25 February 2009: Princes Street Trams, Edinburgh

On 6th November 1871, the Edinburgh Street Tramways Company began operating the first tram service in the city.  The trams were horse-drawn and ran from Haymarket to Bernard Street in Leith.  By January 1888 Edinburgh Northern Tramways had begun running the first cable hauled trams.

Prior to 1920 Leith was a separate burgh with its own electrified municipal tram system.  Edinburgh’s traditional cable hauled system could be brought to a standstill in the event of cable breakage, so in 1922 the system was converted to electric traction. A short section of the old cable track still remains on Waterloo Place.

The system continued to expand during the 1930s, taking in the Musselburgh system and new routes Gorgie to Stenhouse, Braids to Fairmilehead and North Gyle to Maybury.  Following the Second World War, all municipal tramways in the United Kingdom (with the exception of Blackpool) were gradually replaced by diesel buses.  Edinburgh’s last tram operated on 16th November 1956.

Work to re-instate a tram system in Edinburgh began in June 2008.  For more information go to www.edinburghtrams.com.