Four Einburgh Trams. posed to have their photos taken at Bruntsfield Links or The Meadows

© Photo from the Edinburgh Corporation Transport Collection reproduced with acknowledgement to Lothian Buses
and taken from a print from the original glass plate made by John Dickson, Royston, Edinburgh

Questions

Where?

These trams appear to have been posed to have their photos taken, so may not be on their normal routes. They are showing destinations but no route numbers.

I'm not sure of the location, but it looks as if it may be The Meadows or possibly Bruntsfield Links.

When?

When might this photo have been taken? The trams all appear to be in very good condition and possibly newly painted. They were all built between 1924 and 1950.

The first three survived until 1956, the year that Edinburgh's tram system closed. The trams in Photos 4 and 5 were scrapped a little earlier. **

** The source of my dates and other info in the captions and paragraphs above is DLG Hunter's book, Edinburgh Transport - The Corporation Years (Publ: Adam Gordon), pp. 144-156

Reply

Allan Dodds

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Allan Dodds wrote:

Tram Routes

"These photographs are all taken around the Meadows area.

The photographs were probably posed because in my day the only tram to Liberton was the No.8 which ran from Granton to Liberton via Canonmills/North/South Bridge/Newington Station, whereas the tram in the photo would have run on the Morningside route via the Mound and Tollcross if it had passed the Meadows.

But, there may once have been a route to Liberton via the Grange, with the tram veering off at Bruntsfield/Morningside and joining up with the Newington Station line- but not in my day.

Edinburgh tram buffs please contribute!"

Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: February 25, 2012

Comment
Tram Routes

I don't think we should try to draw any conclusions about tram routes from these five photos. It looks to me as if these trams were just taken to The Meadows to have their photos taken.

In fact, Photo 5 (which had still to add to the web site when Allan sent his comments) shows a tram with a destination 'King's Road'.

I cannot imagine there ever having been a direct tram route from anywhere via The Meadows to King's Road.**

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: February 25, 2012

** But please see the comments from David King, below..

Tram to Portobello

Thank you to David King for correcting me.
Referring to this photo of tram No.314, David wrote:

"Incidentally the 19 tram route went through the Meadows (from Tollcross) and terminated at Seafield (the end of Craigentinny Avenue North) not too far from King’s Road.

I suspect that most of the other shots are off the normal routes though.

David King, Trinity, Edinburgh: March 1, 1012

Allan added:

Dates of the Trams

"Tram No. 172 was probably built in 1950.

Tram No. 230 was probably not built in 1935 but was more likely to be a later tram than tram No, 172 because trams didn't start bearing advertisements until the mid-1950s."

Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: February 25, 2012

Comment
Dates of the Trams

I agree with Allan's comments about the date that tram No. 172 was built.

I am not aware of any tram with No. 230 built after 1935. I assume that Photo 2 above is of a tram built in 1935, but photographed in the 1950s.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: February 25, 2012

Reply

Peter Stubbs

Edinburgh

Photos taken
Early-1950s or Mid-1950s?

I found Allan's comments about trams not bearing adverts until the mid-1950s to be interesting. This seems to be born out by the photos that I have seen of trams from the 1930s, '40s and '50s (though some of the very early trams do seem to born adverts.

I believe that all five photos at the top of this page are likely to have been taken at about the same time. Certainly the trees in the background of Photo 2 seem to match those in Photo 3.

So perhaps all the photos were taken in the mid-1950s. Many photos were taken of trams in 1956, the year the system closed, but these were presumably taken a little earlier because the tram in Photo 5 appears to have been scrapped in 1953. **

There are photos showing many trams carrying adverts in April and August 1953 in RJS Wiseman's book, 'Edinburgh Trams, The Last Years: Volume 1 - The North' (Publ: Stenlake Publishing Ltd.).

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: February 25, 2012

** The source of my dates and other info in the captions and paragraphs above is DLG Hunter's book, 'Edinburgh Transport - The Corporation Years' (Publ: Adam Gordon), pp. 144-156

Reply

George Smith

Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

George Smith wrote:

Colours for Tram Routes

"The recent spate of tram pictures prodded my memory of some sort of colour coding of routes. I recollect a panel of three(?) lights on the top near side of the tram.

I have no idea what these meant but on the Gorgie route of the No 3 tram I think it was white over blue. Clarification would be welcome if I am not imagining this."

George Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada: February 25, 2012

Comment
Tram Routes

Yes George. There is a panel at the top-right corner of this 1924 Transport Map which gives the colours used for the various routes. It confirms your recollection that the colours for Tram Route 3 were blue and white - in fact, 'blue over white'.

The old tram route colours are the equivalent of the modern day route branding used by Lothian Buses for some of the major bus routes:

- Route 3 = yellow roofs

- Route 22 = pink roofs

- Route 26 = red roofs

- Route 44 = grey roofs

- Route 37/47 = blue roofs.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: February 26, 2012