PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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1892-1893 At the start of 1892 Plymouth Corporation decided to oppose the Plymouth Tramways Company's Bill in Parliament. They even resolved that when the construction of the new lines was completed, they themselves should apply to the Board of Trade for a certificate so that they could 'run an efficient service of cars'. At a Council meeting on March 1st 1892 it was resolved that they purchase the Tramway Company for a price of £12,500 and in due course they served a notice on the Company to repair the line between Westwell Street and West Hoe. In May 1892 they slightly changed their minds, however. At a meeting on May 24th they resolved to lease the tramways back to the Company for seven years at a rental of £1,100 per annum for the first three years and £1,250 for the remaining four. After the Plymouth Tramways Act received the Royal Assent on June 27th 1892 authorising the Corporation to purchase the tramway, they immediately invited tenders for the leasing of the line. The purchase by the Corporation was completed on September 12th 1892 but they had received only one tender to lease the line, offering £104 per annum for then use of the tramway and £15 per annum for the use of each of the depots. They refused an application to extend the time for tendering so that a firm of electrical engineers could submit proposals for electrifying the line and resolved to work the tramway themselves. Various proposals were put forward by the Corporation's Works Committee in October 1892. A siding was laid on North Hill and it was proposed to do likewise on Mannamead Hill, although there was an alternative suggestion that the track here might be simply doubled. A new line was to be built from the Market through Frankfort Street and Courtenay Street to the Clock Tower, thus enabling the abandonment of the section from the General Post Office in Westwell Street to the Royal Hotel. A new depot was to be erected on land off Pound Street, adjoining the Technical College. The vehicles run by the Tramway Company had not at that time been acquired but it seems to have been felt that: 'This will not cause keen regret'. The tramway was to be opened in March the following year. It was not until November 15th 1892 that a Tramways Sub-committee was formed, consisting of Alderman Pillman in the Chair, with Councillors Snow, Jinkin, Axworthy, Pethick and Ham. At their first meeting they decided to purchase the depot at Millbay and to buy four of the best tramcars owned by the Company for £80 each. They also resolved to connect the two sections together again and to seek powers to construct new lines to Prince Rock and the town boundary at King Street/Manor Street. On December 3rd the Corporation received the certificate of the Board of Trade and on the 9th they appointed Mr Charles R Everson of 13 Exeter Street, Plymouth, as the Manager of the undertaking. An office was set up at 23 Market Avenue. In between these dates, on the 6th, it was agreed to place an order with the Bristol Wagon Works Company for six tramcars, to be delivered by the end of February 1893. It appears that the Corporation started running tramcars from the Guildhall to Millbay and West Hoe on March 11th 1893, presumably using the four Company cars they were going to purchase as the first five of the Bristol Wagon Works Company vehicles did not arrive until Saturday April 1st. The last one arrived on Easter Monday. These 'light but substantial cars' carried 12 passengers inside plus 12 more in "garden chair" type seats on top (or 'outside' as they called it in those days). The cars weighed 34 cwt, cost about £110 each and were painted in a bright red and yellow livery. A trial run over the Market Place to Compton Lane End route using one of these tramcars was made at 3pm on the Saturday. The route took it up Old Town Street, Tavistock Place (at the rear of Tavistock Road) and North Hill, down to Mutley Plain, up the steep Townsend Hill and finished at the junction of the main road and the lane to Compton village, known to later generations as Hender's Corner. A leader horse was put on just after turning into Old Town Street and taken off at the junction with North Road. The journey thus far took four minutes. The Hyde Park Hotel was reached in 10-minutes, where another leader horse was attached for the haul up Townsend Hill. It took 13-minutes to get to Compton Lane. Other cars were passed coming in the opposite direction at Drake's Place, Mutley Plain and on the Mannamead level. On the following Monday (April 3rd) the service started at 9am and continued at 10-minute intervals until the last car left the Market Place for Compton Depot at 11pm. All day the trams were crowded, the newspaper said: 'many people seeming to ride for the novelty of the thing'. The service proper started on the Tuesday, being a normal working day, when the first car left at 7.45am followed by others at 8.20, 8.50 and 9am, when the 10-minute intervals started. The fare was one penny for any distance. There were no tramcars on a Sunday. A depot formerly owned by the Devonport and Stonehouse Tramway and ‘Bus Company was taken over and 34 horses were stabled there. There was room for a further 16 horses. Tramcars could also be housed there, but the building needed to have a roof put on. A cottage was to be built there for the head stableman, a Mr William Henry Turpin. In addition, there were stables for 14 horses at Millbay. Of the old steam tram route, the Western Daily Mercury said: 'The loop line by way of Cobourg-street and Houndiscombe-road to Mutley Plain is not yet ready for traffic. It will be worked by means of light one-horse cars similar to those in use on the West Hoe section.' On April 25th 1893 the Tramway Manager, Mr Everson, made an interesting report to the Corporation. The six new tramcars from the Bristol Wagon Works Company had cost £119 each and had been placed at work on the Market Place to Compton Lane End section. The Plymouth Tramways Company had owned nine single-horse cars and three larger ones that had been built for the steam tramway. The Corporation had bought six of these cars (4 at £80 each and two at £35 each) and two of these were to be fitted with outside seats. Four of the tramcars were being used on the West Hoe section and two would be used on the Houdiscombe Road service, which was to be started as soon as possible. Since his appointment as Manager, a clerk, an inspector, a head stableman, plus drivers, conductors and helpers had been engaged. The old Company stables at the Horse Emporium, Belgrave Road, Mutley, was considered to be too small while the depot at Compton, amounting g to about 62,000 square feet, actually belonged to the Provincial Tramways Company and was to be leased from them at an annual rental of £150 with an option to purchase for £3,000. A 12-minute headway was being maintained on the Northern section and a 10-minute one on the West Hoe section. There were proposals to double-track Townsend Hill and to extend the West Hoe line from Grand Parade to the Promenade Pier, which was opened in November 1893. The section running along Houndiscombe Road was to be opened as soon as possible. The Manager also gave the receipts during the first four weeks. In week 1, with enthusiasm at its highest, they carried 24,479 passengers and earned £101 19s 11d. Week 2 was not so good, only 17,971 passengers and an income of £74 17s 7d. Figures climbed again for week 3 to 18,926 and £78 17s 2d and during week 4 the trams carried 29,428 passengers and took £85 2s 4d in fares. By May 1893 the fleet consisted of the six Bristol Wagon Works cars, which carried 12 inside and 12 outside; and four ex-Plymouth Tramways Company cars, of which numbers 7, 9, 11 and 12 held 16 inside and 18 outside, and numbers 8 and 10 were licensed to carry just 20 passengers inside only. Wages at this time were 21 shillings a week for drivers and 10 shillings a week for conductors. The leader boys worked a 64-hour week for 7 shillings. The stablemen at Compton Depot worked one of two shifts, from 6.15 am to 8.30pm or from 6pm until 11.45pm, and were paid £500 per year. There is no evidence of the date of the opening of the Houndiscombe Road section but it is though to have been in December 1893.
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