Commercial postcards of the Edwardian period showing tram depots are not common but among the few is this one of the 'Car Sheds, Philadelphia' dating from 1905 or 1906. It was published by Ruddock Ltd. of Newcastle-on-Tyne but posted in April 1920 from Fencehouses to Gillingham, Kent. Unfortunately, the writer makes no comment about the picture.
This tram depot was home to the fleet of the Sunderland District Electric Tramway Co. Ltd. (SDET Co.) in the north-east of England. The company was formed in 1903 and construction took 18 months with the standard gauge system opening on 10 June 1905. The main route ran from Grangetown via Herrington to Easington Lane, with branches to Fencehouses and Penshaw. This rural system of just over 14 miles in length was built entirely with single track and passing loops, with the tracks mostly laid to one side of the road. It passed through a number of small mining villages.
In 1905, the fleet comprised 15 (nos. 1-15) open-top Brush trams and 15 (nos. 16-30) open-balcony French-built trams from Arbel/Blanc Misseron. Both types seated 22 inside and 26 on the upper deck. The Brush cars were mounted on Brush AA trucks powered by two Ganz 35hp motors and Ganz controllers, while the French cars had Arbel 21E trucks but the same Ganz electrical equipment. The Brush cars were also unusual in having glass windshields all the way round the upper-deck - so-called "Moseley" windshields.
The power plant was at Philadelphia (named after the American city but for uncertain reasons) and the tram depot was located next to it. In the postcard view, a horse-drawn tower wagon is seen on the left and the depot appears to contain a number of the French open-balcony cars (in their original maroon and cream livery) but none of the open-top Brush cars.
The French cars didn't wear well and were replaced in 1913 by a fleet of 16 Brush open-balcony trams. Eight more cars of similar design on Brush 21E trucks were delivered in 1920 and partly replaced some of the 1905 Brush cars. By this time, the livery had changed to dark blue and white.
For most of its years of operation, it simply met the Sunderland Corporation tramway at Grangetown, but there was no physical connection. However, by 1921, the rails were joined and through running started. Nevertheless, financial pressures forced closure and the last company trams ran on Sunday 12 July 1925. Sunderland Corporation trams continued until 1954.
Most of the surviving trams, some only five years old, were sold for further service elsewhere. The eight Brush cars of 1920 were sold to Bolton Corporation in 1924 taking their numbers 131-138. The 16 Brush cars of 1913 were sold to Grimsby Corporation becoming their 41-56.
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