Today, the 1st October, marks the 70th anniversary of the closure of the Sunderland Corporation Tramway system.  With Sunderland 16 emerging from our workshops after a partial repaint, I thought a post reflecting today’s anniversary would be appropriate…

In terms of rolling stock, not much of the Sunderland system survives.  Met 331 at the National Tramway Museum was one of the SCT’s many second-hand trams, being fleet number 100 on Wearside.  An odd-one out in its native London (on account of the centre entrance), it found a home in Sunderland where the enterprising tramway manager Charles Hopkins purchased redundant tramcars from numerous closing tramway systems in England, producing a varied but highly effective fleet for his employer.  SCT was also very adept at building/rebuilding tramcars and as a result the sytem was a sought after destination for tramcar enthusiasts and observers until its final closure after 54 years of service.

The museum has a pair of lovely large-scale tramcar models, built by Mr G. Douglas of Sunderland to 3/4 inch to the foot scale and running on 3 1/2 inch gauge track. Both are powered by a 24V motor.  Due to their fragility, they are usually in store, but these two photos illustrate what charming models they are, and how such objects are useful in representing what would otherwise be lost in terms of three-dimensional vehicles.

Below: SCT No.86 was known as the ‘Ghost Tram’ due to either its quiet running characteristics or the rumour that it was built by SCT in secret.  Whatever the truth, it was also to become the last tram to operate on the SCT system on the 1st October 1954.  It was build in 1932, by SCT in their Hylton Road workshops, as a prototype of a new standard design for the system.

Below:  The other model is of SCT No.99.  It was made in 1964 and represents what was probably the pinnacle of the SCT fleet.  The real tram was built in 1934 by English Electric, who at the time were developing their famous Blackpool designs – and the similarity of 99 to the Blackpool Balloon trams is unmistakable.  When Beamish hosted a Balloon several years ago, it was justified by the similarity to SCT 99, and wore an appropriate livery (and the fictitious SCT tramcar fleet number, 101).  No.99 was highly praised and well-thought of – retaining the original maroon livery even when the fleet scheme was later chanced.  To facilitate this, a special stock of the maroon paint it carried was retained in stock.  Despite its success, it was to remain unique – a chance to see what might have been had large-scale investment in the tramway been available.  The longevity of the Balloons in Blackpool does rather beg the question as to how a fleet of these trams may have prolonged the tramway’s life in Sunderland, as they would have been very able competition for the motorbuses that first supplemented, and then replaced them.

Below: Sunderland ‘101’ – the fictitious tramcar created using Blackpool Transport Balloon No.703.  The similarity to No.99 (above) can be seen.  No.101 proved to be very successful at Beamish, coping with crowds and moving them around the museum with ease.  It was, however, very tired and would have required an extensive, expensive and lengthy overhaul/restoration to restore it to operation here – money that would always be prioritised for the more traditional tramcars in the fleet.  It was therefore passed to another trust, who returned it to Blackpool for eventual restoration.  As far as I know it remains stored at present.

Sunderland 16 is unique in bearing the SCT livery (SCT 100 was recreated very briefly in 1990) and so is an important tram both locally to Beamish and nationally.  It has had an interesting and varied history…

Below: No.16 was originally supplied in 1900 as an open top, bogie tramcar.  The bogies were not a success, so a 4-wheel truck was almost immediately substituted.  Photos of 16 are hard to come by, but this photo of the identical No.13 shows how the tram looked until it was rebuilt in the 1920s.

Below: In the 1920s, the cars were fully enclosed as part of a rebuild that took place on all six of this batch of trams (No.s 13 to 18).  This resulted in an elegant and modern looking tram and reflects SCT’s constant upgrading and rebuilding of its fleet, to make the most out of them and best match the prevailing traffic conditions and passenger expectations.

Below: In the rawly 1930s, the six were rebuilt again, with modifications to the staircase arrangement (except on 16) which resulted in the lower driving vestibule projecting outwards from the upper decker – not an entirely elegant solution but one which enabled direct staircases to be fitted (16 retains the awkward reversed arrangement which causes platform conflict around the saloon door but was originally intended to be apart of a front-exit arrangement that was not used in the end).  No.16 was withdrawn in March 1953, its lower deck saloon being sold for use as a football ground changing room, and later as storage shed on a farm near Hexham.  Here, in 1989, it was discovered and identified as of potential use at Beamish, to form part of a future restoration project.

Below: Here is the saloon whilst stored at Beamish.  A project to restore it was developed and the extensive research and planning needed to create a new vehicle commenced.

Below: To create what would in effect be a new tramcar, using parts of the original (and others) required an extensive set of drawings to be produced.  These would form part of its approval by what was then Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate, as well as guide the restoration of the tram.

Below: Three major contracts were let: for the refurbishment of a second-hand Peckham P35 truck, for the reconstruction of the recovered lower saloon, and for the construction of a new top deck from drawings.  These three elements came together at Beamish early in 2001, followed by two years’ painstaking work to restore this sole-surviving original Sunderland tram to its 1920s enclosed double-deck condition.

Before its formal launch in July 2003, 16 is seen on the street.  At this stage it was sans adverts (it would later carry two versions of an advert for Fred Williams paint supplies, though these will be removed in early 2025).

Thanks to the efforts of those involved with the current partial-refurbishment, we’re very pleased to present 16 today – 70 years since the Sunderland system closed, and as long as the paint is fully dry, it will be back in operation this coming weekend.  We’ll pull it back out of service in the new year, in order to carry out a repaint of the top-deck maroon panels, remove the adverts and carry out some other jobs that have been identified as being required.  It is now 21 years since it returned to service at Beamish, and it very much remains an important and versatile member of the fleet.

Below: This morning 16 contemplates the rain outside as it sits on inspection and ready for brake testing.  The new paintwork will be varnished later this week all being well, and the crests fitted to the waist panels.

Below: The new numbers have a few subtle differences to those applied previously – not having the black outlines that were part of the process of manufacturing the transfers that were used last time – with them printed in reverse on clear transfer paper and then filled in with paint.  A very small detail, but noted here for the historical narrative!

It is interesting to reflect upon the 54 years of electric tramway service in Sunderland (the longest serving in the north east) – as in 2027 Beamish will equal this record, and in 2028 exceed it – which is quite a testament to the vision of those whose work enabled the first section of the museum’s tramway to open in 1973 and then expand in stages to the extent it serves the museum and its visitors today.