Latest meeting report

Thursday 29th February

Southend Corporation Trams and Trolleybuses

Richard Delahoy - summarised by Chris Hurricks

39 members and visitors were present to hear this well researched talk on early public transport in Southend. Richard first outlined Southend's history, explaining that the Southend name came from its origins as the southern part of Prittlewell, a much older place. Indeed in 1760 Southend was described as 'merely a poor hamlet of fishermen’s huts'! By the late 18th century the sea bathing craze had started, The Terrace (renamed Royal in 1803) and the Grand Hotel at the top of Pier Hill being built in 1791.

The LTSR was opened in 1856 and by that time the population was 3000. Expansion was rapid, further aided by the opening of the GE line in 1889, and by 1921 the population was 120,000. The Londoners' playground had become well established with thousands making the trip down to the seaside by train and by river.

In 1846 a horse tramway had been provided on the original pier and in 1889 the new and much longer Pier which we all know today was completed and a year later an electric tramway opened on it. A wonderful shot of a 'two horse power' tram in 1872 was shown, also a view on the pier in 1890 with the new electric trams packed to capacity. The electric tramway proved the concept of electric railed passenger transport and after some false starts the initial tram routes opened in July 1901. These were of 3ft 6in gauge and 14 trams were built for the system but these soon proved to be too few and too small to handle the traffic whilst the single track with passing loops limited service frequency. More and larger trams were soon purchased. More routes were added including the scenic Boulevards loop in 1913 which became a big tourist attraction with 180,000 passengers in the peak year of 1921. Electricity for the trams was generated in the Corporation's own power station, the coal being delivered to their own pier and transported by three special hopper trams. The summer traffic reached a peak at August Bank Holiday 1929 when 137,000 passengers travelled on the trams in one day!

However, stagnation set in with the tramway failing to serve the newer areas of the town and a lack of modernisation of the fleet. Trolleybuses had been introduced in 1925 and these were more flexible and cheaper, whilst private bus companies had started. Gradually the routes were shut down and final closure was on 8th April 1942. We were taken through all the various tram types and there were some fascinating shots in the 20's and 30's in Southend and Leigh, concluding with views of the few accidents which had occurred on the system.

The first trolleybuses were known as 'trackless trolleys' and we saw pictures of all the various types from the early Railless with solid tyres to the handsome Sunbeams, very similar to our well known Ipswich examples. Some trolleybuses were utilised in very unusual ways, one double decker as a ladies toilet and a single decker as the control tower at the local airport. The routes reached their maximum extent in 1944 but with the ever increasing motor bus services final closure was in October 1954, the worn out equipment and the nationalisation of the electricity supply industry contributing to this decision.

In recent years Light Rail has had a revival of course and Richard showed scenes on several of the 'new' tram systems but not forgetting the old favorite, Blackpool. Guided busways were discussed and then the intriguing prospect of a South Essex Rapid Transit with routes extending from Purfleet in the West to Wickford and Shoeburyness. Unlikely but we can all dream! Richard was thanked in the usual way for his professional and interesting presentation.