Checks can be sent to:  R. Donald Ross, 3821 Crater Lake Ct, Irving, TX 75062-4015

The present museum at Crich (Derbyshire) was started in 1959 on the site of a former mineral railway (built by the famous engineer George Stephenson) by the tramway Museum society – a group of enthusiasts who wanted to preserve examples of (British) tramcars before they became extinct. The site has been under constant development since 1959; only recently have the ‘Red Lion" building, and the workshop extension and viewing gallery been completed and opened for use. As this is being written, work continues apace on the library extension. The museum possesses around 60 cars on display at Crich (with others at its store at nearby Clay Cross). The majority of the cars come from the British Isles, with a few from overseas, for example, New York Third Avenue Transit 674, Den Haag PCC car 1147, Porto 273 and Johannesburg 60. Track gauge is ‘Standard’ (1435mm, 4ft 82) and consists of (mostly) traditional grooved tramway rail. The length of the running track is approximately one mile. Current is supplied at 550 volts DC. Trams run from ‘Town End’ terminus, via a passing loop at Wakebridge, to the outer terminus at ‘Glory Mine’. Much of the fabric of the Town End terminus originates from towns and cities around the UK. For example, the area around the bookshop is paved with stone flags from a street in Leeds; the gas lamps are from Oldham and the magnificent bridge, crossing the running tracks close to the main entrance, originates from the Bowes-Lyon estate in Hertfordshire. Restoration and maintenance of the cars is carried out in the well-equipped workshops by a largely volunteer force. Leeds 345 is the current focus of attention. Costs of such restorations are, of course high. Leeds 345 is likely to cost over £200,000.

Barnsley & District Electric Traction Co 5 "Falcon" was built by Brush Electric Engineering in May 1913.  It was retired in 1925 and became a chalet bungalow.  It was acquired by Crich in 1997 and restored in 2002 to 2006.

Berliner Verkerhsbetriebe 223 006-4, TZ69, was built by Reichsbahnausbesserunggswerk in 1969 as 5131.  It was renumbered 223 006-4 in 1970 and renumbered 3006 in 1990.  It was required in June 1996 by National Tramway Museum, Crich Tramway Museum.  It restored as 223 006-4 in 2002 for use for access tram service.

Birmingham Central Tramways 75 was built by Falcon, Floughborough in 1888.  It was retired on June 39, 1911.  It was converted as a summer house.  It was acquired by Black Country Museum and came to Crich in 2017.  It is being considered for restoration.

Blackpool Corporation Tramways 4 is one of the cars that used to run on the conduit system in Blackpool, when the electric tramways first started operating in 1885. It is one of the original ten cars produced for the tramway. Cars 3 & 4 were built by the Lancaster Carriage and Wagon Company. The diminutive car seats 16 passengers only on each deck. After wartime service (1914-1918) ferrying bread to a military camp at Squires Gate, it was converted to an overhead inspection car until superseded in 1934. The car languished, out of use, until 1960 when it was renovated before being donated to the Museum in 1963. The car is now to be found as a static exhibit in the Exhibition Hall.

Blackpool 40 was built by Blackpool Tramways in 1926 as a balcony top covered car (with open balconies and lower vestibules). Trucks were McGuire equal-wheel type. The car was given platform vestibules somewhere between 1929 & 1932, but was never completely enclosed.

Blackpool 167 was the first of the 'pantograph' cars of 1928.  It is at Crich.

Blackpool Electric Locomotive was built by English Electric in 1927.  It apparently was repainted in 2002.

Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramroad Co was a coastal line opened in 1898.  It was taken over by Blackpool Corporation Tramways in 1920.

2 was built in by G. F Miles & Co in 1898.  It repainted as Blackpool Tramways 127 in 1920 and repainted in 1933.  It was retired on October 22, 1938, and was used as snowplow until 1951.  It was restored in 1960 and sent to Crich in 1963

The small town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire operated their own standard gauge electric tramways from 1904 to 1927, when substitution by trolleybuses was completed. Car 7 came from the batch 1-12, built by Brush in 1904 as open top cars on Brush radial trucks. Car 7 was one of seven fitted with top covers in 1920. The restoration of the car was completed at Crich in late 1996, and like so many of the vehicles at Crich is a tribute to the skills of the volunteers and staff at Crich.

Derby Corporation Tramways operated electric cars from 1904 to 1934; the gauge was 4ft. Car 1 was of the batch 1-25, produced by Brush in 1904 as open topped vehicles on Brush AA trucks. Car 1, along with six others (3, 4, 8, 9, 22, & 23) was rebuilt as enclosed top covered cars after 1923.

Douglas Southern was a 3.5-mile standard gauge tramway running from Douglas Head to Port Soderick over a spectacular coastal line with a number of bridges over deep gullies and clefts. The line opened in 1896 and closed at the beginning of World War Two in 1939, never to reopen. Car 1 was of the batch 1-6 built by Brush (Falcon), on Lord Baltimore trucks, in 1896 for the commencement of service. Cars seated 75 people. The car was sent to Clapham Transport Museum and is at Crich on loan from the Science Museum in London.

