Historic Tramway Photographs
A selection of historic British photographs from various sources, including many from the Ray T. Wilson collection displayed with the permission of their custodian, the Tramway & Light Railway Society.
London County Council Tramways
Official views from the original London County Council Tramways records, shown with kind permission of the London Metropolitan Archives.
French Tramway Postcard Album
These views are extracted from commercial postcards from the Belle Époque and give an idea of the tramways, transporter bridges and other transport features in France during that period.
Tramway Origins and Pioneers
A brief history of the early days in the development of street tramways and the people who built them.
Charles J. Van Depoele
The story of an inventor in America who built some of the the earliest electric tramways, but is today largely forgotten.
Horse Trams on Rail and Road
Two British inventors, Curtis and Haworth, designed early forms of tram that could leave the tracks and proceed as a bus.
The Clockwork Tram
Clockwork, or more correctly spring power, was indeed tried on trams. British and American cars are described here.
Grantham's Steam Tramcar
The first steam tram in regular service on a British tramway and its novel system for fare collection.
West Ham's First Trolleybus
In 1912 West Ham Corporation Tramways demonstrated an early trolleybus by Cedes-Stoll. Here is a description of that trial and the background behind it.
Compressed Air Trams
A detailed history with photographs of this unusual form of tramway and its main builder, Louis Mékarski, which was little more than an experiment in most places but was a success in France.
Other articles of historical interest:-
Postcard of the Month Each card is accompanied a brief history of the tramway system involved.
Current Collection The methods by which an electric tramcar can receive its power supply.
Tramcar Trucks A description of tramcar trucks and how to model them in small scales.
Starting & Stopping A review of tramcar controllers and brakes.
Tramway Information Homepage