Tram - Origin of the Name?

[Calvin72]

On 03/05/2020 at 13:18, Edmund said:

My suggestion for a try for finding traces would be the rough land at the junction of Lumley Street and Bernard Street (next to the Veolia depot) , the tramway would have run parallel with the railway lines (or if unlucky the railway line is directly on top).

This map certainly looks like you might be right. I may even finally get round to it soon 

 

[Calvin72]

I visited a few places on the tramway route today. Especially interesting was Lumley Street. I think it's pretty clear where there was a bridge which I presume the tramway ran underneath. The road goes over a hump and there is a old section of wall at the spot with abandoned land on the canal side. The map above seems to show the route as going across the road but I know from other research that older maps sometimes don't really distinguish between things going over, under, or through other things (fords/bridges for example).

 

 

[31dec1966]

Outram was a brilliant engineer born in Alfreton (although a street in Sutton in Ashfield is named after him). From memory I think he did invent the rail flange, but the myth that the word tram comes from him has been discredited. I wish it hadn't but it has. Think it's a german word.

[MartinR]

Outram preferred waggonways where the rail had the flange and the wheels were plain.  His partner William Jessop is usually credited with the edge rail and wheel flange.  See Wikipedia for more details.

[Calvin72]

I'm still on the trail of the 1774 tramway. I now realise that the bridge on Lumley Street that I commented about three posts up went over the Nunnery Colliery branch railway, however I think that part of that line ran along the course of the tramway. I think I've found my first picture of the tramway, running alongside the canal. If correct it shows the bridges over the canal also having been built over the route and shows a double track. Here is the 1855 illustration from Picture Sheffield;

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s09761&pos=17&action=zoom&id=12856

[Calvin72]

And another view from 1849...

https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;w01981&pos=24&action=zoom&id=47196

[Calvin72]

Hello all, since I first came across this thread I've been researching the 1774 Manor tramroad and the associated story of John Curr. I did Heritage Open Days tours of the route in September and I've given talks to interested groups. I've just had the first archaeological surveying done on part of the route with a view to future excavations. The more I've looked the more interesting it all becomes...

If you search for 'Sheffield's 18th Century Railway' on YouTube and Facebook you can find more. I've borrowed Jeremy's map of the route posted some years ago on this thread - I hope that's OK, I don't claim the work as mine. I'd definitely welcome folk wanting to be involved as the work continues and I hope to answer the questions about whether the cast-iron railway really was born here in Sheffield

[Calvin72]

 

[Edmund]

There's a 16 page essay on John Curr by Ian Medlicott in the book "Aspects of Sheffield 2" edited by Melvyn Jones.  It's currently available from ebay at £2.59 inc postage. (220 pages also includes John Watts of Lambert Street, Rev James Wilkinson, Izal, Attercliffe 1851-81) a short extract:

"The Wood pits (Sheffield Park Colliery) and the Manor Colliery were under lease to Townsend and Furniss in 1777, with the larger of the two being the Wood pits that worked the Silkstone seam used by the Sheffield cutlers and householders, while the Manor Colliery exploited the Parkgate seam which supplied local farmers and maltsters.  A new lease had been discussed in 1774, and shortly before Christmas a waggonway of oak and beech rails was completed that ran from the Wood pits to the Sheffield coal stageat a cost of £3,280, to be paid for by the lessees".  Wooden rails continued to be laid until 1785, but it appears that iron rails were used at Sheffield Park Colliery (and no others in the area) from around 1777 when Curr was employed.

Sheffield Archives have ref : FC FB 46 Supplement - which is a Fairbank Field book showing the Newcastle coal road (tramway?) in the Sheffield Park with the land held of the Duke of Norfolk by James Furniss and George Townsend, 1774. pp.20-21.

There is also a plan of the intended course of the (Newcastle) or coal road from the Park Colliery with the lands through which it is to be made; and The Newcastle Coal Road with the ground dug up and damaged about it, 1772, 1774. pp.52-53.
See also:
FB 43, pp78-79
FB 43 Supp. pp73-74
FB 48, pp24-27

The Woodthorpe Colliery appears to have taken over from the Manor Colliery (both worked the Manor bed / Parkgate seam) sometime after 1805. [Woodthorpe Colliery is 1/4 mile north of Manor Top].  In 1823 a larger colliery was opened which took the name of the Manor Colliery.

[Calvin72]

Thanks Edmund, I've read 'Aspects of Sheffield 2' and had a few sessions in the local archive, but your Fairbank suggestions are new to me so definitely another trip needed soon! One of the main reference books on early railways, 'Early Wooden Railways' (Lewis, 1970) refers to an earlier c.1723 wooden waggonway from the same pits, which the Arundel Castle Manuscripts confirm the existence of too. 

