Leeds Trams and Buses

The Leeds Tramways Company was authorised to construct tramway lines in Leeds in 1871 under the Leeds Tramways Order, with the first route opening on 16 September of that year and running from Boar Lane to the Oak Inn at Headingley. The Tramways Company operated horse-drawn and steam-powered vehicles, full electrification coming in after the Company was bought out by Leeds Corporation in 1893. These trams then continued to operate until 7 November 1959, when the system was closed down, leaving only one tramway in England. Meanwhile, motor buses began to operate in Leeds in 1906, the result of a meeting over golf. The bus service expanded over the years and went from strength to strength, taking over from the trams. In this book, Michael Berry charts the development of Leeds trams and buses from the start of the twentieth century until the 1970s.