Nottingham Corporation Tramways - 1912

1912

In February E. L. Fleetwood of London requested a licence to operate motorbuses between St Peter’s Square and West Bridgford, but the granting of this was deferred pending consideration of the introduction of a joint service between the Market Place and West Bridgford. It was, however, decided that as there was sufficient vehicular traffic already using Arkwright Street and a frequent tramcar service operating as far as Trent Bridge, the licence should be refused, although the Corporation had no objection to a service between West Bridgford and the city side of Trent Bridge.

Bulk purchase scholars’ tickets were withdrawn about March and replaced by a concession allowing children under 14 years of age to be carried over a 1d. adult stage for ½d.

After visiting Birmingham to see drivers’ screens in use on the cars, six Nottingham vehicles were similarly treated. The reequipment of twenty older cars also took place, Dick, Kerr interpole motors being used.

In November, service numbers replaced colours on destinations, this being the outcome of a visit several months earlier to see similar destination number boxes in use at Liverpool.

The services were numbered:

1. Sherwood Trent Bridge.
2. Mapperley Trent Bridge.
3. Bulwell Trent Bridge.
4. Basford Colwick Road.
5. Nottingham Road Radford and Lenton.
6. St Ann’s Well Road Lenton and Radford.
7. Wilford Road London Road.
8. Carlton Road Market Place.

In September, orders were placed for top-covers for a further 12 standard cars, thus completing the topcovering of all regular service cars. The “pony wheel” bogie class never received top-covers.

No. 76 appeared late in this year with a totally enclosed top deck, there being no bulkheads. This car had no service number holders and the number “3” was painted at each end of the upper deck. These enclosed ends were not popular with the conductors for, when leaning out of the rather narrow end sliding windows to see that all passengers had boarded or alighted, their hats were knocked off unless they had taken the precaution to remove them first.

A further innovation was the fixing of transparencies on gas lamp glasses to denote stopping places.