[Edmund]

The engraving of the Sheaf Works deserves more credit for accuracy. It depicts the Works where they butt up to Maltravers Road, and even shows the weighbridge at the junction with the canal (as per 1:500 1890 plan). At far left is the work in progress Victoria Station Approach. The bridge carries the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln Railway. It does accurately depict the tramway running parallel and close to the canal (following Blast lane where it now passes under Derek Dooley Way). Presumably this section parallel to the canal had to be horse drawn as it was (obviously) flat - as opposed to sections where gravity might assist.

Mostly for my own understanding of the situation, and I don't think it will add a great deal of new information, but here is a map I put together from 1832 (Tayler) and 1850 (OS) pieces.

EDITED in RED: The tramway to the Sheffield Park Unidentified Colliery at B never crossed Cricket Inn Road as the pit was to the north of it. Heading out of Sheffield marked "Tram Road", at the Cricket Inn Engine House (now under South Yorks Police HQ car park, Point A on Tayler's 1832 map below) the tramway turned 45 degrees to the right and up to the Park Unidentified pit (now under Matalan's car park just south of the Parkway, B on Tayler's map).

The tramway to the Manor Colliery (marked "rail way" on Taylor's map) split from the Park Unidentified Colliery tramway and continued parallel to the canal until it reached where Lumley Street is now, outside the Veolia plant (C on map) and turned 45 degrees to the right. It then headed in a straight line, first passing underneath the steam railway line (F on map, just north of the current Nunnery Square Supetram station), and crossing Cricket Inn Road (D on map,where now is the south east corner of the Storebox Self Storage compound (next to roundabout at junction of Cricket Inn Road / Woodbourn Road) then down to the Manor Pit (E on map) and the to the adjacent Manor Wood pit.

The Cricket Inn Road Engine (point A) was at the top of a long downhill section and was fairly substantial with two boilers - possibly this Tram Road had mechanical assistance at some point in its history?

Sheffield Archives have: Ref:  ACM/MAPS/SheD/744L

A Plan of the New Railway to the Manor Colliery showing the land taken by Messrs. Hounsfield Wilson and Co. from Sundry Tenants in order to make the same and for other purposes connected with the Colliery. The railway runs by the side of the canal for a short way, then crosses Cricket Inn Road and Manor Lane: fields affected by the railway included and tenants named and listed with acreages.
Date c.1830 - does this mean that only the tramway to the Sheffield Park pit was built in the eighteenth century and not the route to the Manor Pit?

[Calvin72]

Thanks Edmund, I should say that I have since corrected my reference to the image you refer to above - it is clearly of the railway viaduct not Cadman Street bridge - there are even trains running over it! I had that wrong for quite a while in my talks.

The shorter branch off the tramroad appears on the White's 1838 map too but not after that. 

[Edmund]

From an article called "New Steam and Old Coal" by R.E.Leader in the Independent dated 23rd June 1900:

"The same Duke, the 9th, took a more enlightened course a few years later. Instead of trying to shut out the competition of his tenants and neighbours, he sought, through his manager, Mr Curr, to meet it by facilitating the conveyance of his coals to the town by the then very original means of tramway with wooden rails. This was in 1774, [Note: Curr was not employed at that point] It was two miles long, and the coals were delivered at a depot at the bottom of the Park hill, near where Duke street and South street join Broad street. Instead of being grateful, or "pleased', the foolish people saw in this a deep design to raise the price of coals. In spite of a tariff showing that there was a real saving on the coals as sold at the wharf, the wildest stories were afloat, circulated perhaps by the carters, whose occupation was threatened. The scheme was called an imposition and a cruelty; and "the merciless wretches" as they are called in a contemporary letter, were charged with stopping all delivery at the pits, with seeking to almost double the price, and with refusing to sell in less quantities than a horse load.

Serious riots were the consequence. Several of the "large carriages on low wheels, which run on a road made of timber, in imitation of one at Newcastle", were destroyed. A track, after being dragged in triumph through the town, was set on fire and sent flaming into the river. The new loading stage was broken up and burst; a watch hut and the counting house in the coal yard were wrecked, and the tram lines were damaged. The mob also attacked "The Lord's House" in Norfolk Row, where Mr. Henry Howard lived. Mr. Howard promptly issued a handbill pointing out that it was never intended to charge higher prices, and showing how, instead of having this effect, facility of transit must keep them low. He was backed up by a reassuring statement issued by the Town Collector, the Master Cutler, and other leading inhabitants as the result of a public meeting.

But the people refused to be comforted, and a few months later the riots were renewed so threateningly that an association was formed for the mutual protection of persons and property. The tramroad was afterwards relaid with iron rails: and it has been contended that it was the first in the country so constructed."

