The Early Years
Belfast’s tramway service was held in much esteem by her citizen’s as it was the first organised, scheduled and reliable public transport system. Prior to 1872, public transport relied predominantly on a limited array of horse-drawn bus services. However, a significant transformation occurred in August 1872 with the inauguration of the initial horse tramcar route by the Belfast Street Tramways Company [BST]. This pioneering route spanned from Castle Place to Botanic Gardens, traversing through Donegal Place, Wellington Place, Great Victoria Street, and University Road.
Initially, a fleet of five single-deck horse tram cars commenced operations with a frequency of every 9 minutes to Botanic Gardens and every 15 minutes to the York Street depot of the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway (BNCR). The company adopted a uniform fare of twopence, regardless of the distance covered during the journey. The trams were painted in “Standard Red” and blue painted trams came in later years. The Standard Irish Railway Gauge was used at 5ft 3 inches.
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In 1878, the BST sought an act enabling line extensions and a shift in track gauge to the British Capital Standard of 4 feet 8 ½ inches. However, the actual gauge implemented was 4 feet 9 inches, a gauge which lasted until the tram cars’ discontinuation in 1954.
By 1895, the company had 104 cars, 920 horses, and transported 11 million passengers on 24 miles of track.
The Electrification
Starting in 1896, Dublin, Belfast’s main competitor, introduced electric traction to its tram network. This exerted significant pressure on both Belfast Corporation and BST to electrify and enhance their own system.
Belfast Corporation aimed to acquire BST and implement an electric system conversion. The 1904 Belfast Corporation Tramways Act enabled a compulsory purchase of both BST and the smaller tramway owned by Belfast and County Down Railway for £356,948, 14 shillings, and sixpence.
The act enabled the corporation to electrify the entire system. They then set about acquiring 170 electric tram cars and converting 50 horse cars and five depots to electricity.
The Trams
All electric tram cars were double-deckers on four wheels. Electric power came from overhead wires connected by a trolley pole. At the terminus the conductor used a long wooden pole to disconnect and reconnect the tram to the power. Trams were double-ended and reversed at stop crossovers. The track was mostly double, except between Bellevue and Glengormley.
System electrification specifications:
Electrification year: 1905
Number of new trams built: 170
New Tram builder: Brush Traction Company
Horse trams converted: 50
Depots converted to electric traction: 5
Constant Growth
By 1880, the company possessed 61 trams and 470 horses, facilitating 5.8 million passenger journeys along approximately 12 miles of track. A mere decade later, the company’s assets increased to 104 cars and 920 horses, facilitating around 11 million passenger trips over roughly 24 miles of track.
In the early 1920s, Belfast experienced civil unrest during the establishment of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State. Tram cars and depots faced attacks, leading some cars to have wire netting over windows temporarily to safeguard passengers from stone-throwers.
The Tickets
Over the 80-years of the trams in Belfast, the Bell Punch System of tickets endured. This system employed color-coded tickets, each signifying a distinct fare. Stored on a rack, the Conductor inserted them into a ticket machine for hole punching before giving them to passengers. The hole’s position relative to the printed text determined if it was for “IN,” “OUT,” or “CROSSTOWN”. In 1952, the trial of the Ultimate System began, starting with trams at the Ardoyne Depot.
In Belfast, conductors typically wore their ticket machines and cash bags over the same shoulder, usually the right one. This contrasted with most other places in the UK, where they were worn on opposite shoulders, with the straps crossing the chest.
The Rule Benders
There were lots of ways that the people of Belfast tried to play the system in the pursuit of cheaper or free fares.
Mike Maybin, in his excellent book “A look at Belfast trams since 1945” recounts a story he heard about a gentleman who lived on the Malone Road route who got into the habit of offering a 10-shilling note for his penny fare into town in the morning.
Remembering that 10 shillings might be a week’s wages for a working man, few conductors could change this amount first thing in the morning. Therefore, there was no choice but to allow him to travel free. One conductor becoming fed up with this behavior, decided to deal with the matter in his own way. The next time he was faced with the “Sorry I’ve only got a 10-bob note”, he replied “No problem, Sir, I’ve got some change this morning”, and handed the passenger 119 penny coins. He did not have any more trouble from that particular gentleman!
World War 2
During the Second World War, the Belfast trams faced adversity during the Luftwaffe air raids. The tram depot on Salisbury Avenue experienced a direct hit during the Easter Tuesday raid of 1941. This resulted in a tragic loss of life, with 1000 people killed – marking the highest death toll in a single night of Luftwaffe action outside of London and Coventry.
Accidents Did Happen
Belfast trams maintained a commendable safety record. However, on February 12, 1946, an incident occurred at Cliftonville terminus. A tram unexpectedly broke free and descended downhill, gaining speed. By the time it reached the bottom of Cliftonville Road, it was reportedly traveling at approximately 40 mph, according to the Daily Mail’s account of the incident. The tram derailed at the points and collided with a bookmaker’s shop adjacent to the Phoenix Public House on Antrim Road. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries.
Demise of the Trams
Joseph Mackle, appointed General Manager in 1951, played a pivotal role in shifting the approach from replacing trams with trolleybuses to eventually substituting them with motor buses.
Traveller numbers on Belfast’s public transport system hit their peak in 1945 at 257 million passengers (with 60.31% using trams). However, starting from that point, passenger figures steadily dwindled annually, coinciding with the increase of private car ownership during the 1950s.
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Every week we bring you two new Irish transport videos. Please support our content creation and our work in preserving the stories of Irish transport subscribe via www.irelandmade.ie
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By 1951, under Mackle’s direction, the policy of tram abandonment progressed, although 237 trams were still part of the fleet. To expedite tram phase-out, the department procured 100 new Daimler CVG6 buses with local firm, Harkness Coach Builders providing the bodywork. Additionally, 102 used utility Daimlers were acquired from London Transport, with all but eighteen retaining their original bodies. Harkness also re-bodied these busses in 1955-56. Many of these Daimlers remained in service until the early 1970s.
By February 1953, only a few trams were operational as buses gradually replaced them on a journey-by-journey basis. By October, trams were limited to the rush hour service.
The end had come and on Saturday 20th of February 1954, the last official tram procession took place when 12 Chamberlain cars travelled in convoy from Queens Road via Station Street, Queens Bridge, and St. Victoria Street, High Street, Castle Street, Royal Ave. North St. Peters Hill, Shankill Road and Woodvale Road to the Ardoyne Depot.
Trams Today
There are three preserved tram cars; horse car 118, horse car 249 and Chamberlain 357 which are currently in the collection of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.
Watch our previous video-story on Belfast’s trolleybus system “Belfast boasted Ireland’s only trolleybus network 1938-68 | Season 3 – Episode 26”
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=609440971242919
**If you have a story to share, email Kevin Reid [email protected]
Information sources and photo credits:
A nostalgic look at Belfast trams since 1945 – Mike Maybin
Arlene Gill
Belfast Corporation Tramways – Mike Maybin
Belfast corporation tramways 1905 to 1954 – Mike Maybin
Belfast Live
Belfast Telegraph
Belfast Telegraph
Gone but not forgotten – Irish Transport Trust & The Railway Preservation Society Of Ireland
John Cole
Kris Davies – topstastic.blogspot.com
National Library of Ireland
National Tramway Museum (UK)
Tramways Buttons and Badges
