A little while ago I broke my run of daily time shift videos by posting a video of old bus related photos around Lincoln. It became one of my most popular videos for months, so I’ll repeat the experiment today with a similar collection of old photos, but this time of trams around our fair city
It is fitting to upload a collection of tram images as it was the Bracebridge tram shed that started the whole crazy time shift project, and led to this YouTube channel. I suspect most locals are aware that Lincoln had a tram service, but very few will know the actual history, or be able to spot tram related buildings still standing today?
Trams were a regular sight on the streets of Lincoln for almost 50 years. From 1882 to 1905 the Lincoln Tram Company ran horse drawn trams down the High Street and Newark Road, from St. Benedict Square to the Bracebridge terminus near the Gatehouse pub.
They were then taken over by the Lincoln Corporation, who ran electric trams until 1929, by which time they were clearly failing to compete with the buses that were introduced in 1921. There is no exact date for most of the old photos in this video, but some show events that we know the dates for, such as the last horse drawn tram and opening of the electric tram service.
You can also determine rough dates by the presence or absence of overhead wires. From 1905 to 1919 the electric trams took their power from studs in the tracks on the roadway. Then overhead wires were introduced, and used until 1929.
As with the bus collection video, most of these old photos have previously appeared in their own time shifts, but some are appearing here for the first time. As usual, many thanks to everyone who supplied an old photo, or background historical information for this video.
4 Comments
As a child in the late 70s I was boggled when my Grandma told me about the trams that used to run up and down high street, and she'd point out where there were still signs of where the rails sat.
Wow. We are such a fascinating bunch of beings; the way we have certain styles in certain time periods, and the ways they change. Great video! Don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before but the music you choose to use for each video you make I think really suits what you’re capturing/showing. I love to try and guess which tune is gonna be the soundtrack 😄
Interesting in the colourised photo to see the railway signal on the right of the street. Apparently signals were installed to control passage of the trams over the level crossing (anyone else would just have to look out for the gates closing!) and they were removed when the trams were abandoned.
This channel is quality. Thank you for posting these incredible photos.