Nottingham Corporation Tramways was formed when Nottingham Corporation took over the Nottingham and District Tramways Company Limited, which had operated a horse and steam tram service from 1877.
Nottingham Corporation Tramways 1898 – Planning
In the early part of the year a deputation from Nottingham Corporation visited the cable-operated tramway system at Edinburgh and the overhead electric systems at Bristol and Dover, with the result that on 28 March the Tramways Committee recommended to the city council that the proposed electric tramways should be operated on the overhead electric system. At an estimated cost of £425,000 (),, electric tramways were proposed as follows:
Market Place to Trent Bridge via Arkwright Street. From tramway 1 via Greyfriar Gate or Canal Street, continuing via Castle Boulevard, Lenton Boulevard, Radford Boulevard and Gregory Boulevard to Mansfield Road. From tramway 2 via Wilford Road and the Victoria Embankment to Trent Bridge. Market Place to Winchester Street, Sherwood, via King Street/Queen Street, Milton Street and Mansfield Road. From tramway 4 via Woodborough Road to Mapperley, Porchester Road. Along Parliament Street, what is now King Edward Street, St Ann's Well Road and The Wells Road to Woodborough Road. Market Place to Bulwell Market Place via Chapel Bar, Derby Road, Alfreton Road, Radford Road and Vernon Road. Upper Parliament Street and Market Street.
Powers for these were granted in the Nottingham Corporation Act 1899.Nottingham Corporation Act 1899
Certain fare reductions were made during March and, as a result, the bus service connecting the Basford tram service with Bulwell was curtailed at Bulwell Market Place. Suggestions for a bus service to Sneinton were turned down, but in October, following further representations, a service was instituted between Thurland Street, near the Market Place, and Carlton Road Brickyard via Pelham Street, Hockley and Sneinton Street. Six buses were purchased second-hand from Glasgow for this service. The service immediately attracted competition and three privately owned buses commenced operation over the route within a few days of its inception.
On 1 February, J. Aldworth commenced office as Tramways Manager, a position he was to hold for 30 years. Previously he had been Manager of the Douglas, Isle of Man, Tramways, and he succeeded A. Baker on the latter being appointed Chief Officer of the London County Council Tramways.
A further investigation into car design, type of traction and the method of current collection was made by the City Engineer, Arthur Brown, and the Electrical Engineer during a visit to New York and Boston. They confirmed that the overhead electric system would have to be used, although the conduit current collection system was preferable. Tenders were invited from Westinghouse and Dick, Kerr & Co. for cars, and that of Dick, Kerr & Co. for 12 cars was accepted.
Four buses were purchased for £130 () each to replace old ones operating on the Carlton Road and Musters Road services.
1900 – first electric services
Dick, Kerr & Co. informed the department in January that unless the cars were ordered at once it would not be able to supply them before 1902 and then only at a higher price, and consequently an order was placed for 25. The relaying of the Carrington route with heavier rails (107 lb to the yard girder rails laid on six inches of concrete) and the extension to Winchester Street, Sherwood, began on 1 June. Work on the Sherwood Depot had commenced some weeks previously.
In May, horse-drawn omnibuses were withdrawn from the St Peter's Square to Musters Road service and placed on a new service between St Peter's Square and Lenton Boulevard, the fare being 2d. Five months later the service was extended to the Radford Boulevard/Hartley Road junction at Radford. Negotiations were opened for the purchase of the ten omnibuses of a Mr. Mann but these negotiations fell through, and two new ones were purchased from James Hudson of London for the opening of a service to Sneinton.
In October, the first nine electric trams arrived in Nottingham and were assembled at Sherwood Depot. By November, only one, no. 4, was completed, and this made its trial run on 17 November loaded with three tons of sand to represent the weight of a full load of passengers; the journey into Nottingham was quite successful, but trouble was experienced on its return when climbing Queen Street.
The destination indicator on the cars was a square ended box that pivoted on its ends, one side being painted "Sherwood" the other "Market Place". It is believed that subsequently some cars had "Basford" and "Bulwell" painted on the other sides.
The delay in completing the cars was so great that in December a notice had to be served on Dick, Kerr to complete them within seven days and, as a result, the work was done. In the meantime an order had been placed with Westinghouse for ten cars for the Trent Bridge section and, shortly afterwards, orders were placed for a further ten cars and ten bogie cars. B.T.H. were awarded contracts for six cars and six bogie cars, all to be delivered by the end of May.
1900 also saw the discontinuance of the prepaid discount tickets, and the first year of non-operation on Christmas Day.
From September, horse drivers and conductors were awarded five days' holiday per annum and alternate Sundays off duty, and electric car drivers received 5½d. per hour () for a six-day week averaging 62 hours, with an increase to 6d. per hour () after the first year; electric car conductors were awarded 4d. per hour, increasing to 4½d. after the first year, and to 5d. after the second.
