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Steam Trams


Guest tsavo

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Guest tsavo

I've never heard of them but I'm sure there's someone among our members who has.

(In case you're wondering I found a mention of them on website I can't find now, so, did we have any on Sheffield?)

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I've never heard of them but I'm sure there's someone among out members who does.

(In case you're wondering I found a mention of them on website I can't find now, so, did we have any on Sheffield?)

Hi tsavo could this be the site you were looking for ( http://www.answers.com/topic/transport-in-sheffield )

and this be the explanation.

19th century

The opening of the Sheffield Canal in 1819 (Olive, 1994; Vickers, 1999) opened Sheffield to the large-scale transportation of freight. This was followed by the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway in 1838, with Sheffield's first railway station opening at the Wicker. The first main line railway station in Sheffield was opened in 1845 at Bridgehouses by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway (Fox, 1990). This line was extended to a new station, Sheffield Victoria Station in 1851, and Wicker station was replaced by Sheffield Midland station in 1870. A horse tramway opened from Lady's Bridge to Attercliffe in 1873, this was later extended to Brightside and Tinsley. Further horse tramway routes were constructed to Hillsborough, Heeley, and Nether Edge (Twidale, 1995; Wiseman, 1997). There was an unsuccessful trial of Steam trams in 1877 and 1878. Due to the [color="#FF0000"]narrow medieval roads the tramways were initially banned from the town centre (Map of central Sheffield in 1855). An improvement scheme was passed in 1875, this led to the first major alterations to the medieval street plan, Pinstone Street and Leopold Street were constructed by 1879 and Fargate was widened in the 1880s. The 1875 plan also called for the widening of High Street, but disputes with property owners delayed this until 1895 (Olive, 1994).

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Guest tsavo

Brilliant, thanks for that. In the meantime I've tracked down the piece that caught my eye on Eric Youlle's site:

David Robbins photographs, Folio 4. Just a list but no pictures. Now that would be a find!

Wigfall & Sons Advert

Mulberry Street Chapel

South Street Chapel

Redmires Dam - 1911 - uncovered items

W.H. Haigh's coach office, Ecclesall Rd

Reuben Thompson's coach office

Various trams

Red Lion Heeley

Steam Tram

Fitzalan Square - 1896 - first electric tram

Pitsmoor Toll Bar Cottage

Langsett Road Toll Bar Cottage

Abbeydale House

Attercliffe Church

Attercliffe Chapel

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I heard that the steam tram in Sheffield only ran for one day!!

Also there is a steam tram at Crich but its not from round here.

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Guest tsavo

And this is Crich's steam trailer tram - it would appear from this and the other phto the small unit pulled these behind do you think?

I'm still confused. I can't see a boiler or anything so does that mean the tram was towed by a steam engine?

I must admit, when I first read of a steat tram, I was reminded of the gas radio! I'm assured there was such a thing but maybe it's just another misread memory from the past.

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And this is Crich's steam trailer tram - it would appear from this and the other phto the small unit pulled these behind do you think?

I'm still confused. I can't see a boiler or anything so does that mean the tram was towed by a steam engine?

Yes that what this small one with the funnel looks like!

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Picture Sheffield Image of a Steam Tram and two horse cars of the Sheffield Tramways Company in 1878. The engine was built by the Yorkshire Engine Company of Meadow Hall and a public trial of the steam tram took place in Sheffield on 28th October 1878. The trial was apparently successful in all respects, but nothing came of it and the trams remained horse drawn until the advent of electric trams.

This was the second of the steam tram trials in Sheffield. The first had taken place in January 1876 using a tram engine built by Hughes of Loughborough and was not particularly successful. The Corporation were not keen on the idea and refused consent for the use of tram engines at this time.

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Picture Sheffield Image of a Steam Tram and two horse cars of the Sheffield Tramways Company in 1878. The engine was built by the Yorkshire Engine Company of Meadow Hall and a public trial of the steam tram took place in Sheffield on 28th October 1878. The trial was apparently successful in all respects, but nothing came of it and the trams remained horse drawn until the advent of electric trams.

This was the second of the steam tram trials in Sheffield. The first had taken place in January 1876 using a tram engine built by Hughes of Loughborough and was not particularly successful. The Corporation were not keen on the idea and refused consent for the use of tram engines at this time.

The use of steam power on the road through cities has never been popular with Government authorities and they have frequently legislated against it (for example the "red flag act" of 1865) used various speed restrictions, smoke emission restrictions (even before there was no clean air act and everyone burnt coal on open fires in their homes) and a variety of taxes and penalties.

No wonder steam trams were never a sussess, - they were hardly given a chance.

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The use of steam power on the road through cities has never been popular with Government authorities and they have frequently legislated against it (for example the "red flag act" of 1865) used various speed restrictions, smoke emission restrictions (even before there was no clean air act and everyone burnt coal on open fires in their homes) and a variety of taxes and penalties.