 

Here's the (under) estimate of the cost for the first tram way to Wood Pits (Sheffield Park Pit) in 1774.  Presumably the Sheer (Shear) Bridge which led from the coal stage into town across the River Sheaf by the side of the Shrewsbury Hospital, had to be strengthened to cope with the expected increase in useage once the tram way was functioning. EDIT: The road from the coal stage as far as the bridge had to be repaired (not the bridge itself) - this may have been due to the waggon-way needing a sound foundation, and the road having been chruned up by previous coal carts running over it.

 

When discussing the lessees of Norfolk's pits, Medlicott asserts that the railway to the Manor Pit was still under construction in 1830.

Sheffield Archives have: Ref: ACM/MAPS/SheD/744L       Plan of the New Railway to the Manor Colliery showing the land taken by Messrs. Hounsfield Wilson and Co. from Sundry Tenants in order to make the same and for other purposes connected with the Colliery.   (No surveyor named.)   The railway runs by the side of the canal for a short way, then crosses Cricket Inn Road and Manor Lane: fields affected by the railway included and tenants named and listed with acreages.

[Edmund]

On 14/04/2021 at 08:04, Calvin72 said:

I'm still thinking about the Curr tramway...  

Looking at the historical map section of Picture Sheffield the tramway doesn't appear on the Fairbanks 1808 map, but it's appearance on the 1832 J.Tayler map is curious. Just above Cricket Inn Road there is a distinction between 'railway' and 'tram road'. Railway being the main part of the tramway and tram road being a branch. Back to discussing the word 'tram' I wonder what the difference is here? 

 

https://www.picturesheffield.com/maps.php?file=026

 

The "tram road" is the 1777 Benjamin Outram based angle iron fixed to timber route, used with flangeless wheeled corves. The "rail way" is the William Jessop system installed in 1830 where the flanges are on the corf wheels.  The two systems joined into one as they approached the canal, and it's not clear how that worked as they were not compatible - unless maybe temporary flanges were attached to the wheels of the Park colliery corves to stop them dropping off the rails.

[Calvin72]

If the branch off the main route is the original line, and the rest up to Manor Wood pit was a later addition, that would go against everything I've read (and assumed). The 1774 line is was described as being a mile and three quarters long - would that not be too long for the line that stopped short of Cricket Inn Road?

[Edmund]

Medlicott derives his "mile and three quarters" from the 1773 estimate above which states: "2,000 yards of double rail at 10s" (per yard).  However Medlicott does not take into account that there would need to be two double rails (an up line and a down line) so 2,000 yards would only get you 1,000 yards away, about 0.6 miles.  Assuming that originally, 60 years before the 1832 map, the route would have been almost a straight line, that gets you to the region of the Cricket Inn Road Engine House.  There were then another 1,000 yards of rail purchased to access various satellite pits.

EDIT: Taking into account the map (next post), volume of coal (53 corves a year), I think the 1773 estimate would NOT need two way working, so the 2000 yards does give a guide to the extent of the waggonway.  Going up the approximate route of Duke Street, 2,000 yards would get you past the Gin Stables and as far as the Manor Sandstone Quarry (600 yards east of Belle Vue in 1850) - maybe the sandstone quarry used to be a coal pit?

According to Medlicott in his 1981 PhD thesis, the Manor pit near Corker Bottoms was not opened until 1823.  The "Manor pit" referred to before that, was renamed as "Woodthorpe pit" sometime after 1805.  Woodthorpe Colliery is 1/4 mile north of Manor Top, so too far to reach in 1774, especially with only 2,000 yards of rail on hand.

[Edmund]

I've reconsidered the location of Wood pits / Sheffield Park colliery in 1774, in light of the map below, which was created by Medlicott for his pHD thesis, using John Buddles' plans of 1773 and 1776.  It shows the waggonway (annotated as such) which follows (possibly a few yards to the south of) the route of the current Duke street. City Road, as far as the Stafford Road junction, which is where the Duke's Gin Stables were.  It always baffled me that there were no mapped coal mines near the Gin Stables, but if they were so old, hence shallow, presumably all traces disappeared over time.  I'll edit my previous posts to show my revised thoughts...

