Torquay Tramways operated electric street tram

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...

s in Torquay

Torquay

Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England, from 1907. They were initially powered by the unusual Dolter stud-contact electrification, but in 1911 was converted to more conventional overhead-line

Overhead lines

Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...

 supply. The line was extended into neighbouring Paignton

Paignton

Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...

 in 1911 but the whole network was closed in 1934.

History

Torquay developed as a seaside resort during the nineteenth century, spreading across the hills above Tor Bay. The South Devon Railway

South Devon Railway Company

The South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel-Chronology:* 1844 South Devon Railway Act passed by parliament...

 opened a station at on the hill above the town in 1848, and the line was extended to in 1859 when another station was provided near the Abbey Sands.

Around the end of 1901 two different companies proposed to build electric tramways to link Torquay and Paignton. These schemes failed to get started, but in 1902 the Doulter Electric Company was invited build a line instead that would use their stud-contact system of electrification. A poll was conducted of the ratepayers of Torquay; a small majority was in favour of a tramway being built but not for the council to either build or operate it. An Act of Parliament

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 was passed on 15 August 1904, authorising a network of 8.92 miles (14.4 km) gauge tracks and the Doulter power supply.
Construction was started in by the National Electric Construction Company (NECC) 1905 and the electrical system was installed by the Doulter Electric Company during 1906. The first trials took place in December but official testing by the Board of Trade

Board of Trade

The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...

 did not take place until 7 March 1907. The public opening was then able to take place on 5 April 1907, but the line to Babbacombe was not ready until the end of the year and that along the seafront was completed on 16 April 1908.

The Doulter company had obtained the Act and ordered the trams but the NECC, who had been contracted by them to lay the tracks, registered a subsidiary company in December 1907 named the Torquay Tramways Company to take over the Doulter company's operations in Torquay. This company obtained a Torquay and Paignton Tramways Act on 16 August 1909 to extend the seafront line 2.31 miles (3.7 km) to Hyde Road, Paignton

Paignton

Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...

. The council in Paignton insisted that the tram's power supply in their town was to be by overhead trolley wire rather than the Dolter stud system. Work on erecting trolley wires above the existing tracks started late in 1910 and was completed on 6 March 1911. The new line to Paignton was opened on 17 July 1911. The Dolter tram cars were rebuilt to collect current from the overhead wire.

In 1920 the company started to operate buses to Newton Abbot and beyond but in 1922 they were transferred to Devon General

Devon General

Devon General was the brand name for the principal bus operator in south Devon from 1919. The name was first used by the Devon General Omnibus and Touring Company which was created in 1919. In 1922 it was purchased by the National Electric Construction Company which merged with British Electric...

 when that business became a subsidiary of the NECC. In 1925, at the instigation of the Torquay Council, the Babbacombe Cliff Railway

Babbacombe Cliff Railway

Babbacombe Cliff Railway is a funicular railway in the town of Torquay in the English county of Devon. It links Babbacombe Downs with Oddicombe Beach, and is owned and operated by the Torbay Council. The line runs march to end of october from 9:30am to 5.55pm...

 was operated by the Torquay Tramways Company.

With the aim of extending further into Paignton, permission was sought in 1933 to convert to 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...

es, but the Western National Omnibus Company

Western National

Western National was a bus operating company in South West England from 1929 to the 1990s.-Early history:Western National Omnibus Company Ltd started in 1929 as a joint venture between the Great Western Railway and the National Omnibus & Transport Company...

 objected and the necessary Act of Parliament was not passed. Instead the company decided to convert its routes to motor bus operation. Parliament gave permission on 18 July 1933. Trams to Paignton were replaced by buses on 14 January 1934 and the remaining services ceased on 31 January 1934.

Tram routes

The location of the electricity generating station and depot was changed before construction was started, so some of the tracks authorised by the initial Act of Parliament were not built. The network in 1907 therefore consisted of just 6.79 miles (10.9 km). The extension to Paignton brought the network to 9.1 miles (14.6 km).

