Harman Patil (Editor)

Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway

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Dates of operation
  
1887–1926

Length
  
4½ miles

Locale
  
England

Track gauge
  
3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)

Headquarters
  
Wolverton

Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway

The Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway was a narrow gauge street tramway between Wolverton railway station, the London and North Western Railway's (LNWR) Wolverton railway works, Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire, and (briefly) onwards to Deanshanger in Northamptonshire.

Contents

History

The 2.7 miles (4.3 km) tramway opened in 1887. A 2 miles (3.2 km)-long extension opened in 1888 to Deanshanger to the west of Stony Stratford, but the tramway company quickly ran into financial trouble and declared bankruptcy in 1889. The line was purchased by a syndicate of Bedford businessmen, which reopened the Wolverton to Stony Stratford section in 1891. The Deanshanger extension never re-opened.

In the early 1920s the line was taken over by the LNWR, which purchased a new Bagnall tram locomotive. After the LNWR merged into the London Midland and Scottish Railway the line was closed, in 1926.

The line was unusual for a British street tramway in being entirely worked by steam locomotives; it was the last steam street tramway in the Great Britain.

Memorabilia

One of the carriages (significantly larger than an AEC Routemaster double-decker bus) is on display at the Milton Keynes Museum on Stacey Hill (southern edge of Wolverton) with a variety of memorabilia.

References

Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway Wikipedia