Day 17. The Tramway

Another mode of transport has left its mark on Preston's landscape. The Stratford to Moreton-in-Marsh tramway opened in September 1826, following the route of the turnpike road, now the A3400. The route between Stratford and Newbold on Stour can be traced today as the wide strip of land, now growing wild, with various cuttings and embankments along the route.

 

                                          The route of the tramway.

            The tramway as it enters Stratford. This high embankment is now a footpath.

 

The tramway was the brainchild of architect William James, who had been integral to the completion of the Stratford canal. He intended the tramway to link Stratford's canal system with London and so boost trade and commerce, but his plan was never completed. 

Railway pioneer George Stephenson advised William to use the revolutionary new steam technology for his project, but William believed this too risky and instead opted for the tried-and-tested system of horse-drawn transport.
Work began in 1820 and finished in 1826, although William was now imprisoned for bankruptcy. The opening ceremony included a demonstration of three horses hauling four loaded wagons, weighing 15 tons, without the least apparent exertion. The tramway imported cheap coal to the district, of huge benefit to the poor, and took limestone south. On a sadder note, the line was the site of the world's first recorded railway fatality: a child was run over in Alderminster in May 1830.

William James' hesitancy to use steam power proved a great impediment. The rapid expansion of steam railways meant the tramway was soon of little value and recouped little of its costs.
It was adapted for passenger transport in 1853, although it was said that the speed should be measured in hours-per-mile rather than miles-per-hour. When the tram reached a downward slope, the horse – in danger of being run over by the wagons –  was loaded onto a platform to have food and water, and gravity took over. At the bottom the horse could safely be hitched back up to continue the journey.

It was not a comfortable journey. Passengers were advised to keep hold of their seats during these changes in speed, lest they be thrown out, and those seated outside had to keep their heads down and their hands on their hats as they passed through tunnels.

The Stratford section of the tramway was closed in 1904, and the metal lines removed a decade later to aid the war effort.