London Transport Tramways : map of routes : November 1933
On 1 July 1933 the vast majority of the ownership and operation of public transport in London was transferred to the newly formed London Passenger Transport Board, better known as London Transport. For the city's tram network this at last saw a common ownership and operation of services that had previously been under multiple undertakings, both municipally and privately owned.
The largest component was that of the London County Council whose tramways operation was highly developed and well run. The LCCT services, that used conduit as well as overhead operation, had several inter-running agreements with both other municipalities (mostly in east London) as well as the three operators owned by the Underground group. These were the Metropolitan Elelectric, the London United and the South Metropolitan Elecric Tramways & Lighting Co Ltd. In summer of 1933 the variously issued maps and guides of the pre-amalgamation concerns appear to have been issued simply overstamped with the details of the new organisation and this November 1933 is, I think, the first attempt at a single map to cover all the merged routes.
It is wholly based on the old LCC map and guide that has been modified to an extent. On the map the old concept of showing the LCC services in a thick red line and connecting or inter-running routes in a thin red line has been perpetuated, the main difference being that in the key the previous distnctions ahve vanished to be replaced by a single line referring to fare sections and route numbers. The map now has the TramwayS logo of the old Underground group now adapted to show London Transport in the semi-circles. It also has an inset to show the ex-Croydon Corporation network. However the LCC evening classes advert survives! The cover also follows the pattern of LCC covers showing a work of art or illustration derived from an advert or poster. This illustration, of the old Waterloo Bridge than trams ran under, along the Subway and Embankment, rather than over is from a series of 1932/33 press adverts issued by the Underground and General companies on London's river crossings and is by, I am sure, R Austin whose "A" can just be made out.
The route guide and timetables now has all London's tram routes shown, no longer with the old LCC convention of north or south of the Thames. The list also shows, as well as night trams, the "unnumbered services" inherited from the various east and south-east London operators that had never been given such information. The other interesting panel is the appearance of the relavtively new trolleybus routes in the Kingston area. The LUT had started in 1931 to look at conversion of tram operations not to motor bus but electric trolleybus to utilise the heavy capital investment in electricity generation and distribution that had continued value unlike the depreciated first generation tramcars. The trolleybus soon became the 'way forward' for the new London Transport and over the next few years the tram map steadily became the trolleybus and tram map - a distinction that continued until the final war delayed abandonment of the 'last tram' in 1952. The trolleybus routes here carry their original route numbers before the addition of 6** (or 5**) numbers to the tram routes they replaced in later conversions and when Kingston's routes were re-numbered in the new sequence.
In 1934 LT's cartographers had got to work and a completely new version of the tram/trolleybus map, in the same style as motor bus, Country bus and Green Line operations was issued.
London Transport Tramways : map of routes : November 1933
On 1 July 1933 the vast majority of the ownership and operation of public transport in London was transferred to the newly formed London Passenger Transport Board, better known as London Transport. For the city's tram network this at last saw a common ownership and operation of services that had previously been under multiple undertakings, both municipally and privately owned.
The largest component was that of the London County Council whose tramways operation was highly developed and well run. The LCCT services, that used conduit as well as overhead operation, had several inter-running agreements with both other municipalities (mostly in east London) as well as the three operators owned by the Underground group. These were the Metropolitan Elelectric, the London United and the South Metropolitan Elecric Tramways & Lighting Co Ltd. In summer of 1933 the variously issued maps and guides of the pre-amalgamation concerns appear to have been issued simply overstamped with the details of the new organisation and this November 1933 is, I think, the first attempt at a single map to cover all the merged routes.
It is wholly based on the old LCC map and guide that has been modified to an extent. On the map the old concept of showing the LCC services in a thick red line and connecting or inter-running routes in a thin red line has been perpetuated, the main difference being that in the key the previous distnctions ahve vanished to be replaced by a single line referring to fare sections and route numbers. The map now has the TramwayS logo of the old Underground group now adapted to show London Transport in the semi-circles. It also has an inset to show the ex-Croydon Corporation network. However the LCC evening classes advert survives! The cover also follows the pattern of LCC covers showing a work of art or illustration derived from an advert or poster. This illustration, of the old Waterloo Bridge than trams ran under, along the Subway and Embankment, rather than over is from a series of 1932/33 press adverts issued by the Underground and General companies on London's river crossings and is by, I am sure, R Austin whose "A" can just be made out.
The route guide and timetables now has all London's tram routes shown, no longer with the old LCC convention of north or south of the Thames. The list also shows, as well as night trams, the "unnumbered services" inherited from the various east and south-east London operators that had never been given such information. The other interesting panel is the appearance of the relavtively new trolleybus routes in the Kingston area. The LUT had started in 1931 to look at conversion of tram operations not to motor bus but electric trolleybus to utilise the heavy capital investment in electricity generation and distribution that had continued value unlike the depreciated first generation tramcars. The trolleybus soon became the 'way forward' for the new London Transport and over the next few years the tram map steadily became the trolleybus and tram map - a distinction that continued until the final war delayed abandonment of the 'last tram' in 1952. The trolleybus routes here carry their original route numbers before the addition of 6** (or 5**) numbers to the tram routes they replaced in later conversions and when Kingston's routes were re-numbered in the new sequence.
In 1934 LT's cartographers had got to work and a completely new version of the tram/trolleybus map, in the same style as motor bus, Country bus and Green Line operations was issued.