Predecessors. Manchester's first tram age began in 1877 with the first horse-drawn trams of Manchester Suburban Tramways Company. Electric traction was introduced in 1901, and the municipal Manchester Corporation Tramways expanded across the city.
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Services were withdrawn earlier than most other British cities to be replaced by trolleybus and motor buses. Trams did not return to the city until the modern light-rail system Manchester Metrolink opened in 1992.
In Britain, the Volk's Electric Railway was opened in 1883 in Brighton. This two kilometer line, re-gauged to 2 feet 9 inches (840 mm) in 1884, remains in service to this day, and is the oldest operating electric tramway in the world.
Where is the oldest tram? The world's first passenger train or tram was the Swansea and Mumbles Railway, in Wales, UK. The British Parliament passed the Mumbles Railway Act in 1804, and horse-drawn service started in 1807. The service closed in 1827, but was restarted in 1860, again using horses.
The advent of personal motor vehicles and the improvements in motorized buses caused the rapid disappearance of the tram from most western and Asian countries by the end of the 1950s (for example the first major UK city to completely abandon its trams was Manchester by January 1949).
There was also a strong financial reason why London Transport wanted to scrap the trams. It was alleged that the trams were losing about one million pounds per annum, and that both vehicles and track were worn out. The cost of replacement and renewal would be great.
First electric tram in England was opened in 1885 in Blackpool. There are more than 200 European cities who have active tram lines. More than 36,000 trams and light rail vehicles are currently in operation all around the world. The largest fleet of trams is in a city of Prague (920).
Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works, Loughborough started building tram engines in 1876. His engines were of the saddle-tank type and exhaust steam was condensed in a tank under the footplate by jets of cold water from the saddle-tank. Kitson & Company started to build tram engines in 1878.
The world's largest tram system is situated in Melbourne in Australia, pictured above. The system began operation with horse drawn trams in 1884. Today the system consists of 487 electric trams which run on 250 kilometers of track which are served by 27 routes and 1,763 stops.
Conventional electric trams are operated in street running and on reserved track for most of their route. However, on one steep segment of track, they are assisted by cable tractors, which push the trams uphill and act as brakes for the downhill run.
In the first place we find the tram network that serves the Australian city of Melbourne. Consisting of twenty-eight lines, it is the largest network in the world with 245 km of tracks. Inaugurated in 1883, it has 28 lines and 1813 stops.
In 2005, UK transport minister Alistair Darling cancelled the Leeds tram project. His reasons for cancelling the Leeds tram project were rising project costs.