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Traffic levels peaked in 1908,<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 57.</ref> after which a slow decline took place up the the First World War. The decline continued after the War, and the last tram ran on the short Comberton Hill route on 31 December 1923, after which time they were replaced by buses. Services to Stourport continued, but by 1928 the tramway Company was seeking permission from the Ministry of Transport to close the tramway altogether, as competition from buses meant they could not raise the necessary capital to maintain and upgrade the route. While MoT permission was still awaited, services ended unannounced on 2 April 1929 with a 'temporary' bus replacement service being instituted. The closure became official later that month<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 97.</ref>.
Sub-heading added, closure moved to end of article. Links added
[[File:Kidderminster Tram Depot.jpg |thumb|300px|right| Kidderminster Tram Depot.]]
The '''Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway''' ran between the two named towns as an isolated subsidiary of the Birmingham and Midland Tramways, which was itself owned by the British Electric Traction Company Ltd. Operating between 1898 and 1929, it competed with the GWR for local passenger traffic.
==History==
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Construction work began in 1897 and was undertaken by the local company George Law of Comberton Hill,<ref name=Voice9>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 9.</ref> who also built the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway and many years later would build [[The Engine House]] for the SVR. The tramway was built to a gauge of 3'6" and subject to a speed limit of 5mph in town and 12mph in open country.<ref>[https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MWR7562&resourceID=1035 Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway on the Heritage Gateway web site]</ref> Unusually for a tramway, the majority of the main line outside the urban areas was on sleeper track at the side of the road,<ref>Great British Tramway Networks, Wingate H. Bett & John C. Gillham, 1940</ref> running on its own right of way with a macadam surface. This rural part of the system was referred to as a "tramroad" as opposed to the "tramways" of the urban road sections.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 8.</ref>
Services were advertised to begin on Monday 23 May 1898, although a last minute decision that more test running was required meant that passengers were not carried until Wednesday 25 May 1898.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 12.</ref> Services were initially provided by six single-deck power cars, with a carrying capacity of 24 passengers, and three trailer cars with a capacity of 40 passengers.<ref> The Engineer, June 24 1898</ref> The first six power cars were Brush-built and were an unusual design, being fully enclosed and the first tramcars with windscreens to operate in Britain. The open-sided trailer cars proved unsuitable and were converted to independent power cars around September 1899. Later various other new and second-hand rolling stock was used, with several of the power cars being converted to double-deck.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] Appendix 1 – ''The Tramway Fleet''</ref>
<gallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">
Brush_Tram_Car_Advertisement.jpg|Brush Company advertisement featuring one of the first Kidderminster tram cars.
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==Intersections between the Tramway and the Severn Valley Branch==
==Competition with the GWR==
From its opening in 1898, the tram service competed for the GWR's passenger traffic, especially as it provided a direct connection between Kidderminster and Stourport while the journey by rail required a change at [[Bewdley ]] or [[Hartlebury]]. By 1901 authorisation had been given to extend the tramway from Kidderminster to Bewdley (see below) which would have further increased this competition These were among the factors that led the GWR to introduce a [[GWR Steam Railmotor|steam railmotor service]] in January 1905 in a bid to improve local services. The GWR opened [[Foley Park Halt]], next to the [[Stourport Road Bridge]], at the same time the Railmotor railmotor service began.<ref>Marshall p. 143.</ref> An advertising booklet published by the Tramway Company the following year proclaimed "''Easter, 1906. 20,000 passengers travelled by Tram to Stourport''"<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 7.</ref>.
==Proposed Bewdley extension==
In December 1899 proposals were first made for an extension of the tramway from Kidderminster to Bewdley.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 24.</ref> On 26 May 1900 the Tramway Company made an application under the Light Railways Act to bring this about.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 28.</ref> On 8 October 1901 the Board of Trade authorised its construction under the '''Kidderminster and Bewdley Light Railways Order 1901''', although a section of track through the Bull Ring at Kidderminster was only to be used for empty tramcar movements in the early morning and late evening and prohibited to trams at other times.<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 32.</ref> Having received authorisation, the Company then made no attempt to begin the work despite pressure from the Town Councils, and the proposal was eventually abandoned in March 1905,<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 46.</ref> just 2 months after the GWR introduced the rail motor service.
<gallery mode=packed heights=250px style="text-align:left">
Bewdley_Tramway_Extension.jpg|The route of the proposed extension in blue, with the existing system in red (see also map above)
</gallery>
==Decline and closure==
Traffic levels peaked in 1908,<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 57.</ref> after which a slow decline took place up the the First World War. The decline continued after the War, and the last tram ran on the short Comberton Hill route on 31 December 1923, after which time they were replaced by buses. Services to Stourport continued, but by 1928 the tramway Company was seeking permission from the Ministry of Transport to close the tramway altogether, as competition from buses meant they could not raise the necessary capital to maintain and upgrade the route. While MoT permission was still awaited, services ended unannounced on 2 April 1929 with a 'temporary' bus replacement service being instituted. The closure became official later that month<ref>[[Bibliography#Other Publications | Voice (2017)]] p. 97.</ref>.
==References==
