The Kingston upon Hull tramway network was a network of tram lines following the five main roads radially out of the city centre of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Two of these lines went west, and two east. The fifth went to the north, and branched to include extra lines serving suburban areas. Additionally a short line linked the city centre to the Corporation Pier where a ferry crossed the Humber Estuary to New Holland, Lincolnshire.
The early tramway system was worked from 1876 by horse power by the Hull Street Tramways Company, except on the eastwards Hedon Road route which was operated by steam power from the outset by the Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramways Company after 1899. Both companies were acquired by the city council in the final years of the 19th century, and the routes electrified and converted to double track, and operated as a municipal concern.
The City of Hull Tramways (later known as the Corporation Tramways) expanded the electrified tram network along the main roads of Hull up to 1927 when the tram system reached its greatest size.
Between 1937 and 1945 the system was converted to trolleybus operation. The Hull trolleybus system worked on the same paths as tram system, with the exception of the Hedon Road and Corporation Pier branches which became diesel bus operated. Later, all trolleybus services were replaced with diesel powered buses.
History
Hull Street Tramways In 1871, soon after the Tramways Act 1870 became law, permission was sought from the board of Kingston upon Hull to construct a tram system in the town. The scheme was backed by Major Trevenen James Holland and the scheme received the support of the local board, despite problems due to narrow streets in the old town – making double track running difficult as well as causing opposition from the landowning Trinity House. The construction was authorised by the , and confirmed by the Tramways Orders Confirmation (No. 4) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. clviii), allowing the construction by the Continental and General Tramways Company of several tram lines in Hull centred on the town centre, including two westward lines along Anlaby and Hessle Road, a line north-eastward along Holderness Road, a line roughly west-north-west along Spring Bank, and a short line running southwards from the city centre to the old town to Nelson Street close to the Victoria Pier.Hull Trams : The Early Years (1977), Chapter 2: The Continental & General Tramways Company
On 9 January 1875 the tram route to Beverley Road was opened, and, in November 1876 the Hull Street Tramways Company (incorporated 1875) acquired the partially constructed tramway system from the Continental and General Tramways Co..Hull Trams : The Early Years (1977), Chapter 3: The Hull Street Tramways Company The Spring Bank route opened in 1876, the lines along Hessle Road, Anlaby Road, Holderness Road and the line through the old town were all open by 1877. The tram system was horse-operated, approximately 9 miles long, and mostly single-tracked. The company operated a fleet of around 30 vehicles, initially single-deck vehicles; later double-deck horse-drawn trailers were used, some with a capacity of over 40 persons. In 1882 over 30,000 passengers per week were being carried; most areas could be reached from the city centre for a fare of 1d.
The company had three depots,Hull Trams : The Early Years (1977), Chapter 5 : The Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramways Company, map "Street Tramways in Hull 1895"Kingston Upon Hull Corporation Transport : A Brief History on Hessle Road (near Regent Street), Hessle Road near Regent Street (See 1890s Ordnance Survey maps). The site was not used after electrification, and later the location was used for a municipal bath house, Regent Street no longer exists being replaced by Rawling Way. Temple Street, Temple Street, off Beverley Road. Site not used for trams after electrification. and at Jesmond Gardens.
The tram company was in competition with wagonettes, omnibuses and hackney carriages, though ridership and income was good, accidents were common, including some resulting in the amputation of limbs of passengers, or even their death, for which the company was liable to provide considerable compensation.Hull Trams : The Early Years (1977), Chapter 4 : Different attitudes and the trams Damage to tracks caused by the harsh winter of 1886/7, falling income, and rising infrastructure costs, and other circumstances beyond the control of the company, led to the company being liquidated in 1889; the eastward route to Holderness Road was sold to the Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramways Company in 1891.
In 1895 an agreement for the Hull Corporation to purchase the company was reached – the price being £12,500; the undertaking was temporarily leased to W. Nettleton from 18 October of the same year. By November 1896 the decision had been made to run the tram system as a municipal enterprise, and the decision was made to convert it to an electric tram system.Hull Trams : The Early Years (1977), Chapter 7, Kingston upon Hull Corporation Tramways (a brief account)
Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramways Company The Hull Street Tramways scheme had included a route east from the city centre along Hedon Road, but this did not form part of the final act of Parliament. In 1885 the Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramways Company was formed by local individuals including F. B. Grotrian. After negotiations with the Hull Corporation, which required the new company to provide a deposit of £500 per mile, and to contribute up to £500 towards the costs of any bridges along the route requiring widening, the bill for the new line was submitted in 1886.Hull Trams : The Early Years (1977), Chapter 5, The Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramways Company
By 1889 a section of track from Great Union Street to Hedon Road, going as far as the junction with Lee Smith Street had been completed,The line went as far as the newly constructed (1885) Alexandra Dock which was then at the outskirts of the town. and opened for traffic. The tramway was originally intended to extend as far as the outlying village of Marfleet; extension beyond Lee Smith Street were delayed, and in 1892 the company sought to rescind from its original obligations; the maximum extent of the line was to just beyond the Holderness Drain on Hedon Road, a short branch to Drypool Bridge was also later built.
