Wigan Corporation Tramways

Under the provisions of the Tramways Act 1870, local authorities such as Wigan Corporation had the right to buy tramways running in their area after a period of 21 years, although it did not give them powers to operate tramways. This hindered the development of many tramways since local authorities only had to pay the scrap value of the assets they were buying, rather than paying for the business as a going concern.[5] The legislation was amended by the Light Railways Act 1896 which, although it was not intended to apply to street tramways, was nevertheless used to authorise them. More importantly, it and subsequent legislation allowed local authorities to operate the tramways which they owned.[6]

Wigan Corporation obtained the Wigan Corporation Act 1898, which authorised them to build and operate two electric tramway routes. The first route ran north-eastwards from the town centre to Maitland Bridge, and it used the same 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge as the Wigan & District Tramways Company lines. The Corporation bought twelve double-deck open-top tramcars from the Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works of Preston, and the route opened for passengers in January 1901. A second line opened on 7 June 1901, running northwards along Wigan Lane to the Boars Head public house. Additional trams were bought as more lines opened, and by 1902, the Corporation owned 25 passenger vehicles and a works car.[7] Also in 1902, one of the corporation's trams featured in the Mitchell & Kenyon short silent film Living Wigan.[8]

Under the 21 year rule, the Corporation bought out the Wigan & District Tramways Company in 1902, although steam trams continued to be run by them on behalf of the new owners until 26 September 1904, when the final steam service ran to Hindley. The Corporation decided that all future lines would be constructed to the standard gauge of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm), and that existing lines would be widened. However, the line to Platt Bridge was reconstructed as an electric tramway, which reopened on 29 May 1903, but rather than buy more narrow-gauge tramcars, services were supplied by the steam trams until 2 September 1904, when standard-gauge electric trams took over. The line to Pemberton had been closed on 10 April 1904, and after electrification and regauging, it reopened on 26 July. A batch of 24 single-deck bogie trams were bought from Hurst Nelson of Motherwell, and the first batch of twelve narrow-gauge tramcars were sold for further use on the Coventry Electric Tramways Company system.[7]

Thirty bogie combination cars, with a central saloon and open ends, were bought from the Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works in 1904–5, and the fleet was extended again in 1914, by the addition of six double-deck bogie trams with top covers, bought from United Electric Car Company, the successor to the Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works. Six similar vehicles were bought from English Electric in 1920, but the final batch of twelve similar trams were built by Massey Brothers of Wigan in Pemberton Depot, using electrical equipment supplied by English Electric. One of them, car 80, was outshopped in a cream livery, for use by wedding parties.[7]

The tramways were never a financial success, so the Corporation reviewed working practices and introduced economy measures to try to balance the books. The narrow-gauge tracks and tramcars were in a particularly bad state by the start of the First World War, and on 15 July 1923 the line via New Springs to Aspull was closed to allow it to be regauged. Beyond New Springs, the tramway was outside of the borough boundary, and the trams were replaced by motor buses, while the town section opened in stages as the work was completed, with the final section opening on 23 December 1923. The route to Maitland Mill in the north west, which was the last narrow-gauge line, was replaced by a trolleybus service on 7 May 1925. Most of the Platt Bridge service was replaced by buses from 22 August 1927, although workmen's trams continued to run for another four years. The route out to Ashton-in-Makerfield was the next to go, on 30 November 1930, while on 28 February 1931, the route to Hindley closed and the remaining trams to Platt Bridge were withdrawn. The final two routes, to Standish in the north, which was an extension of the line to Boars Head, and to Abbey Lakes, which was an extension of the line to Pemberton, lasted for just one more month, closing on 28 March 1931.[7]

The Corporation did not take advantage of the opportunity to convert all tramways to a single operating gauge, and so for the thirty years of electric tramway operation, there were services operating on 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) and 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) gauge tracks. The system also met South Lancashire Tramways at Ashton and Hindley, but the Corporation failed to capitalise on the options for through running. Links to that system were created in 1926 at Ashton and 1927 at Hindley, but it was all too late, as parts of the Wigan system had already closed[7] and the South Lancashire system began its four-year closure programme in 1929.[9]

There were depots located at SD 6075 0328 and SD 6037 0246.

After the line to Aspull was regauged in 1923, Wigan Corporation were left with one narrow-gauge tramline, running for 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) to Martland Mill. The Tramways Committee looked at the economics of converting the final line but found that it could be replaced by trolleybuses for around one-third of the £30,000 that it would cost to regauge the line for trams. Despite reservations that the capacity of the line might be reduced if trolleybuses were used, the changeover was agreed. They bought four vehicles from Clough, Smith, which consisted of a chassis by Straker-Squire of Edmonton, electrical equipment by British Thomson-Houston of Rugby, and a 37-seat single-deck body with a central entrance by Brush Electrical Engineering Company of Loughborough. When they first arrived, they were fitted with solid rubber tyres, but these were replaced by pneumatic tyres in 1929.[10]

At the town centre end of the route, there was a turning circle where Market Street met Woodcock Street, to prevent the trolleybuses from having to turn around in the Market Place. There was another turning circle at Springfield, to accommodate short workings, but at the Martland Mill terminus, the vehicles reversed into Horton Street to turn around. The trolleybuses were stabled in the tram depot at Melverley Street, and to reach the start of their route, one of the trolley poles ran along the tramway wire, and a skate ran along the rails to complete the circuit. On 7 May 1925, there was an opening ceremony at which the chairman of the Tramways Committee drove the first trolleybus, and the trams were replaced by the new vehicles in the afternoon.[11]

During the decision-making process, it was estimated that a 30 hp (22 kW) petrol-engined bus would cost £5,936, and there were fears that they might require larger engines to cope with the hills, whereas a trolleybus would cost £1,075.[12] The Martland Mill route on which they ran had never made a profit when operated by tramcars, despite the fact that it served both a populous mining district and the local football ground. The trolleybuses when bought actually cost £1,635 each, and were equipped with 42 hp (31 kW) motors and a Holden suspension system. This consisted of a channel section bolted to the chassis and another bolted to the bodywork, which fitted together, with an inflatable tube located in the resultant box section, to give air suspension.[13] Although the tramways as a whole made an operating profit of £16,000 per year, the Maitland Mill tram route lost 2 pence per car mile. The cost of installing the trolleybus system was £8,305, and with estimated running costs of £5,911 per year, the corporation were convinced that they would pay their way. Fares were maintained at the same level as they had been on the trams.[14]

In 1930, the Corporation considered converting the tram routes to Ashton, Hindley, Orrell and Standish but decided against the idea. By early 1931, the tram service had ceased and been replaced by motor buses, but the tram tracks to the start of the trolleybus route had to be retained to allow the trolleybuses to access the depot. Rather than convert the depot section to dual wire, the service was discontinued on 30 September. Wigan Corporation never obtained legal authority to run trolleybuses, and although they considered obtaining a private Act of Parliament, they did not actually do so.[15]