SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

When I look at maps in the Old Maps UK (OMUK) website I am constantly amazed at just how extensive the tramway network was in Leeds. I knew some of them but there are plenty I did not know. I was still therefore surprised to find that a tramway once ran along St Paul's Street, as I would not have guessed that. I have attached a copy of part of the 1921 1:2500 map in the OMUK website. The tramway along St Paul's Street runs onto West Street and joins the tramway along Wellington Street around where West Street and Wellington Street merge today. The map also shows a tramway along Park Lane that splits at Burley Street. The same tramways are seen in a 1933 1:2500 OMUK map but that does not show all of the area. A 1956/57 map was too small scale to show tramways (unless they had gone there by then) and the last trams in Leeds ran (I think) in 1959.One thing the maps do show is just how well the tramway network served Leeds.

Need to look at this a bit further and study the maps to see how the street layout changed. But I can't say I've ever seen any tram photos along that route. I'm just wondering if the map is a little outdated and still shows the old horse drawn tramway, which of course were much smaller. The first electric trams weren't much bigger, so could have used that route. But when trams as we imagine came along, they just weren't suitable?         

Fascinating photos Phill. I wonder where they were taken? The route of the top one is York Road and the building on the right may be identifiable.    

Leodian wrote: Fascinating photos Phill. I wonder where they were taken? The route of the top one is York Road and the building on the right may be identifiable.     First one is.....Photographed at the 'Woodpecker' junction of York Road and Quarry Hill.Second one is....Tramcar No 77 in Beckett St .

Cheers Phill. I can't help but think that horse-drawn vehicles would be 'green' (and provide a useful by-product for gardens!). Yes they would be slow but what fun it would be to be drawn around by shire horses and/or their equivalents. Dedicated lanes for horse-drawn vehicles are the future!

I've just come across a link that has information in the London Gazette of November 23 1900 that relates to the tramway on St. Paul's Street and other tramways in Leeds. This is the link:- http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/ ... ge.pdfNote also the interesting mention of Mill Goit at the start of the report on that page.

Nice map Brunel.The single-line tram track continued along St Paul's Street becoming double, and turned into West Street which it followed until its junction with Kirkstall Road, where it connected with the Horsforth/Guiseley route. The St. Paul's Street route, along with others, was proposed in an Act of Parliament of 1901. It was completed and opened on 4th June 1902. In September 1903 a regular service route from The Cardigan Arms to Malvern Road using the line was commenced, only to be withdrawn in April 1905. The line was never again part of a regular service route, but was used on an occasional basis by Guiseley - Roundhay trams, by trams going to the Kirkstall depot, and as a relief route for when the Wellington Street tram tracks were blocked or unusable. On 29th October 1945 the route was officially closed, but the tracks and overhead remained in place and on odd occasions were still used until early 1948 when final removal of infrastructure took place. All that remained was a short stub to a crossover in Infirmary Street, part of which was used as a terminus point in City Square for a few years more. All info from Jim Soper's five volume "Leeds Transport" ( page refs vol 2 255, 257, 266, 275, 332, 560, vol 3 795. 811, 828 ).        

Thanks to Brunel for the map and to Jim for the interesting information. The Crown Point Power Station on the map intrigued me as I had not heard of that before. I've just done a quick search and came across an undated photo in Leodis showing the main power switch at the Crown Point sub-station of the tram system. That power station closed on March 31 1932. This is the link to the Leodis photo:- http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... AY=FULLNow that's what I call a power switch!

Leodian wrote: Thanks to Brunel for the map and to Jim for the interesting information. The Crown Point Power Station on the map intrigued me as I had not heard of that before. I've just done a quick search and came across an undated photo in Leodis showing the main power switch at the Crown Point sub-station of the tram system. That power station closed on March 31 1932. This is the link to the Leodis photo:- http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... AY=FULLNow that's what I call a power switch! Indeed it is!The best thing I've seen in a tram sub-station was this mercury-arc rectifier in the Isle of Man at Laxey, one of several powering the line. I took this photo last year, about a month before they were replaced by a new system, having serviced the line since 1934.This is a video (not mine) of it in action as a tram approaches:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNAKL9qtnIA