[4] During the construction period, in 1901, the company asked Hampshire County Council to agree to operation of the line using steam locomotives, as the electrical system was viewed as too expensive for the proposed level of service.

However, the order authorising the construction of the railway required that steam locomotives could only be used with the approval of the Board of Trade and the consent of the road authorities, and all three District Councils involved strongly objected.

The line then ran north and almost immediately had to ascend to a bridge which was required to cross the London & South Western Railway west of Cosham station.

On the central section shared with the road, the rails were laid on a full width concrete foundation, and the formation was then paved with granite blocks.

[18] The last tram ran on 9 January 1935, by which time it had been superseded by motor buses, and became the Southdown Bus Company Route 42.

[19] The company broke up in 1987 as a result of privatisation, and the route fell into the hands of Transit Holdings which had owned Southdown Portsmouth operations.

[20] In 2006, new lighting was installed along the route as part of Havant Borough Council's bus corridor improvement scheme.