horse-drawn tram

Edinburgh's Last Horse-drawn tram - at Tollcross - 24 August 1907 ©

Last horse-drawn tram
at Tollcross

 

1922

Electric Trams replace Cable Cars in Edinburgh

The introduction of electric trams between Pilrig and Edinburgh  allowed a through service to run from Edinburgh to Leith without the need to change trams at Pilrig.

  Photograph by T P Lugton - First tram car in Edinburgh ©

First Tram Car in Edinburgh

Pilrig - The Official Party crosses the Edinburgh/Leith boundary at Pilrig on 20 June 1922 - the first day of operation of through trams between Edinburgh and Leith ©

Pilrig

Pilrig - Tram and Crowd - When? ©

Pilrig

 

1923

Electric Trams replace Cable Cars in Edinburgh

The last cable car in Edinburgh ran on June 23, 1923
 between Waterloo Place and Joppa.

The last remaining section of cable car track in Edinburgh - at the west end of Waterloo Place ©

Waterloo Place

Trams at Joppa - where the Edinburgh Cable Cars met the Musselburgh Electric Trams ©

Joppa

 

1956

The end of an era in Edinburgh

Trams are replaced by buses
The last tram ran on November 16, 1956

Edinburgh's Last Tram - 1956 - zoom-in ©

The Last Tram

The Last Edinburgh Tram - 16 November 1956 ©

The Last Tram

Edinburgh's Last Tram - 1956 ©

The Last Tram

    Destination Board from the last 23 tram - 1956 ©

Destination Board from Last 23 Tram

Last Tram Week - Streamer, November 1956 ©

Edinburgh's Last Tram,  1956:     Conductor +Drivers       Recollections

 

Edinburgh Trams

First and Last dates

 

Nov
1871

Jan
1888

1907

Jun
1922

23 Jun
1923

16 Nov
1956

2010
?

Horse

===

===

===

 

 

 

 

Cable

 

===

===

===

===

 

 

Electric

 

 

 

===

===

===

 

New Electric

 

 

 

 

 

 

===

One route ran electric trams earlier - the Craiglockhart route from 1910.

Cable cars ran at 11.75mph on the Portobello route and 7.75mph on other routes.

Edinburgh Street Tramway Co operated horse-trams in Edinburgh and Leith.
These were acquired by Edinburgh Corporation in 1893 and Leith Corporation in 1904

Edinburgh Corporation handed over the running of horse-trams in 1893 and cable-trams in 1898 to Dick Kerr & Co.  Edinburgh Corporation took over again from1919.

Portobello was absorbed into Edinburgh in 1898.

Musselburgh Electric Tramways operated electric trams to Joppa in 1904 + Port Seton 1909

Leith Trams

First and Last dates

 

 

1871

1905

1909

1920

Leith amalgamated with Edinburgh in 1920

Horse

===

===

===

 

Electric

===

===

===

Source: The Last Trams, Edinburgh (J L Stevenson):  Publ. Moorfoot Publishing, Edin, 1986.  ISBN 0 906606 11X

 

First and Last Trams

in and around Edinburgh

These are the dates that some of the tram companies in and around Edinburgh operated:

Edinburgh Street Tramways Co

 Horse 1871-1904
Edinburgh Corporation (worked  by Edin & Dist) Horse 1893-1907
Edinburgh Northern Tramways Co Cable 1888-1897
Edinburgh Corporation ( by Edin & Dist, 1893-1919) Cable 1898-1923
Edinburgh Corporation Electric 1922-1956

 

Leith Corporation Horse 1904-1905
Leith Corporation Electric 1905-1920

 

Musselburgh & District E L & T Co Ltd Electric 1904-1931

 

Falkirk & District Tramways Co Electric 1905-1936

 

Stirling & Bridge of Alan Tramways Co Ltd Horse 1874-1920

 

Dunfermline & District Tramways Co Electric 1909-1937

 

Kirkcaldy Corporation Electric 1903-1931

 

Wemyss & District Tramways Co Ltd Electric 1906-1932

 

Perth & District Tramways Co Ltd Horse 1895-1905
Perth Corporation Electric 1905-1929

 

Dundee & District Tramways Co Ltd Horse + Steam 1877-1902
Dundee Corporation Trams Electric 1900-1956
Dundee Corporation Electricity Works Electric 1908-1961
Dundee Broughty Ferry & District Tramways Co Ltd Electric 1905-1931

 

Source:  The Tramways of Eastern Scotland (JC Gillham + RJS Wiseman).  Publ. Light Rail Transit Association
The table on page 61 of this book gives far more details than are included above.

 

 

  

 

 

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