Overview

At its peak, the tramway system in Dublin had a fleet of over 300 tramcars running on its unique 5ft 3in gauge tracks. From the 1870s through to the final abandonment of the tramways in Dublin in 1949, the tramcar was a vital part of the life of the city. This book sets out the story of the growth and decline of the urban tramways of Dublin from the first horse trams of the 1870s to the luxury cars of the 1930s. There is an additional chapter that deals with the famous Hill of Howth line, Ireland's last tramway, which survived until 1959. The other lines in the greater Dublin area, the Dublin & Blessington and the Dublin & Lucan are also dealt with. All the information a tramway enthusiast could wish for is covered here, including route maps and fleet lists, but it is also a social history of the city throughout the tram era.The story of the tramways is put in the context of the condition of the city and its people which is revealed in a detailed examination of the public services, housing, policing, living costs and a variety of other measures. These are reviewed at certain key dates throughout the story. The industrial strife which culminated in the famous lockout of 1913, that battle of wills between the larger than life figure of James Larkin and William Martin Murphy is discussed. How the legacy of poor industrial relations from that time rippled through to the late twentieth century is also explored. This trauma was quickly followed by the political turmoil of the period from 1916 to 1922. Despite the great material damage which the Easter Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War inflicted on Dublin the trams kept on running, serving the citizens as they always had.

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9780711033368

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Michael Corcoran was born in Dublin and has lived there all his life. He has been interested in the public transport of his native city from a very young age and has had a life long involvement in transport preservation culminating in his presidency of the society which runs the National Transport Museum at Howth.

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