Brixton's trams: archive photos and the underground station that never was

[editor]

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/c/croydon_tramlink1950/tramlink_subway_brixton.jpg

Proposed in 1950, central Brixton was to get a substantial underground tram station, underneath the Brixton Road junction with Acre Lane and Coldharbour Lane.

It was to be part of a rapid transit tramway from Purley and Croydon to Brixton and Kennington.

"Twin-coach trains would be made up of long single-deck carriages (rail coaches) with a high power-to-weight ratio and rapid acceleration. Plenty of space would be provided for standing passengers, whilst resilient rubber wheels would reduce noise. Grass and flower borders would help make the reserved track sections more attractive and neat fencing would ensure pedestrians did not stray into the path of high-speed trams"

More: http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/c/croydon_tramlink1950/index.shtml

 

[Skim]

Makes me think of the Robyn Hitchcock song:

Trams of Old London
Taking my baby into the past
And its trams of Old London
Blow my mind

Ludgate, Fenchurch, Highgate Hill
Rolling slowly up there still, uh huh
Waterloo and Clerkenwell
Up to Aldgate East as well, uh huh

On a clear night you can see
Where the rails used to be
Oh, it seems like ancient myth
They once ran to Hammersmith

Trams of Old London
Taking my baby into the past
And its trams of Old London
Blow my mind

Through Electric Avenue
Brixton Down and South-West Two, uh huh
Teddington and Kennington
Twickenham and Paddington, uh huh

In the Blitz they never closed
Though they blew up half the roads
Oh, it hurts me just to see 'em
Going dead in a museum

Trams of Old London
Taking my baby into the past
And its trams of Old London
Blow my mind
Trams of Old London
Taking my baby into the past
And its trams of Old London
Blow my mind

 

[davesgcr]

If only ! What a lost opportunity.

The old LCC tram system was dead in the water by the late 1930's and starved of capital investiment - though only the war kept it going (and that with minimal maintenance).....this must have been part of the great Abercrombie town planning report - which the bitter reality of austerity Britain resulted in not a lot happening - the Victoria line for example didnt get completed till 1971 and we are still waiting for some of the other lines proposed.!

There is a good PhD here for some committed soul.

 

[strung out]

picture doesnt work by the way!

 

[editor]

I've grown a bit fascinated with Brixton's old tram network and have posted up a few 'then and now' shots here, with some articles to follow later.

It must have been well cool to trundle through Brixton on a tram....
http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/brixton-trams.html

 

[editor]

Well, it may not have captured the imagination of you lot, but the tram history section continues to grow and now has its own homepage!

http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/brixton-trams-history.html

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Well, it may not have captured the imagination of you lot, but the tram history section continues to grow and now has its own homepage!

http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/brixton-trams-history.html

I like your tram pictures but I thought I'd seen them before

 

[editor]

I like your tram pictures but I thought I'd seen them before

The first four pages of links are all newly scanned, as is the tram map!

More to come.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

The first four pages of links are all newly scanned, as is the tram map!

More to come.

oh right

*goes to check there's a Brixton Hill tram there*

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

tsk tsk

 

[editor]

tsk tsk

Oy! Myopic one! Give me time.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

the clock's ticking

 

[editor]

Done! A 6 mile underground cable! They were damn clever those Victorians.

http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/brixton-hill-tram.html

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Those horses in the first picture look like they're really giving it some welly

 

[Winot]

Bugger - I missed the Bon Marche "Remnants Oddments" sale.

 

[teuchter]

Well, it may not have captured the imagination of you lot, but the tram history section continues to grow and now has its own homepage!

http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/brixton-trams-history.html

I have been enjoying the tram history section.

Particularly the bit about the cable tram going up Brixton Hill, San Fransisco style. Someone was telling me about the SF one the other day, and how they have to constantly patch in new strands of wire because the constant grabbing on/letting go of the tram cars tends to wear it down rather quickly.

I like the fact that all the "after" photos are taken on the most miserable day possible in the style of those "before and after" dieting adverts...

 

[Gixxer1000]

Interestingly the proposals are completely different to the current tram scheme.

 

[Gixxer1000]

picture doesnt work by the way!

Yeah, naughty

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

 

[editor]

Amazing that the tram tracks are all still in place!

1912 Sitting at the top of Brixton Hill opposite Telford Avenue is the London County Council tram depot, designed by London County Council Tramways' architect G. Topham Forest.

Built in 1905, the depot had a capacity of 30 trams which replaced the cable-driven cars which had hauled trams from Kennington Junction up Brixton hill to Streatham hill from 1891. Read more here: Brixton Hill cable tram.
(pic: Lambeth Archives)

Aug 2009 The depot remained in use until the last tram ran in 1951. The site has since been redeveloped as Brixton Hill bus garage, with the exterior looking in a rather forlorn state in this August 2009 view.

Entrance to the tram depot.

Looking inside the depot. Even though it's been over fifty years since the last tram left the depot, the tram tracks remain in place and look in excellent condition.

Detail of the tram tracks.

More info: History of Brixton trams, horse drawn trams and cable cars.

http://www.urban75.org/brixton/history/brixton-hill-tram-depot.html

 

[Kanda]

You should get a picture at night, about 11:30pm when it's full of buses. It looks pretty cool. (I might wander round one night this week, it's at the end of my road)

 

[Crispy]

It's two different buildings - look at the brick detailing, the angled walls, the lack of stone cornices and arches.

 

[Kanda]

It's two different buildings - look at the brick detailing, the angled walls, the lack of stone cornices and arches.

Could be, or is it possible they knocked the right hand side down?

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Yeah, Crispy's correct, one is further down the road. Both on the same side but different buildings.

 

[editor]

It's two different buildings - look at the brick detailing, the angled walls, the lack of stone cornices and arches.

I'm a bit confused by that too, but those tram tracks date it to pre-1950. There was another bus depot further along but that looked even less like the original (mind you, I was pedalling along at speed so I may have missed it).

You should get a picture at night, about 11:30pm when it's full of buses. It looks pretty cool. (I might wander round one night this week, it's at the end of my road)

That would be an ace addition to the page! If you get chance could you snap the other depot?

 

[Crispy]

Here's the yellow brick one:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...45853,-0.123929&spn=0.00229,0.005418&t=k&z=18

The major bus depot is further up the hill, on Streatham Hill proper. It's a concrete building completely replacing the old brick and stone one. This is the site of the cable tram depot, opposite Telford Avenue as per the cable tram history page.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...42406,-0.123526&spn=0.00229,0.005418&t=k&z=18

The yellow brick building must have been for the electric trams that replaced the cable system.

 

[Kanda]

That would be an ace addition to the page! If you get chance could you snap the other depot?

Streatham Bus Garage?

 

[editor]

Streatham Bus Garage?

Yes please!

Cheers for the update Crispy: I've now reworded the caption to say, "The building above has now been demolished and rebuilt as Streatham Bus Garage, but this original LCC Tramways building a little further down the road towards Brixton survives."

I can't find any archive photos of the tram depot I photographed which is a bit frustrating. It was built in 1923.

 

[Kanda]

Will do.

 

[editor]

Will do.

Cheers fella. If you can find a view remotely similar to the archive one, that would be grand.