 

[Edmund]

For reference, here's a timeline of coal related happenings in Sheffield:

Timeline

1736 Gosling's Survey shows a Coal Yard 80 yards east of Shrewsbury Hospital

1737 John Bowden of Beighton leased pits at Sheffield, the Park, Attercliffe and Darnall Common from the Duke

1757 On the expiry of the Bowden lease the Duke took the Wood pits (Sheffield Park colliery) and Manor colliery back into direct management

1765 Duke leased Sheffield Park pits and Manor pits to Townsend and Furniss

1773 Estimate for timber waggonway prepared (probably by Curr)

1774 Wooden tramway laid down and destroyed

1775 Curr had cast-iron plates made to his own pattern by Outram, and placed on (apparently) wood running in the same direction - that is longitudinally

1777 Outrams design of flanged rails laid. Wooden transverse sleepers added, then cast iron boxes, then stone blocks

1779 Gander Lane Turnpike opened (Intake Road, now City Road)

1781 Duke takes collieries into direct management, Curr appointed Superintendent

1797 Publication of Curr's book "The Coal Viewer and Engine Builders' Practical Companion"

1801 Curr dismissed by Duke from Superintendent post

1805 Manor Colliery renamed as Woodthorpe Colliery

1819 Sheffield-Tinsley Canal opened, basin adjacent to coal yard

1823 February - Sheffield Colliery near canal basin opened

1830 George Stephenson report suggests a rail way from the canal basin to "Manor pit and beyond"      -resulted in Jessop type flanged wheel rail way to Manor pit

1836 November - Deep Pit at Intake Road opened

1838 October - Sheffield & Rotherham Railway opened (first locomotive railway in Sheffield)

[Edmund]

Part of the "coal road" (=waggonway?) is shown on this Fairbank Plan of 1791.  Then using the field shapes for navigation, I've transferred it onto a 1797 map of Sheffield.  The route seems to have gone along Norfolk Road. A further Fairbank plan shows the "coal road" emerging onto Broad Street 360 feet from the River Sheaf, through Crooks Croft and on to Broad Street.  Sheffield Park colliery comprised seven separate pits in 1765.

From John Buddle Senior's Sheffield Colliery Note Book for his visit for the Duke of Norfolk in
October 1773: "Colliery on East of the Park lies under the Farms of Widow Rag and Mr. Wright & John Jennings. Farm on West Side of the Park Mrs. Newbold. Land at South End of Park belongs to Rotherham Esq." - so at least in 1773 one of the pits of the Sheffield Park Colliery was under the Gin Stables. Medlicott states that the waggon-way started in James Mellor's Broad Oak field.

 

[deejayone]

On 13/12/2022 at 16:38, Edmund said:

Part of the "coal road" (=waggonway?) is shown on this Fairbank Plan of 1791.  Then using the field shapes for navigation, I've transferred it onto a 1797 map of Sheffield.  The route seems to have gone along Norfolk Road. A further Fairbank plan shows the "coal road" emerging onto Broad Street 360 feet from the River Sheaf, through Crooks Croft and on to Broad Street.  Sheffield Park colliery comprised seven separate pits in 1765.

From John Buddle Senior's Sheffield Colliery Note Book for his visit for the Duke of Norfolk in
October 1773: "Colliery on East of the Park lies under the Farms of Widow Rag and Mr. Wright & John Jennings. Farm on West Side of the Park Mrs. Newbold. Land at South End of Park belongs to Rotherham Esq." - so at least in 1773 one of the pits of the Sheffield Park Colliery was under the Gin Stables. Medlicott states that the waggon-way started in James Mellor's Broad Oak field.

 

Interesting! I found these posts after someone randomly told me yesterday that “the worlds oldest railway track” once ran under the community garden of Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust on Stafford Road.

This would appear to line up with your maps somewhat. Although I would suggest the route seems to follow the path of current-day Glencoe Road rather than Norfolk Road as you suggested?

[Edmund]

This would appear to line up with your maps somewhat. Although I would suggest the route seems to follow the path of current-day Glencoe Road rather than Norfolk Road as you suggested?

Yes, Glencoe Road is a better suggestion.

[MartinR]

Quote

Posted December 8, 2022

 On 14/04/2021 at 08:04, Calvin72 said:

The "tram road" is the 1777 Benjamin Outram based angle iron fixed to timber route, used with flangeless wheeled corves. The "rail way" is the William Jessop system installed in 1830 where the flanges are on the corf wheels.  The two systems joined into one as they approached the canal, and it's not clear how that worked as they were not compatible - unless maybe temporary flanges were attached to the wheels of the Park colliery corves to stop them dropping off the rails.

There were examples of this elsewhere.  The rails were "L" shaped, the flat section formed a tramway, the uprights the running rail.  The gauges had to be slightly different.  Normally the rails were outside the plates, and in the case of the city of Toronto this has lead to the unusual 4 ft 10+7⁄8 in "Toronto gauge".  I vaguely hearing about the other possibility where the rails were inside, but can't remember where.  If this combined rail wasn't used, then it is possible to lay the road out as <plate><rail><gap><plate><rail>, but I've not heard of this being used.