The Howth Tram on the Hill of Howth Tramway was a tram which served Howth Head, near Dublin, Ireland. The termini were at Sutton railway station, by the entrance to the peninsula, and Howth railway station by the village and harbour of Howth.
Design The line of the route was designed in-house by the Great Northern Rail staff at their Dublin office, under William Hemingway Mills, chief engineer. The engineer responsible for the detailed design was Joshua Harrison Hargrave, the famous Cork-born photographer/engineer.Institute of Civil engineers obituary
History The service operated from June 1901 to 31 May 1959 and was run by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I)), which viewed it as a way to bring more customers to its railway stations at Sutton and Howth. The tramway replaced a horse-drawn omnibus service, which had run since 1867.
Closure and replacement
On 1 October 1958, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) took over GNR(I)'s operations in the Republic of Ireland, including the Howth Tram. A year later, the tramway was closed down. It was initially replaced by two CIÉ bus routes – numbers 87 (Sutton to Ceanchor Road) and 88 (Howth to Windgate Road). Two routes were necessary, as several narrow hill curves were not passable by the buses used. Eventually, sections of the disused tram route between the Baily post office and the Summit were expanded to form an extension of Carrickbrack Road; this enabled a single bus route (number 88) to be used.
The area was then served by the 31, 31a and 31b bus routes, which operated from Abbey Street in the city centre. In winter, icy roads on the hill occasionally cause the bus service to be suspended, unlike the tram, which ran in all weather conditions. A public footpath now follows the tram route between Howth station and the Summit.
Preservation
Four of the trams survive in preservation. No. 9 is now exhibited at the National Transport Museum of Ireland, which is located at Howth Castle, near the former terminus of the tramway at Howth railway station. No. 4 is on display the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra. No. 10 is preserved at the National Tramway Museum in Derbyshire, England; it has been converted to 4' 8.5" gauge and had previously run on the Blackpool Tramway from 1985-89. No. 2 is at the Southern California Railway Museum, California, USA, in operating condition; it has also been converted to 4' 8.5" gauge.
Possible plans to reinstate the tramway In 2016 Fingal County Council announced that it was issuing an invitation to tenderFeasibility study on reinstatement of Howth Tram Mytenders.ie, 15 June 2016. for options for potential reinstatement of the Howth Tramway or part of it, as a possible tourist attraction.Ding Ding Old Number 9 tram may roll again in Howth by Dan Griffin, Irish Times, June 16, 2016FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL CONSIDERING RESTORING HOWTH TRAM Interview with Fingal County Council Mayor, www.q102.ie, 20 June 2016. Proposals which have been considered included the option of a horse-drawn tram on tracks along the seafront.Howth tram is on course to be running again by Tom Prenderville, Irish Independent, 15 July 2012.
Route
Electric double-decker tramcars ran the five-mile route, which went from Sutton station along Greenfield Road and Carrickbrack Road to St. Fintan's Cemetery, then past the Baily post office and Stella Maris convent to Howth Summit. From there, the tramway ran down into Howth, terminating at the railway station. Most of the route was single track, with passing points at the main stopping places. The track gauge was , the same standard as railways in Ireland.
Stops +StopYear openedYear closedNoteSutton Station19011959Sutton tramcar shed (connected to mainline in 1951)Sutton Cross19011959Marine Hotel19011959Request stopChurch Road19011959Request stop. Formerly called Saxe (or Sax or Sacks) LaneStrand Road19011959Howth Desmesne19011959St Fintans' Cemetery19011959Request stopSt Fintans19011959St Fintans' Road19011959Request stopBarren Hill19011959Red Rock19011959Request stopSomali Village19011959Request stop (also called Bellinghams')Ceanchor Road19011959Request stopBaily Post Office19011959Convent Gate19011959Request stopStella Maris19011959Formerly called Bay View or Baily ViewRavensdale19011959Request stopTweedys' Lane19011959Request stopHill of Howth19011959Formerly called Howth Summit, renamed 1912Kitestown Road19011959Request stop (formerly called Bakers' Lane)Greys' Lane19011959Request stopDungriffen Road19011959Balkill Road19011959Request stop (also called Balglass)Island View19011959Request stop'Korea'circa 1950s1959Unofficial stopping placeHowth Station19011959Connection to mainline
See also Dublin United Transport Company - The largest tramway operator in Dublin (pre-1945) Clontarf and Hill of Howth Tramroad Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway Dublin tram system
References Footnotes
Sources
Further reading Kilroy, James: Howth and her Trams: Stories and Sketches of the Howth Tram, Fingal Books, Dublin (1986). Kilroy, James: Trams to the Hill of Howth: A Photographic Tribute, Colourpoint Books, Newtownards, Co. Down (1998) ,
External links
National Transport Museum of Ireland Picture gallery at trolleybus.net Once upon a Tram, 1958 film of the Hill of Howth Tram