Picture gallery: Burnley's golden age of trams
Roger said: “It is a pity that there is so little left of the Burnley tram system. It was built, from 1879-80, in the steam era, with single decker trams, preceded by a steam locomotive, as is shown in the first image.
"However, Burnley trams had an impact beyond the town – international, in fact. To get out of the town centre, a tram has to travel uphill in every direction, so the trams had to be adapted to cope with this.
"The solution was the “Burnley bogie”, invented by Henry Mozley, the secretary to the Burnley Tramways Co. Ltd., one of the results of which was that it became possible to build tramways in San Francisco, in the United States!”
1. Tram centre
A good place in Burnley to see the trams was the Tram Centre, on St James Street. Here two Burnley Corporation Trams await passengers. The sign, in the middle, informs passengers that Trams to Harle Syke, Towneley and Rosegrove can be accessed, left, and Nelson, the terminus of the Burnley system, right. Photo: S
2. Theatres
Still in the Tram Centre, with the Palace and Grand Theatres, to the left, and the Hall Inn, to their right, this image shows three trams, number 62, to Nelson, 68, for Padiham and 72, to Brunshaw. Note that one of the trams is a single-decker and, if you look carefully, you can see the complicated arrangements made to deal with the electric cables that provided the power. Photo: S
3. Theatres
The Centre, Burnley, probably in the late 1920’s. To the right are the Palace and Grande Theatres. The building with the clock is the Tram Office and, in the foreground, right, is Seed’s Café, the forerunners of Oddie’s. Ruthies Ltd., and Brunton’s, the photographers can also be seen. There are four trams in the image, two single-deckers and two double-deckers Photo: S
4. ss20221010_0005.jpg
This image is taken on St James Street, near its junction with Manchester Road. A single-decker, on its way to Towneley, is in the foreground, with a double-decker behind. It is difficult to date this image but it must have been taken before 1933, because the Bull Hotel was demolished, in that year, to be replaced by a branch of Burton’s, the men’s outfitters. Photo: S