Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Electric Railway (Tramway)

[jemima]

Yes, that was her - Mrs Gladys Dyster.

[Michael]

  In my lifetime I will almost certainly passed over a grubby penny or so and received a ticket from her.

  Around 15 years ago I did occasional runs as the driver on the Abergele town bus service. During that time I heard that a very elderly lady traveled every so often as a passenger, and she had been a "clip pie" on the L&CBER.

  Unfortunately I never met her.       Mike

[SteveH]

Nostalgia: The Llandudno and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway

LLANDUDNO and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway was in operation from 1907 until 1956.

Originally, the line ran between Llandudno and Rhos-on-Sea, but was extended Colwyn Bay in 1908.

Having previously been in red and cream, from the late 1920s its carriages adopted their classic green and cream livery.

The railway remained popular and in regular use until the 1950s, when the line suffered from substantial storm damage in January 1952.

In 1954 Llandudno and District Electric Construction Company, who ran the line, applied for a licence to convert the service to motor buses.

Despite the objections of local councils, there was little that could be done and the line closed on 24 March 1956.

Photos...... https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/20001692.nostalgia-llandudno-colwyn-bay-electric-railway/?ref=rss&IYA-mail=a05105fc-304d-4c50-9807-edab51f779a4

[SteveH]

A VIRTUAL TRAM ride from Llandudno to Colwyn Bay is now available, for a route that has not been used for over 60 years.

The electric tramway between Llandudno and Colwyn Bay closed long ago yet still fascinates people – and now anyone can use their smartphone to take a virtual ride along the route.

A tram ride between the resorts was a holiday highlight in the years before and after the Second World War, especially in fine weather when passengers enjoyed the scenery from the open top deck or from the “toast-rack” trams, which had no bodyshell but just rows of seats on a chassis.

Now a HistoryPoints project has teamed up with the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Tramway Society (L&CBT) and Conwy Archives Service to present old photos of the trams at 18 locations along the route, where QR codes are displayed.

Anyone can scan the codes with a smartphone to see how the narrow-gauge tramway appeared at that location and to read information about the trams.

The QR codes link to corresponding pages on the HistoryPoints.org website, with each page linked to the next tramway location in either direction, enabling readers to follow the route in person or when viewing the website at home.

Full story https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/20092656.virtual-tram-rides-open-old-llandudno-colwyn-bay-route/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[mull]

I have now a few books about the trams that I have fond memories of in the 1950's. One of the books has a Summer and Winter Timetable for sometime in the 1950's.

It is interesting to note that the trams were timed to take 28 minutes between Colwyn Bay and Palladium Corner in Llandudno, then 33 minutes to reach West Shore.  Looking at todays bus timetables for the same journey Colwyn Bay to Palladium Corner, the service is allowed between 32/34 minutes.

That's no improvement over the past 70+ years and also perhaps the tram service was ahead of it's time by being electric.

 If only it could have held on for another 10 years, by then I am sure the preservation movement's  would have stepped in to keep it running. Problem was if I remember it correctly the town councils wanted it shut down because of the state of the roads. No change there then !

With your 20 MPH speed limits do you think a journey by car would beat the tram ?

[Ian]

It is interesting to note that the trams were timed to take 28 minutes between Colwyn Bay and Palladium Corner in Llandudno, then 33 minutes to reach West Shore.  Looking at todays bus timetables for the same journey Colwyn Bay to Palladium Corner, the service is allowed between 32/34 minutes.

That's no improvement over the past 70+ years and also perhaps the tram service was ahead of it's time by being electric.

 If only it could have held on for another 10 years, by then I am sure the preservation movement's  would have stepped in to keep it running. Problem was if I remember it correctly the town councils wanted it shut down because of the state of the roads. No change there then !

It's all about money.  The buses don't have to pay to keep the roads in decent condition. No matter they belch out anxious gas.