The report presented to the third annual general meeting of the shareholders in 1880, shows that the company purchased approximately 10 miles 6 furlongs and 4 chains of rail.

The track was of the Winby and Levick system and consisted of flat-bottomed, grooved tramway-type rails laid longitudinally on broad iron plates, which in turn rested on consolidated macadam or other road material; this was believed to make up a sufficient foundation without concrete.

At ten o'clock in the morning the car was "in waiting" near the Walter Fountain, and being a novelty in Nottingham, and splendidly fitted up also, a crowd of interested spectators soon gathered around for minute inspection.

Toasts were made and speeches given, and in this extract the chairman revealed a taste of things to come, and attempted to allay some fears of other road users: The rails themselves [are] 27 feet in length, and these form one continuous bearing.

It had been subjected to a strain of 50 tons weight, without showing any appreciable depression, and therefore, when the Government allowed them to use steam locomotives in the streets, they could freely place them upon these rails without their exhibiting any serious sinking.

A formal ceremony took place on 23 September 1878 when Miss Bella Winby, the daughter of the patentee of the track system proceeded to raise the first stone with a miniature pick prepared specially for the occasion.

The spot selected for this ceremony was in the centre of the road a small distance above St. John's Church, Carrington and exactly opposite the plot of land purchased by the company for the depot and stables.

We are authorised to state that General Hutchinson expressed himself fully satisfied with the line, and consented to its being opened for traffic on Saturday next, the requisite certificate of the Board of Trade to be forwarded in due course.

The depot and stables for this route was built on Isandula Road, very near the Basford terminus, to designs by the Nottingham architect, Albert Nelson Bromley.

[13] The average working week of the horse-tram crews and depot men was at first anything between 80 and 90 hours, and a 16-hour term of duty in a single day was commonplace.

In Whitweek - in spite of the fitful weather, there was no lack of riders in trams, in fact one car only carried in one day no fewer than 1,837 persons, with a revenue of £15 6s.

The manager, Mr. G. Herbert, has "put them on their metal" by testing their conduct in a variety of ways, and he finds them to be remarkably tractable, and very useful indeed for level roads for simply running in one groove.In the course of about six weeks the third and last section of the company's present scheme will be completed and opened for traffic, namely, the course from the Exchange Hall .

Of course, the company have not been unmindful of the great importance of adopting every precaution for the full return of the money taken by the conductors, and the employment of the "bell punch", recording every issue of tickets, has been found to be as good a plan as any that is known.The question is often asked, how the cab and omnibus proprietors take to these innovations.

The railways were said to have struck a death-blow at the ordinary vehicle traffic, but such did not prove to be true, and, wherever tramways have opened there has been no decrease in the numbers of cabs - Leicester for instance.

Considering the rail employed is one that is sure to result in great saving to the shareholders, seeing that there will be little or no cost of repairs, and taking into consideration also the fact that the tramway route is populous, and the working expenses small, there is every reason to prophecy success to the company .

Taking £350 as the average weekly receipts gives a total of over £17,000 in a year, which is a very large sum indeed for the present branch of tramway service in a town of such proportions as Nottingham .

On 7 May 1880[17] a case was heard before the Nottingham Magistrates' Court where James Crabbe a tram driver was charged with offences from 4 May of using abusive language to the police and with running his tramcar into the Yeomanry.

On 4 July 1880[18] five conductors were charged with allowing overcrowding of their tramcars and after an appearance by Herbert Gideon, the manager and secretary of the company promising that this would not happen again, they were fined 10s each.

A further experiment was undertaken on 3 June, to which civic dignitaries including the mayor, the town clerk and various aldermen were invited, some of whom followed the trial from horse-drawn tram cars.

The General Works and Highways Committee granted approval on 2 January 1881 for a one-week trial using steam power on the Mansfield Road route.

On 9 January 1882 the General Works and Highways Committee reported to the Corporation an application of the Tramways Company "for permission to use steam power for a period of one year on Basford, Carrington and Forest routes using Parrott's patent combined engine and car, manufactured by Manlove, Alliott and Fryer of Nottingham, and Dickenson's combined engine and car, manufactured in Sheffield.

Eleven months later on 4 December 1882[22] the General Works and Highways Committee reported that "the Tramways Company were authorised by the Board of Trade to use a steam tram on the Basford route for one year.

Steam trams relied upon their weight and adhesion for propulsion and as the town streets were badly paved, dirt, stones, manure and water got into the rail grooves.

The specification of performance was strict, the vehicle had to be silent, had to emit no smoke and was required to have no exposed parts which could provide a safety hazard to pedestrians and horses.

Illumination inside the trams at night was very poor, and to quote a contemporary writer, "gloom prevailed," the only light being a small oil lamp at each end in the recess where the conductor kept his tickets.

In 1892, the two remaining converted horse buses were scrapped, one of the toast rack cars was renumbered and a further two double-deckers were obtained from G.F. Milnes being similar in design to those purchased the previous year.

That from the hilly nature of the town, travelling by means of horses is exceedingly slow and expensive, and a quicker and cheaper mode of transit ought to be adopted.

That considerable extensions of the service are desirable e.g. to Sherwood, Mapperley Plains, Wells Rd, Sneinton, Bulwell, Lenton and Radford; and that Parliamentary powers are necessary before the Corporation can engage in their work.

Despite the imminent introduction of electric cars, the horse tram rails still required maintenance, and the minute book records that the track outside the Mechanics Institute was replaced at the end of 1897.

Kelly's Directory of Nottinghamshire for 1900[25] gives an idea of the extent of the operation of the system at the end of its life: Horse buses supplemented the services whilst track relaying was carried out for the new electric trams.