The city is situated at the head of Southampton Water (opposite the Isle of Wight) in the south of England and can trace its origins at least back to the Stone Age. It was established as an important trading port in Roman times and was fully functional from about 70 AD. By the 10th century, mediaeval Southampton had been established. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, Southampton became the major transit port between the then capital of England at Winchester, and Normandy.
In the 19th century, Southampton Docks were built and, by the 20th century, it had become a home port for regular shipping services to America and Africa. The ill-fated 'Titanic' departed from Southampton and some 500 of those who perished came from the town; mostly crew. Later, Cunard operated the famed trans-Atlantic liners 'Queen Mary' and 'Queen Elizabeth' from the port. Today, Southampton is a cruise terminal as well as an important commercial dock.
A standard gauge horse tramway of just under 5 miles was introduced in 1879 by the Southampton Tramways Company using 31 double-deck, open-top tramcars, although some were apparently cut down to single-deck because of excessive weight for the horses to pull. Routes linked the city centre with the docks, Shirley (to the north-west) and Portswood (to the north-east).
Southampton Corporation compulsorily purchased the tramway in 1898, but the horse trams continued for over two more years until August 1901. In 1900, the first electric tram route was opened - to Shirley. Further conversions and extensions quickly followed. The early electric tram fleet comprised 37 cars, all with knifeboard seating (i.e. with passengers sitting back-to-back facing outwards) on the open top deck, for reasons that will soon be explained. The cars were built by G.F.Milnes in 1900/01 on Brill 21E 4-wheel trucks. From 1908, most trams were built (and rebuilt) by the corporation itself. Livery was originally crimson lake and cream, later changing to dark red and white. During WW2, some trams were painted battleship grey.
Our postcard shows the famous Grade 1 listed Bargate, a surviving remnant (c.1180) of the old town walls, which straddles the High Street. For the trams, a single track had been laid through the central arch but it was always a tight squeeze and, to minimise the danger to top deck passengers, the seats were arranged back-to-back along the centre line, like a knifeboard and hence the name 'knifeboard seating'. This had been the arrangement for both horse and electric open-top cars. The postcard was published by J.Valentine of Dundee with serial number 219133 and dates from the mid-1930s. On the left is tram no.6 on route 1 and just about to go through the arch and onwards to Swaythling in the north of the city. On the right is tram no.11 travelling south on route 5 from Shirley to the Floating Bridge terminus. Peeping out from behind the arch brickwork is open-top tram no.73 on route 6 from Millbrook to the docks.
Tram 6 (ex-tram 31 of 1901) was extensively rebuilt with a dome-covered top deck in 1929, while tram 11 (ex-tram 3 of 1920) had the same treatment in 1925. Most other open-top trams were rebuilt in a similar fashion over the years with a change to normal transverse seating. In order still to fit through Bargate, these trams were significantly lower than enclosed double-deck trams of the time elsewhere. In 1931-32, the buildings to the east of Bargate were demolished and a single tram track was laid in the new road, as seen on our postcard. By 1938, the buildings to the west of the Bargate had been demolished and another diversionary track laid for trams going north, such that they no longer went through the central arch. All of Southampton's trams were 4-wheelers and most ran on standard Brill 21E trucks, although tram 11 in our picture was fitted with a Peckham P35 truck. Electrical equipment (controllers and motors) varied widely across the fleet.
The tramway was closed on 31 December 1949 and replaced by motor buses but 37 of the 'domed roof' trams were sold to Leeds for further service into the 1950s, although not all cars were ever used. Trams 6 and 11 in our picture stayed in Southampton and, against all the odds, number 11 was discovered in 1979 near Winchester, rescued and is now almost completely restored. It can be seen at the Solent Sky Museum in Southampton.
Open-top tram 45 (built by Hurst Nelson in 1903) was privately purchased for just £10 after the system closed (a story in itself) and is now at the National Tramway Museum in Crich, Derbyshire, where it is occasionally in summer service. It was the very first British tram to be preserved by a private body other than a tramway operator. Several other Southampton tram bodies have been rescued for preservation but restoration is still very limited.
Tramway Information Homepage