1901 – expansion
Following the sanctioning of the Sherwood route by the Board of Trade on 16 December 1900, a service commenced on 1 January, workmen then being transferred to the laying of the track on the Bulwell section, starting from the outer terminus. This service was a great success from the start, a five-minute frequency increasing to three minutes at peak periods, and the fare for the journey of just over two miles was 2d.
A request for a connecting omnibus service from St Andrew's Church to Porchester Road at Mapperley until the tram service was opened was not granted.
By 23 April, new lines had been laid down Wheeler Gate, connecting for the first time the northern and southern sections, while work had commenced on relaying the Trent Bridge and Station Street sections. At this time a new electric line was laid from Bulwell as far as Gregory Boulevard at Hyson Green, which was some distance nearer the city than the Old Basford horse tram terminus. Omnibuses provided a service connecting with the horse trams while the old rails were pulled up, thus continuing the service to Basford, and on 17 April horse trams commenced operating from Gregory Boulevard to Bulwell Market over the new rails. As further new rails were laid, so the Bulwell end of the service expanded, while the Nottingham end grew shorter. On completion of this work and the depot at Bulwell in June, a through horse tram service was inaugurated on 29 June. This did not last long, for electric cars superseded the horse trams on 23 July, a week after the Board of Trade inspection, the through fare being 3d., with intermediate 1d. and 2d. fares. Electricity at this time was 1½d. per Board of Trade Unit.
Some delay was being experienced in obtaining new trams due to the large orders in hand from all over the country, and it was thought that the start of the electric car service to Bulwell would have to be postponed. Fortunately, 16 cars numbered 10 to 25, identical with the first cars except for the three-board type indicators, arrived in July, number 13 making a trial trip to Bulwell on 8 July.
On Saturdays all 25 cars were needed in service and short workings of the Bulwell service were operated between the Market Place and Hyson Green, and to the old horsecar terminus at Church Street, Basford; the service was well patronised, overcrowding being commonplace. The receipts for the Bulwell services for the first week in August were £1,115 () compared with £318 () the previous year.
At a city council meeting in May, new electric routes were proposed to Arnold, Hucknall, Carlton, Kimberley, Beeston, Stapleford and to other places in the county, but it was agreed not to construct outside the city boundary for the time being. In July it was decided to obtain powers for the building of the Hartley Road section.
By August 1901 the Arkwright Street and Station Street relaying was well under way, together with the building of a new depot at Trent Bridge, comprising 11 roads with accommodation for 80 cars. For a short period the Trent Bridge horse tram service was cut into two parts while the Midland Railway strengthened their bridge under Carrington Street; the bridge over the adjacent canal was rebuilt at the same time. A further 32 cars of the original type were delivered, but with 2x35 h.p. motors instead of 2x25 h.p. motors.
The council meeting held in September brought forth many new tramway proposals, of which the following were adopted: the conversion of the Forest Road line to electric traction (this had been left out of the original Bill), a line along Victoria Embankment from Trent Bridge to Wilford Bridge, and a line to Sneinton.
The Nottingham Corporation Act 1902 gave powers for the Forest Road line and for a number of short lengths of tramway, principally in the Market Place, to link up constructed or authorised tramways. It also gave powers for the corporation to operate motor omnibuses in connection with any tramway either during a period when it was impracticable to operate tramcars or as extensions. The layout in the Market Place caused much argument, and one suggestion was for a gyratory system, single line, that every car would have to negotiate when passing through the Market Place.
Owing to a decrease in the number of passengers carried, it was found necessary at this time to curtail the Sherwood Rise omnibus service to operate between Basford and Mansfield Road, and, in October, vehicles were transferred from this service to operate on services to Sneinton and Carlton Road.
September also saw two further batches of new trains arrive. The first numbered 58 to 67, were ordered from the British Electric Tram Car Company, but were built by G.F. Milnes & Co., of Hadley, Shropshire. They were open-topped cars with reversed stairs, had 21E trucks, B.T.H. controllers and 2x30 h.p. Westinghouse motors. The second batch, numbered 68 to 77, were open-topped reversed-stair cars with Brill 22E maximum-traction bogies; the bodies were built by G. F. Milnes, the controllers were B.T.H. and they had 2x30 h.p. Westinghouse motors.
Trent Bridge Depot was completed by 14 September, with lines leading to it along Turney Street and Pyatt Street, and while the relaying was taking place junctions were put in at Trent Bridge and Station Street for the London Road line, although the Bill for this had not yet gone before Parliament.
A start was made in October on the construction of the St Ann's Well Road section, this being the first new electric line, the others having all been either conversions of, or extensions to, horse tram routes. Authorisation was given for the route to be continued to Mapperley, via The Wells Road, but, for the time being only as far as Coppice Road (now Ransom Road) was to be built. The construction of this line brought forth a protest from Bamford's, the omnibus proprietors, alleging loss of receipts. Earlier in the year, shortly after the opening of the first electric car route, the council had been asked if they would consider the purchase of Mann's Omnibus, Horse and Carriage Company Limited, but this was not proceeded with.