title
Tramcar

Introduction


This website began life in the autumn of 1999 as an exercise for an evening class I was doing on website design.
 
I already had a collection of photographs which I had taken over many years through my interest in trams and buses. It seemed appropriate that I should do something with them and so the beginnings of this website took shape.
 
The early version of the site contained only a basic history, the map, a shorter page on track and street furniture and just the material on tramcar 32. Since then a steady process of improvement and addition has taken place, culminating in a major revamp of the site in March 2001.
 
The increasing amount of historial information included has meant that Industrial Archaeology no longer makes up the majority of the content. As a result, the website is now 'The History and Industrial Archaeology of Coventry Tramways'. Industrial Archaeology will remain an important aspect of the website and any new material that is uncovered will be included.
 
At an early stage, I decided to dedicate the website to Alf Owen. I made his acquaintance in the late 1970's when I worked as a Schedules Compiler with the West Midlands P T E at Harnall Lane. Alf had long-since retired, but popped in occasionally to see his friends - to whom he was known as 'Nemo'. When he learned of my interest in trams and buses, he spent many a happy moment recounting his memories and experiences, from which I learned much. Sadly, Alf Owen died in the early 1980's, long before such things as the internet and websites. I hope he would have approved of this website.
 
The site is listed on a number of search engines and I registered the domain name www.coventrytramways.co.uk with 'Just-the-Name' to reflect the more professional look.
 
I am always looking for new material on Coventry trams and tramways. I am particularly keen to hear of new discoveries of trams, artifacts and street furniture. The work under way on the Phoenix project in the city centre may yet reveal more trackwork.
 
I would also be interested to hear of personal experiences of the Coventry trams, either as a passenger or as a motorman or conductor. I would like to include suitable reminiscences in the site. If you can help in any of these quests, then please contact me - there is a link to my email address at the foot of each page.
 
For those who are technically minded, this website has been hand-coded in HTML 4.0 and has been tested on both Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 and Netscape Navigator 4.7. Both of these browsers are available on magazine cover CD-ROM's in the UK as well as from the relevent developer's website as down-loads.
 
The text thoughout this website is intended to display as Gill Sans, which was the lettering used on the trams in the latter days of their operation in Coventry. If you have either "Gill Sans" or "Gill Sans MT" installed on your computer it should display correctly, otherwise your browser will use it's default font which tends to be Times New Roman.

Acknowledgments

There is very much information already in the public domain. Some of it is 'hidden' amongst work relating to other tramways. Examples of this include information on tickets which was documented in the Norwich section of a book covering East Anglian Tramways, and also the New General Traction Company Ltd's change of name recorded within a priceless work on Isle of Man Tramways. Both are excellent examples of information being incovered in the most unexpected places.
 
It is impossible to undertake work such as this without referring to the groundwork already done by other enthusiasts and historians. I am indebted to the many commercial and amateur photographers, those people who have saved items which are now held by the Council in their archives, and the various articles and publications covering Coventry both in general and with specific reference to it's transport. Over the years, there have been various commemorative publications celebrating various anniversaries in the history of Coventry's transport, to which reference has been made.
 
Specific mention must be made of articles in 'Tramway Review' about Coventry trams by Mr F K Farrell, as far back as 1961, and by Mr F P Groves in 1995 and 2000. Mr Groves also kindly gave me information about livery and other matters recently. He also jointly authored with Mr A S Denton two volumes of the history of Coventry Transport, the first one of which covers the trams. Thanks also to Arnold Chave, Richard Chapman and David Orchard for their help. Other people are credited within the web-site.
 
Mr T R Whitehead - who was General Manager of Coventry Electric Tramways and it's successor from 1896 to 1933 - had the foresight to save documentation about Coventry Electric Tramways and City of Coventry Tramways, which his family later donated to the City Council. This is now held in the archives. I have been both inspired and educated by all this information and Alf Owen's enthusiasm, I do hope you enjoy this website, which continues to evolve as a result.
Ken Crawley

 
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