Glasgow Corporation Tramways - Electrification

Electrification

The electrification of the tram system was instigated by the Glasgow Tramways Committee, with the route between Springburn and Mitchell Street chosen as an experiment. With a fleet of 21 newly built tramcars, the experimental electric route commenced on 13 October 1898 and was considered a success. The city-wide horse-drawn tram service was withdrawn at the end of April 1902.

An additional 400 new trams were built and fitted with electrical equipment, with the Glasgow Corporation Tramways workshops at Coplawhill, Pollokshields heavily involved in the construction of the new trams. Following the closure of the tram system, the workshops were converted into the Glasgow Museum of Transport in 1964. Following the Museum's relocation to the Kelvin Hall in 1987, the buildings were subsequently adapted to become the Tramway Theatre. In 2007, plans began to relocate Scottish Ballet to its new location alongside the Tramway Theatre. This entailed knocking down or renovating the five most eastern bays of the Tramway Theatre building and it officially opened on 17 September 2009.

To provide the electrical supply, a generating station was built at Port Dundas. The Pinkston Power Station opened in 1901. The Pinkston Power Station and substations located at Coplawhill, Dalhousie, Kinning Park, Whitevale and Partick also powered the Glasgow Subway. The power station operated for 57 years, until it was handed over to the South of Scotland Electricity Board in 1958 and ceased operating in the early 1960s. The plant and its massive cooling tower, which dominated the skyline of the city – was demolished in 1977.

Following electrification, Glasgow trams were initially fitted with trolley poles to take electricity from the overhead wires. The trolley poles were later replaced with bow collectors.