Trams & Recollections Dundee 1956

The Recollections series

Sixty Four Pages

T

he aim of this series is to appeal to readers of all ages, perhaps for different reasons...

In this volume: We travel back to the year 1956, as ever an eventful year, that included:

£11.99

Above: The traveller between Perth and Dundee in 1956 would find their first tram standing at Ninewells terminus where the tracks ended at the city boundary. Just arriving at the single-track terminus is 37, a Hurst Nelson car new in 1921. John Clarke Front cover: Looking east from the City Square with the imposing Clydesdale and North of Scotland Bank building in the background this is 37 heading for Ninewells in the High Street at 16:01 on 9th July; note the horse powered cart in the background which I think is carrying some jute bales. John Clarke

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Henry Conn

• The UK bans heroin • RAF retires last Lancaster bomber • Suez crisis causes UK petrol rationing • First Eurovision Song Contest broadcast • Hard disk drive invented • TV broadcasting begins in Australia In a number of previous volumes we have featured several views from the collections of David and John Clarke. This volume, concentrating on 1956, comprises solely their camerawork, and none of the views have been published before. This will be the first 1956 volume looking at the tram systems of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.

The Glasgow tramway system in 1949 was at its maximum of 134 miles, with more than 1,100 trams operating 32 routes. The Edinburgh tramway system at its peak totalled 47 miles, comprising an extensive system of 28 routes. By 1924 the Aberdeen tramway system had reached its maximum of 15 miles, and this total remained until 1931, when two routes were changed to buses, and seven years later a half-mile section was added to Scatterburn. The main tram routes in Dundee were to Ninewells, Blackness, Maryfield, Lochee and Downfield. Both Aberdeen and Dundee followed a similar pattern, with the maximum route mileage maintained only until the 1930s.

David and John’s portraits of the trams of these four cities, all taken in 1956, are rare and exceptional.

TRAMS & Recollections Dundee

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The 125th volume in this growing series taking a nostalgic look at Britain’s transport heritage...

• The UK bans heroin • RAF retires last Lancaster bomber • • Suez crisis causes UK petrol rationing • First Eurovision Song Contest broadcast • • Hard disk drive invented • TV broadcasting begins in Australia •

First published in Great Britain in 2023

by Silver Link Books an imprint of Mortons Books Ltd Media Centre Morton Way Horncastle LN9 6JR www.mortonsbooks.co.uk Copyright © Silver Link Books 2023 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN 978 1 85794 600 0 The right of Henry Conn to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Title page: MARYFIELD TERMINUS Looking north with the Sidlaw hills in the background John’s first view taken at 11:01 on 9th July is of 34 at Maryfield terminus; 34 is indicating a short journey to West Park rather than Ninewells, only every third car carried on to Ninewells terminus. John Clarke

FORFAR ROAD/CLEPPINGTON ROAD: On Forfar Road at its junction with Clepington Road car 34 has just left the terminus at Maryfield; 34 is a Hurst Nelson new in 1921. John Clarke

Acknowledgements

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his is the third book in a series that will be featuring the wonderful views of David and John Clarke taken in 1956. I have, in a number of previous books, featured a large number from David’s collection, not so many from John’s. On the 9th and 11th July, David and John visited Dundee and the collection of views that follows is a record

of their visit; only three months later the trams of Dundee would be gone. I most sincerely thank David and John for access to their rare and wonderful collection of negatives and slides. Note that all the views are in chronological order, with David and John, on the same day, many miles apart.

Introduction

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n the evolution of Dundee’s urban transport, horse-drawn carriages gave way to steampropelled cars in 1877, which were superseded by electric trams in 1900. By 1880, Dundee and District Tramways Company opened routes to Lochee, Stobswell and Baxter Park, all key areas of the large manufacturers in the city.

Dundee Corporation bought out Dundee and District Tramways Company in 1899 and a service of electric cars was launched on the Perth Road route in June 1900. Both horse and steam trams across the city had been replaced by 1902.

The official policy as stated by Robert Taylor, the general manager, was that trams would remain a major component of transport in Dundee, and this continued to be the position until the early 1950s.

Taylor reduced the fleet from 99 to 60 trams, but he implemented a major rebuilding programme for those that were left.

The new trams for the Lochee route were supplied with EMB swing-axle trucks, manufactured by the Electro-Mechanical Brake Company of West Bromwich, which gave a much smoother ride, and caused less wear of the track. This type of truck was fitted to the trams as they were rebuilt, while other improvements included air brakes and Fischer bow collectors, which increased the contact area between the overhead wire and the collector, reducing both wear and noise.

