CIVIC chiefs have revealed proposals to ease congestion on Southampton's roads by creating a mass transit system using trams or a light railway.
It was more than 70 years ago when the last tram ran from the Floating Bridge before coming to a halt for the final time at the transport depot in Shirley.
The date was December 31, 1949 when the familiar sight and sound of Southampton’s tram network disappeared from the town’s streets for good.
Thousands of residents lined the pavements to say a fond farewell to the tram era as they watched the last electric tramcar weave its way through town.
READ MORE: Southampton City Council consider trams or light railway >>>
The first were horse-drawn
The city's first trams were horse-drawn machines that operated under private ownership from 1879. But on January 22, 1900, the first vehicle to be powered by electricity ran from Stag Gates along the tracks to Holy Rood, in the High Street.
Before long the tram network spread throughout Southampton to areas including the Docks, Bevois Hill, Portswood, Northam Bridge, the Royal Pier and the Common.
After the Great War
After the First World War, further extensions to the system opened and special trams, unique to Southampton, featuring low-topped roofs were introduced so they could fit beneath the archway of the Bargate.
Measures to save the fleet of trams from the intensive bombing of Southampton during the Second World War saw the vehicles’ familiar red and cream livery replaced with grey colour schemes while regular services ceased at 7pm and they were parked up overnight in Cemetery Road on the Common.
The end of the trams
Trams in Southampton had consistently made good profits for the Corporation, but the money went into the rate relief fund instead of being reinvested into the system.
Consequently, by 1945 the whole system – which included the 13 miles of track, the power supply and the 108 vehicles in service – needed major investment, so it was decided that buses were a better alternative.
The service continued for a further four years but as the midnight hour approached on the last day of 1949, the people of Southampton swelled the streets to watch a part of their heritage, which had been a part of their everyday life, disappear into the history books.
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