The company used two-axle steam locomotives built by Thomas Green & Son. The vehicles, which each cost £500 were fitted with apparatus enabling them to 'consume their own smoke', and had the wheels encased for safety. They drew double decker bogie carriages, seating 32 at ground level and 42 on the upper level; the upper and lower decks were enclosed. The company's depot was at Hotham Street off Hedon Road. The depot was connected by a short branch along Hotham Street, which was disconnected from the system by the 1900s, the site later became an electricity substation, as of 2010 the substation land retains the same boundaries as the depot.
The line was single tracked with passing loops, a fare of 1d was charged for all journeys.
In 1899 the Hull Corporation (having acquired authority to construct an electric tramway in 1896) bought the Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramways Company for £15,500. The system was operated under lease whilst the new electric tram system was under construction. By 1901 only two of the locomotives were still in operation, and the last steam tram ran on 13 January 1901 – the Hedon Road line was served by wagonettes until the electric tramway was opened in 1903.KHCT : An Illustrated History.. (1979), Chronology 1875–1901, p. 4
Hull Corporation trams The Hull Corporation acquired the Hull Street Tramways in 1895 and an agreement had been made to purchase the Drypool and Marfleet Steam Tramways Company in 1894, (the company was purchased in 1899). In 1896 the corporation got permission from Parliament in the to construct and operated an electric tram system, and to get loans of £300,000 in funding. The company was initially known as the City of Hull Tramways until 1919, from then until 1931 the name Corporation Tramways was used, followed by Hull Corporation Transport until 1945.
Expansion of tram system and infrastructure (1898–1927)
The official ceremony of laying of the first rail took place on 9 June 1898. Siemens supplied electrical equipment, the rails were from Société Anonyme des Aciéries d'Angleur (Belgium), and were an unusual centre groove profile which was supposed to wear better, and give a smoother ride with rail joints cut at a diagonal angle, additionally only one point blade was required for points with the centre groove system. The tram wheels had a corresponding centre flange. The lines were constructed as double track.
For the new system a main depot with workshop facilities was built at Liverpool Street Liverpool Street depot and works. (Demolished) on the Hessle Road route as well as a depot on Wheeler Street on the Anlaby Road route. Wheeler Street tram depot, Anlaby Road route. (As of 2010 some of the ground plan and walls remain, mostly demolished) A depot with facilities for track maintenance was on Stepney Lane (Beverley Road route) was also opened in 1898, Stepney Lane depot a street further north of the earlier Temple Street horse tram depot.
By 1899 an electric power plant in Osborne Street supplying power to the tram system was operational and trams began running on Anlaby and Hessle Road on 5 July 1899. By 1900 lines along Holderness Road, Spring Bank (and an extension along Princes Avenue), and Beverley Road had been opened.
Further extensions took place in the 1900s; by 1903 the City Centre-Spring Bank-Princes Avenue system had been extended along Newland Avenue, the Holderness Road route extended as far as Aberdeen Street on reserved track in the central reservation of the road, and new electric tram services to Victoria Pier and along Hedon Road had been opened, and depots constructed on the eastward Holderness and Hedon routes. In 1909 a new depot on Cottingham Road took over from the Stepney Lane depot for vehicle storage. Cottingham Road depot. As of 2010 the site boundaries remain, including some walls (west side), the plot has been used for a housing development; the office buildings at the entrance to Cottingham Road (west side) still exist, and are used as offices.KHCT : An Illustrated History.. (1979), Chronology 1903–1914, p. 6
In the 1910s the Hedon Road service was extended to Marfleet, and a line along Spring Bank West created as far as Walton Street (the site of the Hull Fair), the Hessle Road route extended on a central reserved track to Pickering Park. Further extensions were added in the 1920s; the Holderness Road section was extended to Ings Road, the Anlaby Road section extended to Pickering Road both on reserved track. Additionally a line was completed from Beverley Road along Cottingham Road to its end at Hall Road, and another line constructed along Chanterlands Avenue from Spring Bank West to Cottingham Road; by 1927 the tram system had reached its maximum extent, at .KHCT : An Illustrated History.. (1979), Chronology 1915–1929, pp. 10–12Kingston upon Hull Trolleybuses, "1: The Tramway Era", pp. 13–16
A number of level crossings with the North Eastern Railway's Victoria Dock Branch Line and the line westwards out of Hull Paragon station caused delays to the trams. The crossings required catch points for the trams and interlocking with the railway signalling system. In 1925, the corporation, Ministry of Transport and the NER's successor the London and North Eastern Railway proposed to eliminate the level crossings at a cost of £1¼ million, but no work was done until the 1960s. The last improvement to infrastructure came in 1931 with the building of the North Bridge in the town centre allowing trams to cross over the River Hull avoiding the narrow Drypool Bridge.