Scottish flashback: Glasgow Corporation Tramways

THE Glasgow Corporation Tramways were rumoured to be of the largest urban tramway systems in Europe.

A tram leaves the entrance to Glasgow Central Station on April 4, 1958. Picture: TSPL

Over 1000 trams served the city of Glasgow, with more than 100 route miles by 1922.

Initially drawn by horses, the Glasgow trams opened in July 1872, lasting 90 years through steam and electric propulsion before closing in September 1962 as one of the last city tramways in Great Britain (until the construction of new systems began in the 1990s).

The rise of buses sounded the death knell for the trams, with just one route remaining in operation by September 1962 - the number nine which ran from Auchenshuggle to Dalmuir.

On the final day of service, September 4, there was a procession of 20 trams through the city, with over 250,000 lining the streets to send off the trams.

Glasgow’s Riverside Museum owns the largest collection of rolling stock, including the only remaining horse-drawn tram.

The Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life runs a former Glasgow Corporation tram on an electric tramway.