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TRAMWAYS
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PLYMOUTH TRAMWAYS COMPANY
TRIAL RUNS
On Thursday September 19th 1889 the following
report appeared in the local press indicating that trial runs had taken place the previous
day, not, it seems, without some bemusement [1]:
'Congenial occupation was
found yesterday [Wednesday 18th September 1889] in the Plymouth
streets, between the Guildhall and Millbay, for a troupe of youngsters disengaged from
school, and also for not a few grown up people, in watching a new tramcar, which was run
for the first time over a long disused tramway. The
surprise excited was fully equalled by the amusement, for it can be easily imagined that
after being unused for six years, the tramway rails were in no condition for smooth and
easy running for any vehicle. The grooves of
the rails were jammed with dirt and stone, in many places they had sunk in, and at places
had bulged. The result was a comical series
of contretemps to the new car. At its first
transit between Bedford-street and Millbay, through Princess-square and Lockyer-street,
the car managed to get off the rails many times in that tortuous route, and when it did so
there had to be a series of tugs and twists to get on the rails again. The journey to and from was made several times,
and each time with greater facility than previously as the grooves became open, and the
line in better order. Of course, the object
was not to shew [sic] the state of the rails – for that, as might have been
predicted, was bad enough – though, considering how long a time had passed since they
were laid, without renovation, and the constant traffic of other vehicles across them, it
was scarcely to be expected that the car would run over them at all. Several gentlemen connected with the new owners of
the tramway occupied the car, and also the Rev. Mr Hitchens, Rev. A Van Straubenzee,
Colonel Slaughter, Messrs. Trounson, Kay, James McBryde, and some others more or less
interested in the matter in hand. The net
result, however, was very satisfactory, as it was shown that there was no serious twisting
of the rails out of gauge, and that a moderate amount of repairs will put the route in
working order. The new car, which was really
the centre of attraction, was greatly approved. It
is one of two built for this line by Milner, of Birkenhead, who supplies the tramways of
Leeds, Newcastle, and other large places with similar vehicles. It has a special undergearing, enabling the body
of the car to move laterally with ease and giving freedom to the wheels in passing over
curves, and reducing the strain on the horse, and on a good road would undoubtedly run
smoothly. Its light and elegant appearance,
and a body of pitch pine and with plenty of glass, were much admired. This trip afforded the first ocular evidence for
years past of the active existence of a Plymouth Tramway Company, and encourages the
expectation that before long the new proprietors – who are incorporated by an Act of
Parliament into a company, not under the Limited Liability Act, but by a special Act such
as that obtained for railways – will be able to open at least a portion of the line
for use. Many of the public, indeed, thought
that the happy day had already come, and amused the occupants – and especially the
fair amateur conductor, the daughter of Mr Davis, the chief proprietor of the tramways
– by hailing the vehicle to stop and pick them up as ordinary passengers, and
otherwise shewing [sic] that they intended to be patrons of the new conveyance
when it is once in complete going order.'
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Sources (incomplete):
[1] "Notes in the West", Western Morning
News, Plymouth, September 19th 1887.
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