This is the sixth – and last – in a series that covers all the tramways of the British Isles. Its focus is primarily on those tramway systems in London that operated after 1945. However, it also provides an overview of tramway development from the horse-tram era onwards. Following the introduction, the bulk of the book deals with the tramway network of the LPTB that survived into 1945. It includes a map that shows the system as it existed at 1 January 1945 and a fleet list of all the trams operated after that date. The volume also includes two second generation tramways — the Docklands Light Railway and Croydon Tramlink.
The majority of illustrations in the book are drawn from the collection of Online Transport Archive; in particular, I’d like to express my gratitude to the late Geoffrey Ashwell, Barry Cross, the late Neil Davenport, Les Folkard, the late Philip Hanson, the late R.W.A. jones, the late Harry Luff, the late J.Joyce, John Meredith, the late Ian Stewart, the late Phil Tatt, the late Julian Thompson, the late F.E.J. Ward and Ian Wright — all of whose negatives or collections are now in the care of OTA. John Glover assisted in the provision of images.
The maps for the series were drawn by Paul Smith and I’m grateful to him for being able to unscramble my handwritten notes. The maps in this volume covering Operation Tramaway were based on originals made contemporaneously by Julian Thompson and now part of the OTA collection. Martin Jenkins has been a great help in trying to track down certain images and providing comment. I’d also like to thank Barry Cross for reading through and making comment on the text and John Glover for providing additional photographs. Every effort has been made to try and ensure complete accuracy; unfortunately, the records available are not always consistent and, with the passage of time, the number of those with detailed knowledge is unfortunately gradually declining. Likewise every effort has been made to ensure the correct attribution of photographs. It goes without saying that any errors or fact or attribution are the authors and any corrections should be forwarded on to him care of the publishers.
Peter Waller,
Shrewsbury,
September 2019