The final company was the Devonport and District Tramway which also adopted the 3 feet 6 inch gauge but was electrified from the outset.

[1] The South Devon Railway arrived at Plymouth in 1848 and a permanent station was established at Millbay the following year.

This was on the western side of Plymouth Hoe and a new commercial dock was established on the shore opposite the station.

c. 78) was passed to enable the easier construction of street tramways, and the company promoting the line through Stonehouse was the first to take advantage of it.

Starting from Derry's Clock by the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, it ran along Union Street and passed under the railway viaduct before entering Stonehouse.

Once back on the level the extra horses were returned to Stonehouse to assist the next tram, but two more were added for the final hill along Chapel Street.

The tracks in Plymouth and Devonport were sold to the respective corporations and leased back to the tram company, but the section through Stonehouse remained in its ownership.

The leases ran for 21 years, after which the Stonehouse company sold out to the Plymouth Corporation Tramways Department, which by then was operating all the other trams in the city.

Of the seven routes authorised only two were built, one from West Hoe via Millbay to Hyde Park Corner at Mutley.

The company pressed on, ignoring the Board of Trade ban on the use of steam, and inaugurated a regular service on 4 November.

[6] Devonport Corporation obtained an injunction from the Chancery Division of the High Court on 14 November to prevent the company opening or operating any services until the whole of the system was complete.

The actions of the company and the Board of Trade resulted in the Derry v Peek ruling in the House of Lords.

This company closed the line from the town centre to the Barbican and introduced horse power on the remaining routes.

Trams started from two places in Devonport: Fore Street (close to the Stonehouse company's line) and Morice Town, which was closer to the main dockyards.

Devonport Corporation provided the electricity from their power station at Stonehouse Creek near the Pennycomequick line.

Its new Tramway Department continued to operate the routes to Mutley and West Hoe with horse trams, new cars being delivered in 1894 and 1895.

From Mutley the line was extended north from Hyde Park Corner to Compton Lane on 3 April 1893.

The following year saw street widening that allowed the opening of the short section which the Board of Trade had previously refused to approve.

10 December 1896 a completely new line was opened eastwards from the junction at the bottom of Tavistock Road (now known as Drake's Circus) to Prince Rock.

Electricity was supplied from the corporation's own power station at Cattewater (near the eastern end of the line) and a new tram depot was built in Elliot Road.

The first six electric cars were equipped to haul an old horse tram as a trailer, but this practice was discontinued after a derailment in Old Town Street.

New connections from the Stonehouse line were laid between Derry's Clock with the adjacent Theatre terminus used by most of the Plymouth routes, and at Fore Street with the old Devonport network.

Consideration was given to converting to trolleybuses, but instead it was decided to implement a ten-year programme to replace the trams by motor buses.

[15] The plan to replace the remaining trams was put on hold following the outbreak of World War II in September 1942 as they were powered by electricity generated by British coal, whereas buses relied on imported fuel.

However, following city centre bomb damage in April 1941 (when car 133 was destroyed) the service only operated between Drake's Circus and Peverell.

[5] The Plymouth, Devonport and District steam trams had brown ends and underframes with white sides.

The Devonport company also had a small depot in Harford Place at Camels Head for the two cars on the route to St Budeaux.