The centre of the network was The Strand alongside the inner harbour at Torquay from where lines went east and west to Torre station and Babbacombe (which connected by two different connecting lines), and south to Paignton. The timetables identified five numbered routes:

1. Torquay to Paignton

2. Circular via Wellswood

3. Circular via Ellacombe

4. Torre station to Beacon Quay

5. St Marychurch to Torre station

Depot

The company's depot was built in Westhill Avenue, St Marychurch (which was sometimes known as Plainmoor). A garage was built in 1921 to cater for the bus fleet. A petrol tank exploded on 3 June 1921, destroying one bus body and damaging two trams, five other motor vehicles and the sheds. After the bus fleet was transferred to Devon General that company bought the bus garage and this was their main depot in the area until a new larger one was built on the Newton Road. After the trams were withdrawn the depot was sold to Torquay Corporation, who used it for its refuse trucks and other vehicles until 1992.

The opening of the Paignton extension saw the construction of a smaller tram depot at Preston.

A depot for four buses was built in The Avenue, Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....

 in 1921 to house buses used on routes outside Torquay.

Power supply

The town council of Torquay did not want their seaside resort disfigured by the poles and overhead wires of a conventional electric tramway and so invited the Dolter Electric Traction Company to construct a tramway using their stud-contact system.

A conductor cable was laid in a trench between the rails. At 9 feet (2.7 m) intervals a box was fitted between the rails that contained a stud (which protruded about 1 inches (25.4 mm) above the road) and a bell crank

Bell crank

A bell crank is a type of crank that changes motion through an angle. The angle can be any angle from 0 to 360 degrees, although 90 degrees and 180 degrees are common....

. A magnet on a passing tram attracted this crank which then moved to make contact between the conductor cable and stud; once the tram moved away the crank dropped away and the stud was no longer connected to the cable. A long skate was suspended beneath each tramcar which was magnetised by electro-magnets and so both operated the cranks and collected the current that both moved the tram car and powered the electro-magnets. A small battery was carried to charge the electro-magnets should the power be interrupted. The negative return current passed through the rails.

A horse was killed after it stepped on a live stud during construction of the tramway in Torquay. Each tram car was then fitted with a bell connected to a special contact arm to warn the driver if a stud remained live after it had passed. The conductor of the tram then had to reset the crank using an insulated mallet. During the Board of Trade

Board of Trade

The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...

 inspection of the tramway four such studs were detected during about 8 miles (12.9 km) of tests. There were also frequent problems with trams being stopped when a stud failed to be made live when needed. On 27 January 1910 a snow storm stopped all the trams as they couldn't make contact with the studs.

Electricity was supplied from Torquay town council's generating station on Beacon Quay.

Engineering

The track was gauge. The steepest gradient was 1 in 11 (9%) for 440 yards (402.3 m). The sharpest curve was 31 feet (9.4 m) radius.

Trams

Trams were painted maroon lined in gold or yellow with the window pillars, rocker and upper deck sheeting in cream. The initial network opened with a fleet of 18 tram cars. By 1925 this had expanded to 42 cars.

Numbers	In service	Type	Seats	Builder	Truck	Comments
1–18	1907–1934	Double deck, four-wheel	49	Brush Brush Traction This article is about a British rail-locomotive maker. For the Detroit auto-maker, see Brush Motor Car CompanyBrush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of the FKI group , based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, England situated alongside the Midland Main Line.-...	Mountain & Gibson Radial (Seven cars rebuilt with Brill 21E trucks)	Six cars sold to Plymouth Tramways.
19–33	1910–1934	Double deck, four wheel	49	Brush	Brill 21E
34–36	1921–1934	Single deck, four-wheel	24	Brush	Brush A1	New to Taunton Tramway Taunton Tramway The Taunton Tramway was an electric street tramway in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England. It operated a fleet of six narrow gauge tramcars on a single route of between 1901 and 1921 when the tramway closed due to a dispute over the cost of electricity.-History:The Taunton and West...  in 1905.
37–40	1923–1934	Double deck, bogie Bogie A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...	76	Brush	Brush Maximum Traction	Sold to Plymouth Tramways
41–42	1925–1934	Double deck, bogie	72	Brush	Brush Maximum Traction	Sold to Plymouth Tramways

Buses

A number of operators each ran a small number of motor or steam buses in the area. In July 1914 the Torquay Tramways Company ordered three single-deck buses but they were diverted away from Torquay by the government before delivery because of the impending war

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. After the war was over, a new order was placed in July 1919. The first three started to operate between Torre (where they connected with the trams) and Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....

 on 3 May 1920. More buses were delivered during the month and on May 20 the route was extended from Torre down to The Strand, and new routes ran from The Strans to Shaldon

Shaldon

Shaldon is a village in South Devon, England. It is located opposite Teignmouth in South Devon, England and situated on the River Teign. It has been described as "a quaint English drinking village, with a fishing problem". The village is a popular bathing place and is characterised by Georgian...

 and from Newton Abbot to Dawlish

Dawlish

Dawlish is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon in England, from the county town of Exeter. It has a population of 12,819...

