Dearne District Light Railway Explained

The Dearne District Light Railway was a tramway linking Barnsley with the towns of Wombwell, Wath, Bolton on Dearne and Thurnscoe.[1] Opened on 14 July 1924,[2] [3] it was the last street tramway to be built in the UK before the modern era (starting in the late 20th century) and one of the first to shut. It was granted a Light Railway order (under the 1896 Light Railways Act) in 1915, but World War I delayed its opening.[4]

A "car barn" was built at Wombwell, which later became Yorkshire Traction's bus depot, and single deck vehicles were used throughout its nine-year life span. Because of mining in the area the track was laid on wooden sleepers and covered over and was all single track with passing loops, which was the reason for its downfall. When motorbuses started to compete on the same route as the DDLR it was found that because the trams had to wait to pass each other, the bus could complete the journey much quicker and so the electric vehicles had to go.

Short Title:Dearne District Traction Act 1933
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long Title:An Act to provide the for the abandonment of the railways constructed under the powers of the Dearne District Light Railways Orders 1915 to 1924 and the running by the Yorkshire Traction Company Limited of services of stage carriages in substitution thereof and for other purposes.
Year:1933
Citation:23 & 24 Geo. 5. c. xlvi
Royal Assent:18 July 1933
Repealing Legislation:Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1989
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes

Very few traces of the former DDLR remain now, as the last tram journey reached the end of the line on 30 September 1933,[5] soon to be replaced by the local bus service.[6] The body of a former DDLR car is still in use as a summer house in a garden on the outskirts of Sheffield.

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: British Trams Online - Features: Dearne District Tram. www.britishtramsonline.co.uk. 6 January 2016.
  2. Web site: LRTA - Tramways History - Yorkshire Tramways. www.lrta.org. 6 January 2016. 7 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110607114204/http://www.lrta.org/hh/hhlist14.html. dead.
  3. Web site: Dearne District Light Railway. Local Transport History Society. 6 January 2016. 10. 2015. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093721/http://lths.lutsociety.org.uk/library/PDF-063-1.pdf. dead.
  4. Web site: TRAMS ~ DEARNE VALLEY. BarnsleyandFamily. 6 January 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151106215807/http://www.barnsleyandfamily.com/tramsdearnevalley.htm. 6 November 2015. dmy-all.
  5. Web site: Dearne District Light Railway. Local Transport History Society. 6 January 2016. 12. 2015. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093721/http://lths.lutsociety.org.uk/library/PDF-063-1.pdf. dead.
  6. Web site: Buckley. Richard. A STUDY IN THE DECLINE OF THE BRITISH STREET TRAMWAY INDUSTRY. Core.ac. 6 January 2016. 100. August 1987. 12 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160312024450/https://core.ac.uk/download/files/127/2732021.pdf. dead.