Manchester Corporation Tramways



Owner Manchester Corporation
Opened 17th May 1877 (horse)
Operator (lessee) Manchester Carriage Company (via Messrs Busby and Turton)
Transferred (operator) 1880 (Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company Limited - via Messrs Busby and Turton)
Took over (track) 1885 and 1890 (owned by various Local Boards), following expansion of the municipal boundaries
Took over (operation) 1901 to 31st March 1903 - lines owned by Manchester Corporation, numerous local urban district councils, and the MC&TC (also the track and equipment)
First electric route 6th June 1901
Took over (operation) 1st August 1925 - Middleton route of the former Middleton Electric Tramways (a British Electric Traction Company subsidiary), purchased by Middleton Corporation (plus 1.25 miles of track built by Middleton Corporation after 1925)
Took over (operation) 12th May 1945 (lines to Hyde previously worked by Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfeld Tramways)
Closed 10th January 1949
Length 119.23 miles
Gauge 4ft 8½ins s

Button description Title ('Manchester Corporation Tramways') in circlet, surrounding arms (shield with diagonal bands below ship, surmounted by a globe) with lion and antelope supporters, all above motto 'Concilio Et Labore' (Wisdom and Effort)

Materials known Brass

Button Line reference [114/46]

Comment The initial lease for the first horse tramway (The Pendleton and Kersal Tramway), later known as ‘The Manchester and Salford Tramways’, was granted to Messrs Busby and Turton jointly by the corporations of Salford and Manchester. Shortly before the line was opened, a deal was struck (by Busby and Turton) to transfer all their tramway assets and interests to the Manchester Carriage Company. This arrangement was reached without the knowledge of the two corporations - who strenuously objected - and led to an endless series of disputes, a situation that persisted for 13 years. Throughout this period, the de facto operator of the corporation lines was the Manchester Carriage Company (and its successor, the Manchester Carriage and Tramway Company Limited), either directly (for newer lines) or indirectly via Busby and Turton (for the original lines)!

Numerous photographs of ‘MCC’ and ‘MC&TC’ staff indicate that no uniform was worn. Staff appear to be well-turned out, but in a mixture of jackets and hats (eg, flat caps; bowlers etc); it therefore seems extremely unlikely that marked buttons ever existed for these companies.