A horse drawn tram, 1894. The conductor seen here is James McCulloch of Springburn, who started his tramway career as a points boy.
Glasgow Corporation Tramways was formed in 1894. The Glasgow Tramway and Omnibus Company had previously operated tram services in the city but the Corporation decided to "municipalise" the tramways, the first to do so in Britain. The GTOC reacted to the decision not to renew its lease by refusing to sell its assets to the Corporation and so the Corporation Tramways Department had to start from scratch with new staff, horses and equipment. The GTOC also set up a rival omnibus service to compete with the Corporation's trams. Despite these difficulties the new tram service was a success and the GTOC soon had to concede defeat.
In 1897 the Corporation began to electrify the tramway system in the city, and horse-drawn trams became a rare sight on the city's streets. The last horse-drawn trams came out of service in 1902.
Reference: Museum of Transport, T94 - 079(II)
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
Glasgow Corporation Tramways, horse-drawn trams, horses, tram conductors
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