There were several sizes of rebuilt trams, but the largest, which ran on four-wheel trucks, were designed with seating for 68 passengers. However, because a large number of passengers made short journeys, six seats were subsequently removed, to increase the free space for those boarding and alighting.

NEAR MARYFIELD DEPOT: Approaching Maryfield depot is 43, a Hurst Nelson car new in 1920 indicating Ninewells. The single track section extended to Maryfield depot and at peak hours service there was a four minute frequency, every six minutes off peak. John Clarke By the end of the Second World War, the system still had 56 trams in working order and traffic levels were high. As renewals of the tramcars and infrastructure became necessary, general manager W I Russell reviewed the options meticulously and

decided that the future lay with motor buses. The city limits had extended beyond the bounds of the tram route and the future of public transport in Dundee lay with buses.

A study led by transport consultant Colonel

4 McCreary showed that the cost of trams compared with a bus service was 26.700 and 21.204 pence per mile respectively, and that 95% of daily passengers preferred buses to trams. As a result, he advocated abandoning the tramway system for motor buses.

The first part of the changeover was the closure of the Moncur Crescent route on 26th April 1952,

MARYFIELD DEPOT: John is now looking south and 43 is passing the lines into Maryfield depot. The Maryfield Tram depot was opened by Dundee Corporation in 1901 and was originally constructed to hold a dozen trams, it was later extended to house up to 70. Three rails fan out once inside the depot allowing trams to be serviced there, with two entrance tracks.

John Clarke

Dundee Trams & Recollections 1956 although trams continued to run on days when there was a football match. The Blackness route was the next to succumb, on 26th November 1955, and the Downfield route closed a few hours later in the early morning of 27th November. The rest of the system closed on 20th October 1956, although there was a farewell procession of trams from Maryfield

Depot to Lochee early the next morning.

The final car to run in public service was car 23, and following withdrawal, the tramcars were taken to Marchbanks and burnt, so that the metal could be sold for scrap.

Dundee Trams & Recollections 1956 LOCHEE TERMINUS: On the 9th July David was taking his first view at 11:23; at Lochee terminus is 25, a Brush-built car new in 1930. Normally 19 to 28, the ‘Lochee trams’ provided the backbone of the Lochee to Reform St route, but cars of other varieties could also be used. David Clarke

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LOCHEE HIGH STREET: A few minutes after the previous view this is 25 in Lochee High Street; at peak hours, the Lochee service ran at a 3 minute frequency, 4 minutes off peak. Note the white wall tyred two door estate, a very early Dundee registered Morris Minor 1000 Traveller. David Clarke

Dundee Trams & Recollections 1956

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FORFAR ROAD/MADEIRA STREET: With the Corporation depot in the background and about to pass the junction at Madeira Street at 11:40 John takes this view of 48. Originally 76, and new in 1916, this car was rebuilt in 1932 and was renumbered to 48 in 1937. John Clarke

FORFAR ROAD/MADEIRA STREET: John is now looking south with 35 nearest the camera heading for Maryfield terminus and the heading into the city and onto West Park is 48. John Clarke

Dundee Trams & Recollections 1956

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FORFAR ROAD: Stobswells Parish church, built between 1874 and 1876, is L-shaped and has a prominent position at the junction of Forfar Road and Albert Road; heading for Maryfield is 34. John Clarke

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Dundee Trams & Recollections 1956

MORGAN ACADEMY, FORFAR ROAD: From the foot of King Street to Maryfield terminus was a one and half mile uphill grind with a maximum gradient of 1:10. This view of 34 passing Morgan Academy gives an indication of the steepness of the climb. I think the small windowed box is an emergency Dundee Corporation telephone; there are two more phone boxes visible so if there is a problem, one should be working. John Clarke

ALBERT STREET/CARDEAN STREET: Around a third of the way down from Maryfield with the the Tay in the distance, on Albert Street, at its junction with Cardean Street and Balmore Street this is car 35. John Clarke

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Dundee Trams & Recollections 1956

ALBERT STREET/PARK AVENUE: Maryfield bound, this is 37 on Albert Road with Park Avenue to the right of the view. Note the Wm Low corner shop; the company was founded by William Rettie and James Low in 1868, and the name consists of both the founders’ names, one’s first name and the other’s surname.

John Clarke