Almost from the dawn of the electric tramway era in the late 19th century, tramcars were loaned or bought and sold between operators. The reasons for this were numerous.
Sometimes the traffic predictions of the original owners proved wildly optimistic and the fleet was downsized to reflect better the actual passenger levels. For other operators, modernisation represented an opportunity to sell older cars whilst, conversely, others took advantage of the opportunity to supplement their fleet with trams that were being withdrawn elsewhere but which still had many years of useful operational life in them.
The process was to continue right through to the mid-1950s, when the first generation electric tramways finally fell out of favour. All such systems, except the Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramway, had closed by the early 1960s.
Britain’s Second-Hand Trams: An Historic Overview is an illustrated survey of the many electric trams that were to operate with more than one tramway. Many different tram types are described and illustrated, with detailed captions providing specific information about the reasons for transfer and the operating lives of the featured trams.
An appendix at the back of the book lists all trams known to have multiple operators, providing details of original owner, original fleet number, date to service, date of withdrawal, second/third owner, subsequent fleet number(s) and final withdrawal date. 184 pages. Hardback. Contains many archive black & white photographs.