Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Ah, good old British Pathé: an offshoot of the original French company, hence the logo of the French cock. I was, for a time, a projectionist at the Ritz.
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle
Yes, we had passenger horse trams before that, from 1860 I believe. I think our first horse tram (non-passnger) was Flaybrick Quarry in 1815.
I'm struggling to find the "first" that Birkenhead has claim to for trams.
First British passenger horse tram:- Swansea 1807 First British passenger electric tram:- Brighton 1883
Birkenhead might have been the first British PUBLIC passenger electric tram in 1901.
There's a real danger that the left will drag Britain back to the 1970s, with secure well-paid jobs, ample housing, properly-funded NHS and social care, free tuition, student grants, final salary pensions, affordable rail fares and fabulous films and music. David Osland 2025
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Ah-ha - in England ("this country"), Swansea beat us by a mere 53 years and were first in the World.
There's a real danger that the left will drag Britain back to the 1970s, with secure well-paid jobs, ample housing, properly-funded NHS and social care, free tuition, student grants, final salary pensions, affordable rail fares and fabulous films and music. David Osland 2025
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
I think that Birkenhead may be able to claim the first STREET tramway i.e. tracks laid along existing streets, in Britain.
Possibly, Swansea was originally a dedicated railway line.
A contender is the Liverpool "Line of Docks" railway which had street rails, the tram had road wheels with metal tyres and flanges that could be lowered for the rails, that was in 1859 from a patent in 1856.
Otherwise, as you say, Birkenhead had a street tram in 1860 after Liverpool turned down George Train's project.
There's a real danger that the left will drag Britain back to the 1970s, with secure well-paid jobs, ample housing, properly-funded NHS and social care, free tuition, student grants, final salary pensions, affordable rail fares and fabulous films and music. David Osland 2025
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
Pity the day it was filmed was so grim, as some of the shots are very dark, but there's some good snippets of the A41 at Childer Thornton, and Little Sutton, as well as the now long gone station itself (which was in the same style as Bromborough and Spital). For the railway buffs, it's interesting to see a Duchess Pacific locomotive on Wirral's railways too! (No 46242 'City of Glasgow)
Last edited by billy_anorak59; 9th Jul 20158:45am.
Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come.
That's brilliant - I live not far from here and regularly drive that stretch of the A41. Amazed at how much remains basically unchanged. Also used to live near Spital, and amazed at how similar the station looks to Spital station!