. In 1921 routes were added from Paignton to Brixham

Brixham

Brixham is a small fishing town and civil parish in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Brixham is at the southern end of Torbay, across the bay from Torquay, and is a fishing port. Fishing and tourism are its major industries. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of...

 and from Torquay to Buckfastleigh

Buckfastleigh

Buckfastleigh is a small market town and civil parish in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. It is part of Teignbridge District and, for ecclesiastical purposes lies within the Totnes Deanery. It has a population of 3,661...

 via Newton Abbot and Ashburton

Ashburton, Devon

Ashburton is a small town on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon, adjacent to the A38 Devon Expressway.It was formerly important as a stannary town , and remains the largest town within the National Park, with a population of around 3,500...

.

The Devon General Omnibus and Touring Company

Devon General

Devon General was the brand name for the principal bus operator in south Devon from 1919. The name was first used by the Devon General Omnibus and Touring Company which was created in 1919. In 1922 it was purchased by the National Electric Construction Company which merged with British Electric...

 had started bus services between Exeter and Torquay in 1919 with three vehicles and soon expanded their fleet and area of operation. On 22 June 1922 Devon General was purchased by the Torquay Tramway Company on behalf of the NECC. The tramway buses were transferred to Devon General.

The buses were painted in the same maroon and cream livery as the trams. The fleet was a mixture of single-deck buses, open top

Open top bus

An open top bus is a bus, usually but not exclusively a double-decker bus, where all or part of the roof has been removed to enable enjoyment of fresh air and uninterrupted views.-Usage:...

 double-deck buses, and open-sided charabanc

Charabanc

A charabanc or "char-à-banc" is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early motor coach, usually open-topped, common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It was especially popular for sight-seeing or "works outings" to the country or the seaside, organised by businesses once a year...

s.

Numbers	RegistrationsFleet numbers were not necessarily in the same order as registration numbers.	New	Type	Seats	Chassis	Body
1–9The body of number 3 was destroyed in the depot fire on 3 June 1921. The chassis was provided in 1922 with a new body built by Strachan and Brown and thenceforth carried registration TA 3094.	T 8188–T 8204Only even numbered registrations were issued in the block T 8188–T 8204.	1920	Single-deck	26	AEC YC	Brush Brush Traction This article is about a British rail-locomotive maker. For the Detroit auto-maker, see Brush Motor Car CompanyBrush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of the FKI group , based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, England situated alongside the Midland Main Line.-...
10–12	TA 1008–TA 1010	1921	Charabanc	30	Daimler Daimler Motor Company The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...  Y	Roberts
13–15	TA 1004 – TA 1006	1921	Double-deck	46	AEC K AEC K-type The AEC K-type was a type of bus chassis built by Associated Equipment Company from 1919 until 1926, mainly for use in London by the London General Omnibus Company ....	LGOC London General Omnibus Company The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC, was the principal bus operator in London between 1855 and 1933. It was also, for a short period between 1909 and 1912, a motor bus manufacturer.- Overview :...
16–18	TA 1168–TA 1170	1921	Double-deck	46	AEC K	LGOC
19–24	T 8192, TA 1676–TA 1679	1921	Charabanc	30	Daimler Y	?
?	TA 1934	1921	Charabanc	30	Daimler Y	?
25–28	TA 3797–TA TA 3848The charabancs delivered in 1922 were issued the registrations TA 3797, TA 3802, TA 3803 and TA 3848.	1922	Charabanc	28	Daimler Y	?
29–36	TA 3794–TA 3849The buses delivered in 1922 were numbered TA 3794–T A 3796, TA 3798–TA 3801 and TA 3849.	1922	Single-deck	32	Daimler Y	Strachan and Brown

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