Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway



Owner Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway Company Ltd (a subsidiary of the British Electric Traction Company Ltd)
Opened 28th May 1898 (electric)
Operator Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway Company Ltd
Ownership transferred 19th December 1898 (to the Kidderminster and District Electric Light and Traction Company Ltd - a British Electric Traction Company Ltd subsidiary)
Ownership transferred 1917 to the Birmingham and Midland Tramways Joint Committee (another British Electric Traction Company Ltd entity)
Closed 2nd April 1929
Length 4.6 miles
Gauge 3ft 6ins


Button description Wheel, magnet and electrical flashes
Materials known Brass; chrome; black horn

Button Line reference [113/16]

Comment Currently I have no firm evidence that staff were issued with the standard BET 'Magnet & Wheel' button; however, given that BET almost certainly had a common approach to all its subsidiaries (with the exception of its London operations), this would almost seem to be a foregone conclusion.

The history of BET-owned tramways in the Black Country is a complex one. BET essentially started by purchasing shares in Birmingham and Midland Tramways (steam) and then rapidly expanded their influence by gaining control of several other key tramways. On 1st July 1904, BET transferred their shares in these companies to a new BET-owned body called the Birmingham and Midland Tramways Joint Committee (known as the Birmingham and District Power and Traction Co Ltd from 13th August 1912). This committee controlled the following companies:

- Birmingham and Midland Tramways (via the Birmingham and Midland Tramways Co Ltd)
- City of Birmingham Tramways (via the City of Birmingham Tramways Co Ltd)
- Dudley, Stourbridge and District Electric Tramways (via the Dudley, Stourbridge and District Electric Traction Co Ltd)
- Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway (via Kidderminster and District Electric Light and Traction Co Ltd) - from 1917
- Kinver Light Railway (owned by the DSDET)
- South Staffordshire Tramways (via the South Staffordshire Tramways [Lessee] Company Limited)
- Wolverhampton District Electric Tramways (via Wolverhampton District Electric Tramways Ltd)

The B&MTJC worked both in conjunction, as well as in competition with its many local authorities, many of whom had their own ambitions. This was ultimately to cause the downfall of the Committee, with its last lines being handed over to Walsall Corporation in 1930.