Colchester Corporation Tramways
Encyclopedia
Colchester Corporation Tramways served the town of Colchester
in Essex
from 28 July 1904 until 8 December 1929.
Electrical power was obtained from Colchester Corporation's power station in Osborne Street, and the depot with its tram shed was on the south side of Magdalen Street at .
The radial system was centred on the High Street and Town Hall at . Routes were:
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
from 28 July 1904 until 8 December 1929.
Infrastructure
The system opened in 1904, and was complete when its final section from St Botolph's station to the Recreation Ground was opened on 28 January 1906.Electrical power was obtained from Colchester Corporation's power station in Osborne Street, and the depot with its tram shed was on the south side of Magdalen Street at .
The radial system was centred on the High Street and Town Hall at . Routes were:
- Queen Street, St Botolph's Street, Military Road - to a terminus just past the junction with Wimpole Road at . (Recreation Ground)
- Queen Street, St Botolph's Street, Magdalen Street, Barrack Street, Hythe Hill to a terminus at . (Hythe)
- East Hill, East Street to a terminus just west of the railway crossing at . (East Gates)
- North Hill, North Station Road to a terminus just through the railway bridge at adjacent to Colchester railway stationColchester railway stationColchester or Colchester North is the main railway station for Colchester in Essex, England. It is on the former Great Eastern Railway main line from London Liverpool Street to Norwich and is a junction for the line to Walton-on-the-Naze and Clacton-on-Sea, which diverges southwards from the main...
. (North Station) - Head Street, Crouch Street, Lexden Road, Lexden Hill, Lexden Street to a terminus at the junction with Straight Road at . (Lexden)
Tramcars
The fleet, in a livery of maroon/dark brown and cream, consisted of:- 18 open top double deck tramcars (manufactured by the Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works, later renamed the United Electric Car Company)
Closure
The tramway system closed in 1929 and was replaced by the motorbuses of Colchester Corporation Transport.External links
- Colchester Corporation Tramways route map
- Photographs of tracks still visible in the tramshed in 2008
- Colchester Corporation Tramways button
- Colchester Corporation Tramways uniformed staff
- Pictures of Colchester trams