Old Sheffield trams

[bus man 10]

[andyrad29 10]

and also...

 

[andyrad29 10]

and also.....taken in sept 1990

 

 

 

510 looks in a sorry state now with lots of cracking varnish on the upper deck

[mikebatty 10]

I can just remember the points being changed as you say . The arm that connected to the overhead wire was at one time pulled down from the wire and turned round by means of a long pole used by either the driver or conductor . Later it was done automatically as the tram came into Fitzallan Sq. or at a terminus .

[Nigel Womersle 10]

You can still see the old tram lines. They run through the roundabout at Firth Park. They seem so much narrower than the modern tracks. I remember seeing the last tram. It was illuminated with coloured lights all over it. I still have the last tram brochure somewhere. It shows all the old trams which were decorated for royal and special occasions.

Edited August 10, 2011 by Nigel Womersle

[david weston 10]

Most of it has been very well said, but I have a few things to add. Firstly the Supertram blue; it's way out and shows sloppy research. Wasn't one of the first new routes of the Supertram from Commercial Street to Meadowhall, taking all the trade away from the city center shops; that was clever ! 'Suzy Q' mentioned Alderman Sidney Dyson. I'd like to inform her that he was the prime mover for the extremely unpopular scrapping of the trams and the most hated man in Sheffield at the time. One wag said that far from travelling on the last tram, he should have been dragged behind it ! There are many tram photos on 'Sheffield Libraries, Picture Sheffield.com'

Both C.T.Humpidge and Blackpool's CE, Walter Luff were far sighted. Luff bucked the trend, got his way and kept the trams, to the resort's and it's visitors' eternal gratitude. Re at junctions. The trolley wheel changed direction on the wires by the pole catching a hanging bar which switched the overhead points as it was knocked, the pole being at the correct, swing angle from the roof as the car was half-way into the turn.

The car which ran in Blackpool was Beamish museum's Robert's Car 513. This has replacement control boxes in all-over chrome, the originals had black 'pillars' topped with the brass control 'table'. The 'cow-catcher' mentioned was a slatted wooden arrangement beneath each end of the car which would drop onto the track if anything hit it's front, vertical gate.

The beautiful old tram system in Lisbon runs on Sheffield track, the points have 'Edgar Allen Sheffield' cast into them and can be seen to this day.

The electricity supply to the (Sheffield) system was in sections, I think of half a mile. Should there be a problem on one stretch, the whole system would not be affected, that is what the green section boxes were for.The Firvale to Osgathorpe Road steep section often caused the the control switch on the tram to trip off when too many were climbing at once.

On the stretch passing Firth Park going from the city, West Riding and Yorkshire Traction buses would often overtake the tram on the inside with inches to spare and I'm sure sometimes a mischievous race took place.I think Sheffield's bus drivers were forbidden this practice. Also on this same stretch, drivers would often leave the platform to go part-way up the stairs to wind the destination indicator as the tram continued unattended!

Re Rotherham. I think the only place where an 'inter-city' service had two different track gauges was Bradford to Leeds where the cars had wheels which slid in and out as the tracks, which were connected, widened or narrowed.

Thos.Ward's were selling tram side windows for garden cloches in the weeks following closure. Sheffield trams had 3 braking systems; air, rheostat and manual I believe. A car could be raised off the track by strenuous turning of the manual brake handle which operated the brake blocks which pressed down on the rails. I know this because a friend and I did it in Tinsley depot after the closure of the system. The watchman let us in saying " Go on then, but don't get s****ed up !"

[slammindoor 10]

as an apprentice in 1960-1 worked for STD--we removed all the gantries that were used for cleaning in Tenter St--it was an absolute maze in the air which cleaners (mainly women) would carry buckets of soap and water -cleaning the upper deck of the trams------also the trams were stacked over pits which again was a maze ,this time more like a warren and left open--these were concreted in and buses were then stacked there as well as also being maintained above in Town end street

[joiner andy 10]

whats std mean?

[Joanl 12]

whats std mean?

 

Sheffield Transport Department I think?.....

[Cookingfat 10]

they were out of date and there was more bubes and cars on the roads and the had to compete for space plus the ugly poles and cables going up and dow the streets

[soft ayperth 11]

Me too - something like this or this.

 

I remember the trams you've displayed hillsboro running up and down duke street and city rd. but not the one that joan has shown.

[hazel 11]

I have just read this thread through and I'm glad someone else remembers the postbox on the tram I thought it was just my memory playing tricks

hazel