Portsmouth Corporation Transport
Encyclopedia
Portsmouth Corporation Transport was a tram
, trolleybus
and bus
operator formed in 1898 and owned by Portsmouth Corporation. Tram services ended in 1936, while bus operations continued until the company was privatised in 1988.
The right to purchase the existing tramways was exercised in January 1901 and the system was closed whilst it was converted to electric traction, being completed in September 1901. However, horse traction did not end completely and continued on the Hilsea to Cosham line until May 1903. The compulsory purchase of all of the lines of the Portsmouth Street Tramways Company within the borough left the company with a short stub line from the boundary at Hilsea to Cosham. The parent company, Provincial Tramways, extended the line to Waterlooville and reopened as the Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway
on 2 March 1902.
Trolleybuses
replaced trams for the first time on the South Parade Pier to Cosham route on 4 August 1934 followed quickly by replacement of trams with trolleybuses on the other routes. The last tram was No. 106 and ran on 10 November 1936. Portsmouth Corporation Transport continued as a bus operator until 1988, when it was privatised.
and some of the vehicles have been returned. Unfortunately access to the new location is only by appointment, but some members of the collection have been used for free trips along Southsea
seafront during the summers of 2008 and 2009.
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
, trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
and bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
operator formed in 1898 and owned by Portsmouth Corporation. Tram services ended in 1936, while bus operations continued until the company was privatised in 1988.
History
Portsmouth Corporation Transport was formed with an act of parliament in 1898 allowing Portsmouth Corporation to take over the existing horse drawn tramways in Portsmouth.The right to purchase the existing tramways was exercised in January 1901 and the system was closed whilst it was converted to electric traction, being completed in September 1901. However, horse traction did not end completely and continued on the Hilsea to Cosham line until May 1903. The compulsory purchase of all of the lines of the Portsmouth Street Tramways Company within the borough left the company with a short stub line from the boundary at Hilsea to Cosham. The parent company, Provincial Tramways, extended the line to Waterlooville and reopened as the Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway
Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway
The Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway was a tram service that ran initially from Cosham to Horndean in Hampshire, England....
on 2 March 1902.
Trolleybuses
Trolleybuses in Portsmouth
The Portsmouth trolleybus system once served the city of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Opened on , it gradually replaced the Portsmouth tramway network; the last trams ran on 10 November 1936....
replaced trams for the first time on the South Parade Pier to Cosham route on 4 August 1934 followed quickly by replacement of trams with trolleybuses on the other routes. The last tram was No. 106 and ran on 10 November 1936. Portsmouth Corporation Transport continued as a bus operator until 1988, when it was privatised.
Preservation
For many years vehicles of Portsmouth Corporation Transport were preserved at the City of Portsmouth Preserved Transport Depot (CPPTD), based at the Broad Street bus depot in Portsmouth. This site closed in 2003. Many vehicles were dispersed, but the CPPTD found a new home at Wicor Farm in PortchesterPortchester
Portchester is a locality and suburb 10km northwest of Portsmouth, England. It is part of the borough of Fareham in Hampshire. Once a small village, Portchester is now a busy part of the expanding conurbation between Portsmouth and Southampton, on the A27 main thoroughfare...
and some of the vehicles have been returned. Unfortunately access to the new location is only by appointment, but some members of the collection have been used for free trips along Southsea
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
seafront during the summers of 2008 and 2009.