| Synopsis: |
This is the second of a new series of books that will cover the history of tramway operation in the British Isles. Focusing on Yorkshire and the North-East England, this book provides an overview of the history of tramways in the region from the 1860s, when one of the pioneering horse trams that predated the Tramways Act of 1870 operated for a brief period in Darlington, through to the closures of the last traditional tramways - Leeds and Sheffield - in 1959 and 1960, respectively. Concentrating on the systems that survived into 1945 - Bradford, Gateshead, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, Rotherham, Sheffield, South Shields and Sunderland - the book provides a comprehensive narrative, detailing the history of these operations from 1945 onwards, with full fleet lists, maps and details of route openings and closures. The story is supported by some 200 illustrations, both colour and black and white, many of which have never been published before, that portray the trams that operated in these towns and cities and the routes on which they operated.Bringing the story up-to-date, the book also examines the two second-generation tramways built in the region - the Tyne & Wear Metro and Sheffield Supertram - as well as informing readers where it is still possible to see surviving first-generation trams from the region in preservation. |