Created 4-Aug-20
Modified 16-Jul-25
This gallery is a small collection of tram photographs of Ashton-under-Lyne Corporation Tramways.
The first electric trams to run in Ashton were those of a BET Company, the Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Hyde Electric Tramway Company which commenced operation on 12th June 1899. This ran from Hathershaw (the Oldham Boundary) to Gee Cross via Ashton, Guide Bridge, Denton and Hyde. The company later leased an extension owned by Hyde Corporation through to Pole Bank, Bredbury where it met up with the Stockport tracks. Hemmed in by other local authority lines the company had no opportunities for expansion and the various councils through whose areas the line ran exercised their option to purchase the tramway after the First World War. The takeover was finalised on 24th July 1921 but the Company acted as an agency operator until 1st July that year.
Ashton Corporation’s first tram routes were the services to Hurst which became a circular service in 1922 and which was passed by the Board of Trade inspector on 16th August 1902 - this also included tracks up Whiteacre Road as well as Mossley Road. Ashton had already given notice to the Manchester Tramways and Carriage Company that they would exercise their option to take over the horse tram route which passed through Ashton on its way from Manchester to Stalybridge. This was in conjunction with Manchester Corporation and SHMD Joint Board with Ashton’s stretch running from the Snipe in Audenshaw to Stamford Park. The relationship with SHMD was quite fraught in these earlier years - the two systems had many inter-dependencies and it took some time to agree a satisfactory way of dealing with them. However, in the longer term routes from Manchester to Stalybridge were operated and links were established between Manchester and Ashton via both Openshaw and Droylsden. In addition two lines were built from Ashton through Dukinfield but these are better considered under SHMD who were the major operator.
The takeover of the Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Hyde Electric Tramway Company led to several changes. Connection was made with Oldham Corporation’s tracks at Hathershaw and a through service between the two towns inaugurated. Manchester already ran from the city to Guide Bridge via Openshaw and the junction at Guide Bridge was modified to permit a third service between Manchester and Ashton via Guide Bridge. Changes were also made at Denton so the former company service from Ashton through to Hyde was replaced by one to Denton (extended in 1927 to Haughton Green) and a new direct Manchester to Hyde service was introduced (in which Ashton had no involvement).
Ashton’s system was very small but extremely busy due the amount of joint operation which meant that trams appeared on far more routes than described above. However, the end was also to come quite quickly. The Hathershaw and Oldham route was converted to trolleybus operation (see the trolleybus section for details of the issues encountered) and opened on 26th August 1925. The Hurst circular service was withdrawn gradually with a mix of trams and buses operating for some time, but the final tram service ran in 1932. The section between Ashton and Stalybridge also slowly faded away at about the same time. Trams stopped running from Ashton via Denton to Haughton Green on 31st October 1936, replaced (for the time being) by motorbuses whilst the Manchester services were converted to trolleybus operation on 1st March 1938, bringing to an end municipal tram operation in Ashton.
© David Beilby
