Staffordshire Potteries Street Railway Company

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The "Potteries" is an area within the traditional county of Staffordshire in England (UK), consisting of the "Five Towns" (Stoke on Trent, Hanley, Burslem, Tunstall and Longton), part of the county borough of Stoke on Trent. The area was famous for it's manufacture, chiefly of porcelain, the most famous perhaps being Wedgwood.

In October of 1861 GF Train, already by then known for his "Pioneer" line at Birkenhead (opened 1860) turned his attention to the "Potteries". GF Train had by this point been in the UK for two years, having set up street railways in London, then Birkenhead. His proposal in the Potteries was for a street railway of 8 miles linking Longton, Fenton, Hanley, Burslem and Tunstall, however only the Section from Hanley to Burslem was built. The line avoided Stoke and therefore the competition with the North Staffordshire Railway who had rail lines in the area. Train's plans for the street railway were drawn up by the town surveyor of Hanley. Train set out not as a philanthropist but with the intention of making money, which he assured the town council he would should he be allowed to go ahead. The local authorities supported his project and resolved to put pressure on the turnpike trusts, who owned the roads which would be used. The estimated cost of the line was £20,000 which Train proposed to raise by the issue of 4,000 £5 shares of which he would take up half, probably in exchange for some equipment of his London tramway failures.

By the end of November 1861 construction had commenced on the section between Hanley and Burslem. The gauge was 4' 8½' and the rails were laid on sleepers at the side of the road. The section from Hanley to Burslem was opened on 11th January 1862. It used the same type of step rails that were in use in Birkenhead, quite possibly the same type of rails which, because they were above the road surface, were proving so unpopular in London. The street cars were double deck and were drawn by two horses. The first year of operation yielded a dividend of 2½% to the shareholders, 152,290 passengers being carried. During September 1863 applied for a small extension of the line in Hanley, the extension was to be operated using a new rail that was level with the road. Around this time Train's line in Birkenhead was relaid with the new rails, so it is likely that the line in the Potteries received the same attention. In 1865 the line's ownership passed from Train to a G B Bradford.

The North Staffordshire Tramway Company Limited (1879) later acquired the Street Railway and built new lines alongside it. Their 1880 prospectus contains the following, "A horse tramway of inferior description has existed since 1863 between Hanley and Burslem, a distance of 1¾ miles called the 'Staffordshire Potteries Street Railway'. This line constructed without Parliamentary sanction and existing on the sufferance of Local Authorities, has not been maintained in a satisfactory condition, but notwithstanding this and the limited accomodation afforded, the annual traffic has reached nearly 300,000 passengers"

extracts taken from "The Tramway Review", Vol.4, Issue no.26 - 1959


Staffordshire Potteries Street Railway Company
File:STR.001.jpg
Source (Smith)
Filename STR.001
Value
Add Desc. Trains Patent (horsecar and Marble arch)
Size (mm) 26x20
Manufacture Brass
Notes GF Train
STR.002.jpg
Source (Smith)
Filename STR.002
Value
Add Desc. Trains Patent (horsecar and Marble arch)
Size (mm) 24x19
Manufacture Brass
Notes
STR.002Fake.jpg
Source (Smith)
Filename STR.002Fake
Value
Add Desc. Trains Patent (horsecar and Marble arch)
Size (mm) 24x19
Manufacture Brass
Notes Modern reproduction