Sheffield Trams Past and Present

The location of Sheffield between numerous fast flowing rivers; the Don, the Loxley, the Porter, the Rivelin and the Sheaf, determined that it should develop significant industry, which originally would have depended largely on water to provide power. By 1911 it had become the fifth largest city in England. Industry demands transport, both for goods and workers and the first local public transport in Sheffield was provided by horse buses in 1852. In 1872, the Sheffield Tramways Company constructed a nine-mile horse powered system. By 1896 this was in the process of being converted to an overhead electrical system but it was not completed until 11 November 1902 and the last horse drawn trams ran in May of 1903. Electric Trams were to become an integral part of life in Sheffield and although route extensions have been recently turned down, the main routes are still used extensively today. The detailed text and extensive photographs, both ancient and modern, provide a fitting tribute to a system which has served the city well for over a hundred years.