Another thing that my father was especially fond of was riding on Trams.  Not for him the Omnibus or the Trolleybus; he liked those huge lumbering double-decker sort that once rumbled and roared their way over London streets like the Dinosaurs.  He especially liked to sit on the upper deck and smoke a cigarette while traveling on a tram along The Embankment or to the Elephant & Castle or anywhere else for that matter.

Sitting on a Tram, as it coughed and spluttered over the points as it crossed the Elephant terrified me as a small child.  The lights on the decks used to cut out, as we lurched and rattled over the endless number of points.  I also disliked watching these monsters cross the junction, as I believed that the sparks that flashed when the long pole crossed a point would cause the tram to burst into flames.  I was amazed when a tram continued on unscathed.  I was always happy once we got off a tram, as I believed we had in fact escaped with our lives.

Crossing The Elephant & Castle ……. at various times

The more a tram rattled and lurched, the more my father seemed to enjoy the ride.  He was never happy than when sitting on the upper deck of a tram where he could add to the pleasure of his journey by smoking a cigarette.  He liked Woodbines – a working man’s cigarette!  

Woodbine – The Great Little Cigarette

When I was a kid, Woodbines came only in a non-filter form and could be purchased in packets of 5, 10 and 20.  Although these cigarette were small, they carried a kick!  At that time, the package had no silver foil inside and no cellophane wrapping and, as a result, quickly dried out, which added to their strength!

Woodbines and Weights – Working Men’s Cigarettes

I remember stealing a Woodbine from my father on one occasion and smoking it.  I found it to be very, very strong and not at all to my liking.  Sometime later I told him about smoking one of his cigarettes.  His only comment was to prophesise that when I was older, I would appreciate this cigarette.  And guess what, he was right!

-oOo-

Although my father loved riding on all of London’s tram routes, he did have distinct favourites and these were those that

• traveled along The Embankment and crossed Westminster Bridge;
• journeyed to the Elephant & Castle; and, perhaps the best of all, the one that
• passed through the Kingsway Subway Tunnel.  

Unfortunately each journey used to fill me with horror!

Waiting for a tram in the Kingsway Subway Tunnel

I found crossing  Westminster Bridge  in that monstrous vehicle to be hair-raising at my young age.  I was convinced that the loping beast was going to catch fire from a generated spark and somehow it would plunge itself into the River to quench the flames that threatened to envelope us!

(NOTE: the reader will have gathered that I had a vivid imagination as a child; and those that know me today, can attest to my not having changed ……. much!   However, it needs to be noted that occasionally trams have been known to catch fire!)

Trams On Fire

Top Left: Fire on a Class W Tram on La Trobe Street in Melbourne in 2009; Top Right: Cairo, 2012; Bottom Left: Blackpool, 2007; & Bottom Right: Swanson Street, Melbourne in 2014

However, as bad as it was to cross the River, the very worst trauma came while I was sitting on the lumbering vehicle and waiting to enter The Kingsway Tunnel!   I can not think which was worse: entering The Tunnel at Southhampton Row where there was a steep incline down into the bowels of the earth or suffering that wide turn before entering it on The Embankment where the screeching sounds of the steel wheels making the turn was deafening and set my teeth on edge and caused them to ache!

However these annoyances were mild compared to the horror felt when the lights of the tram would suddenly be extinguished and we found ourselves plunged into total darkness while the tram continued to fly over the tracks of The Tunnel at a breakneck speed.  This caused me to be slung from side to side and back and forth like a rag doll.

The lights would come on as suddenly as they had gone out, and before the passengers were able to regain their composure, out they would go again, and we were back to being rag dolls!  And then, to add to the distress, the driver would, without warning, jam on the brakes and the generated momentum would carry us forward and then lurch us back before we came to halt with a jolt!

Once we screeched to a stop, our reprise was short lived and almost immediately, to the sound of a bell being rung, once again we took off at top speed to continue our perilous journey into the darkness.

Southern Entrance to the Kingsway Tunnel at Waterloo Bridge

At journey’s end, I was, by now in a cold sweat, but managed to breathe a sigh of relief!  And with a very unsteady and wobbly gait, I eased my way off the tram.  I recall that on several occasions, once back on terre ferma and feeling close to death, I was violently sick much to my father’s embarrassment!

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I remember well that day in July 1950 when it was announced that London’s Trams were to be replaced by diesel buses.  I recall my father’s emotional response.  He was reading his newspaper when suddenly he became animated and began to bellow something about an Operation Tramway and immediately flew into a rage.

Waterloo Tram Terminus, 1951

Neither my mother nor myself had any idea what had upset him.  Although my mother tried to learn what it was that was upsetting him, she failed and we had to listen to his rants and raves until she could get the newspaper away from him and read the devastating news herself.

Meanwhile my father was rambling on about the insensitivity of those in authority and dismissed them all by stating that they lacked any sense of history and had no soul.  I suspect now that most of his anger was directed against Lord Latham (1888-1970) who as a member of London Transport Executive had broken the news that London’s Trams were to be withdrawn from service in a step-wise manner and that the withdrawal was to be known as Operation Tramway!

Lord Latham announced the details of Operation Tramway

Although my mother enjoyed trips on trams, she was not as dedicated to them as my father.  Naturally I was not sorry that these monsters were soon to be gone!  Sadly my joy was quickly clouded, as my father stepped-up our journeys on London’s Trams following the announcement of Operation Tramway and I had to suffer and endure these additional outings.

The Entrance to the Kingsway Tunnel at Southampton Row

The last tram ran in London in the early hours of the morning of 6th July, 1952 and terminated at New Cross Depot.  It is said that about 20,000 people turned out to see this tram.  My father bought copies of all newspapers showing photographs of the event and kept them for years.

Last Tram Week, July 1952

Since my poor mother’s birthday was on 5th July, it meant that the exact date of this terrible event could never be forgotten by my father ………. and believe me, it wasn’t!

Click here  to watch The Elephant will never forget, a nostalgic look at London’s last tram

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Although I did not care too much for London Trams, I was a great admirer of London Trolleybuses and was deeply saddened when it was announced that they were to be replaced by the Routemaster Bus (RM).   I remember the last day that the Trolleybus ran in London ……. 8th May, 1962 ……. and recall that I was very upset.  I fear that I was never able to warm to the RM!

Click here to see some of London’s East End Trolleybuses

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