Transport in Brighton and Hove - Trams

Trams

The first tramway in the Brighton area was the Brighton and Shoreham Tramways, which at its fullest extent ran from a terminus in Southdown Road, Shoreham to Westbourne Villas in Hove, on the former boundary between Hove and Portslade. The tramway never penetrated Hove, although a connecting horse-bus (route 112, operated by the Brighton and Preston United Omnibus Company) was available from the Westbourne Villas terminus. Construction took place in 1883 and 1884; the route was opened throughout on 3 July 1884, initially with steam-driven trams. After this proved unsuccessful, other methods of propulsion were tried (including, in 1887, an early battery-powered locomotive) until horse power took over in 1893. The British Electric Traction company took over the operations in 1898, but was unable to agree with any of the local authorities on a strategy for electrification. The tramway was therefore horse-drawn until the end, on 6 June 1913.

Brighton Corporation Tramways operated an extensive network of routes in the first four decades of the 20th century. The first route to operate, from 25 November 1901, ran from the main terminus at the Aquarium (outside Brighton Pier) to Lewes Road, a major route to the north-east; other routes were quickly established, so that by 1904 its full extent had been established.