Site of tramway in Regent Street, Wrexham
Wrexham had a passenger tramway from 1876 to 1927. The photo, from the collection of the late Graham Lloyd, was taken from the corner of Regent Street and King Street, where Town & Country’s Wrexham branch is today. St Mary’s Cathedral is prominent in the background.
In the top right corner of the photo you can see one of the arms which held the electricity supply above Regent Street. The pole sticking up from the tram is collecting current from the wire. The tram is heading towards the terminus near the Turf Tavern. The ‘RHOS’ destination board is for the tram’s journey back out of town.
The narrow-gauge tramline from Johnstown was initially horse powered. It opened in time to convey people to Wrexham’s Art Treasures Exhibition. On 9 October 1876 alone, “special cars” conveyed about 350 people to the display.
Some accidents happened, despite the horse-drawn trams’ low speeds. George Swann, aged 5, died in 1883 after being knocked down by a tram in Wrexham. One Saturday in 1890, the heavily-loaded 11.15pm tram from Wrexham came to grief at Rhostyllen when one of its axles broke, sending the passengers “in all directions”.
Tram replacement buses (horse-drawn) were used from 1901 to 1903 while the tramway was electrified by the Wrexham & District Electric Tramways company. The tracks were widened from 91cm (3ft) apart to the more commonly used 107cm (3ft 6ins). A new depot in Johnstown was home to 10 double-deck tramcars.
When the tramway reopened in 1903, it had been extended along Regent Street to the Turf Tavern. A planned extension from Johnstown to Ruabon, Cefn Mawr and Llangollen only got as far as Rhosllanerchrugog, in 1904.
In 1903 the North Wales Christian Endeavour Societies urged the directors to withdraw the Sunday tram service. They said it desecrated the Sabbath and was only used by drinkers to circumvent the Sunday Closing Act.
The tramway company began to run buses in 1912 but continued the tram service until 1927. Two of the tramcar bodies are in the Wrexham Museum collection.
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