Tramway (industrial)

: "This article refers to light railways for moving goods, for other uses see Tramway"

Tramways are lightly laid railways, sometimes worked without locomotives. The term is in common use in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and elsewhere. In New Zealand, they are commonly known as bush tramways. They generally do not carry passengers, although staff may make use of them, either officially or unofficially.

Tramways can take many forms, sometimes just tracks laid on the ground to move materials around a factory, mine or quarry. At the other extreme they could be complex and lengthy systems, such as the Lee Moor Tramway in Devon. Many are narrow gauge.

Motive power can be manual, animal (especially horses), stationary engine, or small locomotives.

Historical background

The term was originally applied to wagons running on primitive tracks in early England and Europe. The name seems to date from around 1517 and to be derived from an English dialect word for the shaft of a wheelbarrow - in turn from Low German "traam," literally, beam. [Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (On line accessed 27 Oct 2007)]

The tracks themselves were sometimes known as gangways, [As, for instance Little Eaton Gangway] dating from before the 12th century, being usually simply planks laid upon the ground [Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (On line accessed 27 Oct 2007)] literally "going road" ["gangway" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Ed. T. F. Hoad. Oxford University Press, 1996. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Monmouthshire Libraries. 27 October 2007 ] . In south Wales and Somerset the term dramway is also used, with vehicles being called drams.

The alternative term is "Wagonway" (and Wainway or Waggonway) under which heading there is further information.

Usually the wheels would be guided along grooves. In time, to combat wear, the timber would be reinforced with an iron strip covering. This developed to use steel "L" shaped plates, the track then being known as a plateway.

The origin of the word railway is uncertain, but Benjamin Outram was referring to his lines as railways in the early 19th century. The fact that many of these lines were built for horse-drawn vehicles, and were dimensioned accordingly, is thought to be behind the modern RailGauge|ussg|al=on|lk=on.

An alternative appeared, the so-called "edge-rail" where the wagons were guided by having the wheels flanged instead of running in grooves. Since these rails were raised above the ground they were less likely to be blocked by debris, but they obstructed other traffic. They were, however, the forerunners of the modern railway.

These early lines were built to transport minerals from quarries and mines to canal wharves. From about 1830, more extensive trunk railways appeared, becoming faster, heavier and more sophisticated and, for safety reasons, the requirements placed on them by Parliament became more and more stringent. See Rail tracks.

These restrictions were excessive for the small mineral lines and it became possible in the United Kingdom for them to be categorised as Light railways subject to certain provisos laid down by the Light Railways Act 1896.

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom the term tramway became the term for passenger vehicles (a tram) that ran on tracks in the public highway, sharing with other road users. [1901: Standing Orders, House of Lords, Priv. bills 7 "In these orders ... 'Tramway' means a tramway laid along a street or road; the term 'tramroad' means a tramway laid elsewhere than along a street or road." From Oxford English Dictionary On-line (Second Ed 1989)] Initially horse-drawn, they developed to use electric power from an overhead line. A development of the tramway in the United Kingdom dispensed with tracks, but retained electric power from overhead wires was the trolley bus.

References