Northampton Corporation Tramways

Northampton Corporation Tramways operated an electric tramway service in Northampton between 1904 and 1934.[1]

Northampton Corporation Tramways
Bridge Street, Northampton ca. 1918
Operation
LocaleNorthampton, England, United Kingdom
Open21 July 1904
Close15 December 1934
StatusClosed
Infrastructure
Track gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Propulsion system(s)Electric
Statistics
Route length8 1⁄4 miles (13.3 km)
Trams at the Cock Hotel, Kingsthorpe, Northampton, circa 1905

The tramway opened in July 1904, replacing the horse tram service previously provided by the Northampton Street Tramways Company. The horse tram service had been obtained by the Corporation in 1901 for the sum of £38,700 (equivalent to £4,230,000 in 2019).[2]

The initial services operated over 5 1⁄2 miles (8.9 km), until 1914 when an extension to Far Cotton increased the route mileage to 8 1⁄4 miles (13.3 km).

The first world war resulted in some restrictions in services, but Sunday service was re-introduced in 1919.[3]

There was some financial difficulty after the war, in 1919 the losses were reported as £2,447 on expenditure of £50,058, and by 1921 losses had increased to £8,900.[4] However, by 1924 the situation had improved and a profit of £9,000 was reported.[5]

Fleet

There were 37 tramcars in the Northampton fleet:

The livery was vermilion and white.

Closure

The system was closed on 15 December 1934.

Two tram stops survive in Northampton. One is near the Racecourse and the other is on Kingsthorpe Grove.[6]

References
  1. The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.
  2. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  3. The Electrician, Volume 82, 1919
  4. The Electrician, Volume 88, 1921
  5. The Electrician, Volume 92, 1924
  6. "Trams". Far Cotton History Group. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
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