Edinburgh Corporation 35 was built in the company workshops in 1948 to replace an older car of the same number that had been built in 1923. Tram service ended in 1956.

Glasgow Corporation Transport had trams on a gauge of 4ft 7.25in. This odd gauge was chosen to allow standard gauge railway wagons to run with their flanges in the groove of the tram track. Electric trams ran from 1898 to 1962. 812 was one of 1004 Glasgow Standard Cars. The Corporation built it in their Coplawhill Workshops in 1900. Like the other Phase I cars it was an open top, short balcony single truck car. 812 was rebuilt, first to a Phase II car in 1911 and to its current state, as a fully enclosed Phase IV car, in 1930. The history of the ‘Standard’ cars is complex, for those who wish to find out more about them (and all the other Glasgow cars), I can do no better than to recommend Ian Stewart’s book ‘The Glasgow Tramcar’.

The Hill of Howth tramway, in the Republic of Ireland to the east of Dublin, was owned and managed by The Great Northern Railway (I). The 5’ 3" gauge tramway ran from 1901 to 1959. Car 10 was one of a pair (the other was 9) built by Milnes in 1902 on Peckham 14D-5 bogies. The cars were designed by the tramway for summer use only and were used at times of peak traffic, and only on the Sutton to Summit section, due to their size and weight. (The cars were larger than the initial cars, 1-8, and considerably heavier – this precluded their use on the steeply graded and twisty section from the Summit to the terminus. Originally, being summer cars, 9 and 10 had no glass in their windows.

Johannesburg car 60 car was one of the batch 41-80 produced by UEC in England in 1906. The cars were assembled later in the year by Johannesburg Tramways workshops. The car at Crich is in the 'rebuilt' form (1931) with five sliding windows on the top deck and five windows with fan lights in the lower saloon (the cars were originally fitted with six windows on the upper deck and three on the lower).

Leeds 600 had been purchased from Sunderland Corporation (where it was numbered 85) in 1944. It is not clear to me whether the car ever entered revenue service. Initially, the car was used for checking clearances on curves etc. for a proposed tram subway in Leeds. The vehicle was fitted with EMB heavyweight bogies in 1946, and at some stage, converted to a centre-exit car by Leeds. The car was numbered 288 between 1947 & 1950. C.H.Roe built Leeds 601 and 602 in 1953, having similar bodies but different equipment and trucks. Car 601 rode on EMB bogies, car 602 on Maley & Taunton ones. Car 602 is the only survivor and is painted in it's original colours of purple with black edging, gold lining on the purple areas, ivory window frames and bow collector tower, and brown bogies. Leeds works car No 2 is described as a 'rail derrick' in the book "The tramways of West Yorkshire" by JC Gillham and RJS Wiseman, but has all the looks of a tower wagon! According to the book, it was converted from car 420, a Chamberlain class car from the series 411-445 (built 1926-1928 by Leeds City Tramways). (Colour details taken from Noel Proudlock's book "Leeds a history of its tramways").

Leicester 76 car is (permanently?) in the Exhibition Hall. The car is one of a batch (60-99) built by ER & TCW in 1904 as an open-topped car. All Leicester open-topped cars were fitted with balcony top-covers between 1912 & 1924, and then fully enclosed between 1924 & 1934. I do not have precise dates for the conversion of car 76. The photos were all taken in the mid 90s.

London County Council 106, B Class, was built by Dick-Kerr in 1903,  It was converted as snow broom in 1925 as 022.  It was retired in 1952 and sent to British  Transport Museum in Clapham.  It was restored from 1971 and completed at Crich in 1983.

Newcastle Class F car 102 was part of a batch that consisted of cars 89-110 built by Hurst Nelson in 1901 as single deck, end loading, double truck open-sided cars. Newcastle rebuilt (1903-1905) the majority of the cars as open top, double deck cars as represented by 102 at Crich. The cars were mounted on Brill 27G trucks. Cars 96, 105 & 108 were rebuilt with balcony top covers (with quite a short upper saloon). These were amongst the largest trams to run in the UK.

Sheffield Corporation Tramways 74 is one of a batch (59-88) built by Electric Railway & Tramway Carriage Works in 1903. They were built as open-top, short balcony cars, later top-covered (in the period 1903-1910). Car 74 was sold to Gateshead & District Tramways Company in December 1922.

Southampton 45 was one of the batch 38-49 built by Hurst Nelson in 1902 as open top cars. Car 45 was the first car that appeared at the Museum at Crich. The Light Railway Transport League had purchased it in 1949. After several travels it arrived at Crich as one of the first cars of the National Tramway Museum. Car 45 has 'knifeboard' (or back-to-back) seating on the top deck to allow it to pass under the Bargate arch in the old town walls of Southampton. When cars were top-covered, they had to have a cover profiled to allow them to pass under the arch also - this gave them a very distinctive shape. Eventually the arch was by-passed, the last tram passing through the arch on 4th June 1938. The date of these photos is June 2002.

9/29/2021

Keep to the ancient way and custom of the Church, established and confirmed by so many Saints under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And live a new life. Pray, and get others to pray, that God not abandon His Church, but reform it as He pleases, and as He sees best for us, and more to His honour and glory.

— St. Angela Merici