Tramcar No.7 © LCBT Society.

At the start of the last century no self-respecting town could be without its trams, particularly if you were at the seaside and expected visitors to come and enjoy the views and attractions. After a very shaky start, trams began to carry the public between Llandudno and Colwyn Bay on October 19th 1907. The system expanded and contracted slightly at the ends, and carried on successfully until World War II, when the cold winds of economic reality began to blow. A backlog of maintenance and severe storms washing away the formation resulted in unreliability and financial deficit. The system closed on 24th March 1956, despite efforts to persuade the town council to purchase the tramway, as it had the Great Orme tramway in 1948. This was both the last narrow-gauge tramway and the last company-owned tramway in Britain. The company continued to operate motor buses, but even they capitualted after 5 years of competition from Crosville.

As a special effort to mark the centenary, the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Tramway Society have decided to restore the tramcar No.7 and mount the body on an adapted road trailer so that it can be moved to different events and locations around the district. Tramcar No.7 will make her public debut at the Transport Festival, in company with a 1943 AEC Matador gun tractor. This recreates the scene in 1946 when ex-Darwen cars 23 and 24 arrived on road wheels.

Tramcar No.7 remounted on road wheels, © Len Ricketts.
Since this photo the saloon has been glazed and the end platforms have been re-fitted. She does not have a stovepipe, that is the mast for the trolley-pole!

For more information on the Tramway Society, No.7's retoration and the 2007 tour dates,
please go to the Society's website.