Only three basic tram services were running across the city, those being the Crossgates, Templenewsam and Halton lines, plus a short working line to Harehills Lane (Shaftsbury).

The final tram car, Horsfield Car No. 181, ran on Service 18 Crossgates to Kirkgate on November 7 1959.

Later the same evening 10 trams formed the official closing ceremony of the system.

Leeds's association with trams began back in 1871 when Parliament authorised tramways to be laid down and on September 16 of that year, the first horse-car route was opened from the city centre to the Woodman Inn, Headingley.

The line was operated under a 21-year lease from Leeds Corporation to the Leeds Tramway Company.

Shortly thereafter, other routes opened up, to York Road, Meanwood, Hunslet and Wortley.

Between 1871 and 1874, tram horse routes were opened to Headingley 'Oak', the Cardigan Arms at Kirkstall, the Crooked Billet at Hunslet, and the Shoulder of Mutton at Marsh Lane.

On October 24, 1877, steam car services were trialed but they proved unworkable, in the main because the weight of the engines caused damage to the tram tracks.

The year 1890 saw the introduction of the first electric trams and it marked a first for Leeds in the UK. Their use led the way for the rest of the country.

The new electric trams were built by the American Thompson Houston Company and the first service from Sheepscar to Oakwood, opened in 1891.

Leeds Corporation took over the running of tram services in February 1894, after the initial lease ran out. The corporation converted the whole service to overhead electric lines.

Services between Leeds and Bradford commenced on June 1910 and the tramway system grew apace until 1934, when it included some 476 cars travelling on 124 miles of track.

However, after that date tramways began to be abandoned, due to lack of investment and a predilection towards motorised buses.

This didn't mean new tram routes weren't opened in that time – in 1949 two new routes came into existence: one on the Gipton Estate, the other from Balm Road to Belle Isle.

However, the Second World War took its toll.

Leeds, like many cities, was badly in debt and this more than anything else sealed the fate of the tram system.

By 1953, the decision came to scrap trams altogether.

As the final tram rolled into the depot, bedecked with lights and cheered on by crowds, people laid coins on the track so they would be pressed as it went past and they would have a memento of what has to be one of the proudest chapters in the city's history.


Welcome back for beer

IT'S not that long ago that beer used to be delivered by horse and cart. In June 1975, draymen Alf Tyne, then 64, and Joe Park, 47, shared a pint outside Tetley's Brewery in Leeds following the end of a two-week stoppage.

Members of the Association of Clerical, Technical and Supervisory Staff walked out in a dispute over pay and were on the picket lines for two weeks. Delivery men refused to cross the picket lines.

In that time, more than 100 Leeds pubs ran dry, no doubt leading to many a parched throat among the city's populace.

A Tetley's manager said at the time the number of Leeds pubs forced to close was in three figures.



Where rent was 44p a week

Your Letters...

In response to the problem posed by Christine Groves (Yorkshire Diary, October 24), I believe the street in question is Lillian Street, off Kirkstall Road, now, of course, long demolished.

The stone railway arches at the centre of the picture started at the end of Lillian Street and the viaduct continued over Kirkstall Road and on over the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

If you compare the picture of Lillian Street already published with the one I have sent in you can see they are the same location.

As a matter of background interest, I lived in Lillian Street from 1951 until the mid-1960s. We had a humble but happy home – two bedrooms and a few facilities but I recall my mum paid weekly rent of 44p (8/9d) and that was often a struggle to find.

Nevertheless, I do look back with much affection to those far off and different, simpler times.

Michael Owen, Scotton, Knaresborough

In response to Christine Grove's letter, the street in question is Lillian Street. It was directly behind the Rising Sun pub, which still stands. The structure that can be seen at the end of Lillian Street is Kirkstall Viaduct, which carries the Leeds-Harrogate railway line.

A Strangeway, Pudsey.


My husband Gordon Adamson was in the Fleet Air Arm and spent some time stationed in Australia on the aircraft carrier Indomitable, flying small aircraft. He was the pilot, there was also a navigator and rear gunner and they corresponded for many years after the war.

We married in 1949 and had two daughters, a son, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren. We left England in 1957 on the Castle Felice. We didn't get back to England until 1985 and my husband was able to retire aged 62.

Unfortunately, my husband passed away 15 months ago.

Like many who served in the forces, he found it hard to settle down after being demobbed. During the 1950s, the newspapers were printing adverts about emigrating to Australia and it was because he hated the cold waters in England and remembers the warm waters that we went.

He always thought of himself as an Englishman but I think of myself as Australian now.

B J Adamson, Clive Street, Katoomba, Australia.



Guess the year

The Battle of Towton is said to have been the bloodiest ever fought on British soil. It was in fact the decisive battle in the War of the Roses, which was fought over more than three decades between the royal houses of York and Lancaster. The Battle of Towton took place on a plateau between the villages of Towton and Saxton, about 12 miles southwest of York and resulted in a decisive victory for the Yorkists. It was estimated that some 80,000 soldiers fought in the battle. In what year did it take place? Answer next week.

Last week's question: Yorkshire-born Isle of Man TT race-ace David Jeffries, who lost his life while practising for the 2003 event, was literally born into racing after his mother, Pauline, went into labour just after watching her husband, Tony, crash. David Jeffries was the undisputed master of the TT race and was the first man to lap the 37-mile course at an average speed of 125mph and to win three consecutive TT races. In what year was David Jeffries born? Answer: 1972.

Did you know?

York was once the capital of the Roman Britain. Under the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus, who ruled from AD193 to 211, the Yorkshire city, then known as Eboracum, was an important outpost in the Roman Empire. It was named as the capital of Britannia Inferior and joint-capital of Roman Britain. In the two years before he died, Emperor Septimus Severus ruled the entire empire from York. The city was also the place where, on July 25, 306, Constantine the Great was made emperor.

Appeared in EP 14 Nov 2009