Potteries Electric Traction Company

Potteries Electric Traction Company
Map of the routes of the Potteries Electric Traction Company
Operation
Locale	The Potteries
Open	16 May 1899
Close	1928
Status	Closed
Infrastructure
Track gauge	4 ft (1,219 mm)
Propulsion system(s)	Electric
Depot(s)	see main body for info.
Statistics
Route length	32 miles (51 km)

Potteries Electric Traction map Goldenhill - Longton and Silverdale
Legend
Goldenhill Woodstock Street Goldenhill Tram Depot Tunstall High Street Brownhills Road Scotia Road Davensport Street Smallthorne Middleport Burslem Town Centre Longport Railway Stn Porthill(Watlands View) Maybank Tram Depot Waterloo Rd(Cobridge) Waterloo Road Stn Chell Street to Newcastle & Stoke(via Shelton) to Hanley(via Cliffe Vale) & Stoke(via Hartshill Hanley(see better map below) Newcastle Ironmarket High St Newcastle to Chesterton Silverdale Church St Leek Road Lichfield St/Victoria Road Victoria Place Fenton Silverdale High St to Stoke Town Centre Fenton Tram Depot Longton The Strand Longton Commerce St Longton Queen Park Road Meir Station

Potteries Electric Traction map Chesterton to Trent Vale / Hanford
Legend
Chesterton (Sandford St) Chesterton Loomer Road to Silverdale Newcastle High Street Termius Newcastle Ironmarket to Middleport to Tunstall/Goldenhill Hartshill Cliffe Vale Etruria Railway Station Hanley Town Centre to Hanley via Stoke Road Stoke Town Centre to Stoke Glebe Street to Longton Trent Vale

The Potteries Electric Traction Company operated a tramway service in The Potteries between 1899 and 1928.^[1]

History

British Electric Traction incorporated a new company on 27 June 1898, called the Potteries Electric Traction Company. Its purpose was to extend the existing tramway through the towns of the Potteries. It acquired the North Staffordshire Tramways Company Limited and arranged to take over the Longton Corporation Tramways.

Construction was awarded to Dick, Kerr & Co. and the overhead work was awarded to R. W Blackwell and Company. The coal-fired power station was constructed by Brush Electrical Engineering Company at the depot at Woodhouse Street, Stoke. Later a second station was opened at May Bank.

On 16 May 1899 the first electric trams ran from Stoke to Longton. By 1902, the company had a fleet of 105 trams and carried 14,438,048 passengers. By 1904 the system had expanded to 32 miles of route.

Fleet

• 1-17 Brush single deck cars 1898
• 18-27 Brush single deck trailers 1898
• 28-40 Brush single deck cars 1899
• 41-70 Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works 1900.Car 50 outside RedLion public house, Stoke
• 71-85 Midland Railway Carriage and Wagon Company 1900. Picture of Car 80 at MayBank Tram Depot
• 86-106 Brush 1901 (99, 100 and 106 transferred to Barrow in Furness Tramways 1904/05)
• 99-100 Second hand cars from Middleton Electric Traction Company
• 107 Works car?
• 108 Open railway type car
• 109-112 Parcels trailers
• 113-117 Brush 1906
• 118-119 Second hand cars from Middleton Electric Traction Company
• 120
• 121-123 Three second hand cars 1920 from Sheffield Corporation Tramways (Sheffield 58, 122 and 123)
• 124 Modified iron tip wagon 1922.
• 125 Second hand car from the Dudley, Stourbridge and District Electric Traction Company

Accidents

Trams were relatively safe, although there were accidents.

In 1923, a runaway tram was destroyed in an accident on Hartshill Bank, the steepest gradient on the system, and 18 passengers were injured.^[2]

A year later, a driver was fatally injured in an accident at the Granville level crossings in Cobridge.

Depot

As with all tram system, PET Company had a number of tram depot located at the end of each line. PET had depots located at Chesterton, Fenton, Goldenhill, Stoke, Maybank.

Closure

The system closed in 1928.

The Red Lion Hotel, National Tramway Museum

The Red Lion public house which for years stood outside the tramway depot in Stoke-on-Trent, is now relocated to the National Tramway Museum.

References