Ashton-under-Lyne Corporation Transport
1878 Manchester Carriage and Tramways Co started to construct the first tram line in Ashton.
1881 The line opened using horse-drawn trams from Stalybridge Town Hall through Ashton to the Snipe Inn at the Audenshaw boundary.
1896 The British Electric Traction Co were granted powers to construct and operate an electric tramway system
1897 The Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Hyde and District Tramway Company was registered.
1899 The service started. Demand grew rapidly and extra tramcars were obtained
1900 The Ashton-under-Lyne Corporation Tramways Order and the Hurst UDC Tramways Order gave the necessary permissions for these 2 councils to establish a joint tramway. Ashton Corporation served notice on the Manchester Tramways and Carriage Company that it intended to purchase all the Company's lines within the borough. Tramcars were ordered from the Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Co of Preston.
1902 The first line opened.
1902 The Oldham Company acquired the lease on the section of line connecting Gee Cross with Bredbury, which had been constructed by Hyde Corporation.
1903 the lease of the Manchester Tramways and Carriage Company expired and, after some delay, the electric tramway was finally opened to replace the horse-drawn service.
1904 Agreement was reached with Manchester Corporation for through-running of tramcars between the two authorities.
1914 A preliminary meeting was held to consider acquisition of the Oldham, Ashton & Hyde Tramway Company's assets when the lease of the tramway tracks within the borough expired.
1921 The purchase of the Oldham Company's system took place but much of the track and rolling stock had deteriorated badly.
1923 Motorbuses were introduced rather than relaying some of the old Company tracks.
1924 Because of difficulties in widening other routes, Ashton Corporation eventually decided to introduce a trolleybus system. The name of the undertaking was changed to Ashton-under-Lyne Tramways and Motors, reflecting the changing composition of the fleet.
1928 The tram service from Ashton to Gee Cross (Hyde), via Dukinfield was replaced by buses
1929 The Ashton to Mottram tram service was discontinued on weekdays, with the trams being used to maintain a peak service at weekends only.
1930 The Ashton to Upper Mossley tram service was discontinued, followed shortly afterwards by the Ashton to Mossley Station service.
1932 A decision was made to abandon all the remaining tramway routes in the borough
1938 The last Ashton-under-Lyne tramcar left the Town Hall terminus for Manchester.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Local Transport History [1]