Grimsby & Immingham Electric Tramway No. 14

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Grimsby 14

Photo: Jim Dignan

One of the big public transport news stories in the spring of 2012 concerned a proposal to pilot the concept of ‘tram trains’ on the second generation Supertram system in South Yorkshire by linking Sheffield and Rotherham with the aid of existing rail connections.  A similar scheme had been successfully introduced in the German city of Karlsruhe in 1992.  However, the Supertram project only came to fruition after numerous delays over six years later in October 2018.

Interestingly, Grimsby and Immingham 14 is a successful example of a kind of ‘tram train’ hailing from a much earlier era.  The tramcar is a fascinating hybrid that incorporates elements of early electric train-based railcars and more conventional interurban tramcars.  As a ‘one-off’, however, it is something of an anomaly and cannot be said to either represent, or have influenced, the development of first generation tramways more generally.

As befits its railway provenance, the tramcar was built by the Great Central Railway at its Dukinfield works in 1915 in order to service the rather unusual tramway that the company had built to connect its relatively inaccessible new deepwater coal dock complex at Immingham with the nearest pool of dock labour, which was six miles away in Grimsby.

Specification

Type of tram
Electric passenger tram – all enclosed single deck; bogie mounted tramcar
Livery
BR Malachite Green (formerly appeared in Great Central Railway reddish brown carriage livery until 1923, then teak after the GCR was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway and then brown for a short while after nationalisation in 1948).
Seating capacity
64 in saloons. 8 (on folding seats) in centre platform
Date built
1915
Manufacturer of body
Great Central Railway with Brush aspects
Manufacturer of truck
Brush Equal Wheel bogies
Gauge
4’ 8½”
Motor
DK9 2 x 50 hp
Controller
DK DB1 K4
Current collector
Twin Trolleys with carbon skates (replaced trolley wheels in 1940 to reduce sparking in the black-out)
Modification

Rebuilt after a fatal collision in January 1958.

Withdrawn from service

July 1961

Subsequent history

Preserved by BR November 1961
In store until August 1988 when moved to NRM York for restoration.
Arrived at Crich June 1990.

Restoration history

Cosmetically restored by NRM

Current status
On static display as restored by NRM. Not in operational condition.
Current location
Depots; on display
Timeline
  • 1915 – 1961Fully operational on original tramway
  • 1961 – 1988In storage
  • 1988 – 1990Undergoing restoration in York
  • 1990 –On display at Crich

Crich Tramway Village is a brand name for the National Tramway Museum (Accredited with Arts Council England), solely owned and operated by The Tramway Museum Society, incorporated in England with liability by guarantee (no. 744229). Registered charity number 313615. Our ICO number is Z6700136.