Visitors' guide to Bath & District by Electric Car and Motor Bus : Bath Electric Tramways Co. Ltd., Bath : nd [c.1912] : electric car - tram - route map

Like many early tram and bus operators the Bath Electric Tramways Co. Ltd. issued a guide book to inform passengers as to their services and the opportunities such transport opened to residents and visitors. Written for the Company by Lawrence H. Wilson the guide book, with this dull marbled red card cover, was to show Bath "through and round the city by Electric Car with notes also on popular excursions to some of the old world towns and villages in the neighbourhood by motor 'bus". Electric car here means of course the tramcar and electric 'cars had first run in the city in 1904 when a B.E.T backed company started to operate on what had been previously horse tram served routes dating back to 1880.

 

The Company were very early proponents of the new motor bus purchasing their first vehicles in 1906 and they not only stuck at it, unlike many other early motor bus operators, they made quite the success of them as this guide book shows; not only were proposed tram routes opened using buses but routes acted as feeders to the city's tram routes as well as some extensive 'long distance' services. In 1936 the Bath Company was effectively purchased by the major operator the Bristol Carriage & Tramways Co. Ltd, who, as they were in their home city, set about abandoning the tram system and replacing them with Bristol built buses. The last tram ran in 1939.

 

The guide that contains detailed descriptions of routes and destinations is not dated; a pencil date of 1906 is present but that feels a little early but it could be a little later and it its certainly, given the style, pre-WW1.

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