No wonder steam trams were never a sussess, - they were hardly given a chance.

Dave, did you watch that Fred Dibnah programme when he travelled the country on his engine - I really enjoyed that but my heart was in my mouth every time he came to a junction or roundabout!

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The use of steam power on the road through cities has never been popular with Government authorities and they have frequently legislated against it (for example the "red flag act" of 1865) used various speed restrictions, smoke emission restrictions (even before there was no clean air act and everyone burnt coal on open fires in their homes) and a variety of taxes and penalties.

No wonder steam trams were never a sussess, - they were hardly given a chance.

I get the feeling from reading far too many books on trams that another of the main objections was that the steam trams frightened the horses.

Another objection in the 19th century would be the weight of the engines. The Yorkshire Engine loco I mentioned weighed 6 tons when in working order, which was probably rather heavy for the rails which were initially laid with the expectation of being used by horse trams.

There were many places which tried steam trams, but once the use of electricity was demonstrated to be feasible the stream tram was doomed.

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Dave, did you watch that Fred Dibnah programme when he travelled the country on his engine - I really enjoyed that but my heart was in my mouth every time he came to a junction or roundabout!

Yes, it was fred's last series before his untimely death in which, having travelled Britain on his engine he drives it through London and into Buckingham Palace grounds to collect his MBE from the Queen.

i wouldn't want to drive my car around London, never mind a steam engine.

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I get the feeling from reading far too many books on trams that another of the main objections was that the steam trams frightened the horses.

Another objection in the 19th century would be the weight of the engines. The Yorkshire Engine loco I mentioned weighed 6 tons when in working order, which was probably rather heavy for the rails which were initially laid with the expectation of being used by horse trams.

There were many places which tried steam trams, but once the use of electricity was demonstrated to be feasible the stream tram was doomed.

Steam engines are relatively quiet in operation and although it is often stated that they can frighten horses this argument was more often than not put forward by horse owners who had a vested interested in horse drawn transport and they saw steam as opposition to what they wanted and a threat to their business.

Railways seemed to be the exception to the objections because they did not run on roads in towns directly competing with local transport. Their rails seems to support almost unlimited weight of large locomotives drawing long trains of freight, so perhaps the tram line argument of not being able to support the comparatively small 6 tons is another biased statement from the same set of people who were anti steam on the road.

Electric trams are undoubtably better than steam for the intended purpose of a tram, steam being better for really heavy haulage jobs and trams also being so much cleaner in built up areas. But no one objected to the dangers of high voltage electricity, or suggested that bright blue sparks and flashes could frighten horses or that electric trams should be restricted to 4mph maximum even though they are capable of safely doing much more and that a man should walk in front of them waving a red flag. The electric trams were, fortunately, given a chance that steam didn't get, either as trams or other types of steam powered road based transport.

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Steam engines are relatively quiet in operation and although it is often stated that they can frighten horses this argument was more often than not put forward by horse owners who had a vested interested in horse drawn transport and they saw steam as opposition to what they wanted and a threat to their business.

Railways seemed to be the exception to the objections because they did not run on roads in towns directly competing with local transport. Their rails seems to support almost unlimited weight of large locomotives drawing long trains of freight, so perhaps the tram line argument of not being able to support the comparatively small 6 tons is another biased statement from the same set of people who were anti steam on the road.

Electric trams are undoubtably better than steam for the intended purpose of a tram, steam being better for really heavy haulage jobs and trams also being so much cleaner in built up areas. But no one objected to the dangers of high voltage electricity, or suggested that bright blue sparks and flashes could frighten horses or that electric trams should be restricted to 4mph maximum even though they are capable of safely doing much more and that a man should walk in front of them waving a red flag. The electric trams were, fortunately, given a chance that steam didn't get, either as trams or other types of steam powered road based transport.

The problem with the rails on which steam trams were often trialled is that they were very lightweight, being designed for horse trams. In the towns where steam trams were used extensively stronger, heavier rail was used, just as heavier rail was necessary for electric trams which were larger and heavier than the horse trams. Similarly, as steam locomotives got bigger and heavier, the weight of the rails used had to be increased.

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The problem with the rails on which steam trams were often trialled is that they were very lightweight, being designed for horse trams. In the towns where steam trams were used extensively stronger, heavier rail was used, just as heavier rail was necessary for electric trams which were larger and heavier than the horse trams. Similarly, as steam locomotives got bigger and heavier, the weight of the rails used had to be increased.

You make it sound as though even the trials of steam trams were sort of "rigged" by the horse brigade so that the trams would almost certainly fail on lightweight rails and not be accepted.

i wonder why this doesn't suprise me at all. <_<

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