Manchester Corporation Tramways

[2] It was the United Kingdom's second-largest tram network after the services of 16 operators across the capital were combined in 1933 by the London Passenger Transport Board.

[4] MCT services ran up to the edge of routes provided by other operators in (what is now) Greater Manchester, and in some instances had running rights over their lines and vice versa.

Though horse-drawn omnibuses were first introduced in Manchester as early as 1824 (arguably the world's first bus service it was run by John Greenwood and ran between Market Street and Piccadilly and Pendleton toll gate in Salford).

In the subsequent years, other companies joined the rush to provide services culminating by 1850 in 64 omnibuses serving the centre of Manchester from outlying areas.

By 1896 outlying areas served included; Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Droylsden, Failsworth, Gorton & Denton, Heaton Norris, Kersal, Levenshulme, Lower Broughton, Moss Side, Peel Green, Stalybridge, Stockport, Stretford, Swinton, Waterhead and Withington.

Another company which had been set up by Henry O'Hagan proposed a tram network for all the urban areas east of Manchester, from Bacup in the north via Rochdale, Oldham and Ashton to Hyde.

Instead of having the entire network and fleet ready for the proposed opening in 1901, the Corporation gradually replaced the old Manchester & Salford Tramway routes as vehicles became available.

Following the installation of power lines between Albert Square and Cheetham Hill, this first part of the new operation was inaugurated on 6 June 1901 with public services starting the next day.

By the end of the following year services from Piccadilly reached: Alexandra Park, Audenshaw, Denton, Hollinwood, Moss Side, Old Trafford, Openshaw, Newton Heath, St. Peter's Square and Stretford.

It was then possible to traverse by tram the entire urban area now known as Greater Manchester, and far into the surrounding towns of Lancashire and Cheshire, many of which had their independent services.

Women had been employed during the war as tram guards but there were shortages of materials and maintenance staff that led to the deterioration of both the track and the vehicle fleet.

Middleton then granted Manchester a lease to operate on their former tracks in exchange for allowing them to run Corporation trams right into Rochdale.

However new tram lines were still being commissioned especially on the south side of the city (serving Anson Rd, Birchfields Rd, Kingsway, Platt Lane, Princess Road, Seymour Grove) and also in the north (at Heywood, Middleton and on Victoria Avenue).

The effect was to increase passenger numbers by 11 per cent and the route became profitable to operate; thus commencing the start of tramway abandonment.

In recognition of the growing importance of bus services, Pilcher managed to get the company name changed to Manchester Corporation Transport this year.

In the early 1930s, tramcar revenue was lower than operating costs on some services and yet more replacement work was due and more buses were introduced.

Pilcher organised the UK's first major conversion of an intensively used tram route to buses in the United Kingdom when on 6 April 1930 the service from Cheetham Hill to Stretford Road was abandoned to the motorbus.

Manchester's bus fleet then numbered over 100, and with lower overheads and profits increasing after conversion, Pilcher was seen as the man who persuaded some cynics that trams were outdated for British cities and that buses were the future.

Thirty years after their initial opening, the old tram routes were showing the need for capital expenditure on new infrastructure – Pilcher used this as one of the main reasons to push ahead with conversion to buses.

The final decision to completely abandon the tram system in favour of trolleybuses and motor buses was taken on 7 July 1937 but the onset of war delayed some of this.

The last of the old tram cars were stored at Hyde Road depot until on 16 March they were set ablaze in a huge bonfire, permanently signifying an end to what was once the third-largest tramway system in the country.

[8] One of these, tramcar, No 765, was used as a chicken coop for many years before being restored in the 1960s by a group of enthusiasts working under the guidance of retired tramways employees at MCTD's Birchfields depot.