The original tram-related legislation identified proposed lines by number, with a detailed route description, but these numbers were not widely used.
Dublin United Tramways Company In 1910, there were seventeen
Dublin United Tramways Company (DUTC) routes, each identified with a different symbol (since 1903), and named for their terminus stations. Route numbers replaced the symbols from 1918, rising from 1 at Ringsend to 30 for Dollymount (and 31 for Howth, shared with another company) in a circuit around the city. Both the original routes and their numbers were the basis of some of the later bus routes and numbers.
Non-DUTC operations The Dublin region had six other tram companies in the early 20th century, two operating back-to-back lines to
Lucan and
Leixlip, and two similarly in the direction of
Blessington and
Poulaphouca. The remaining two operated lines relating to Howth, one circuiting
Howth Head and one connecting the DUTC system to Howth village and harbour. The Lucan and Leixlip lines were absorbed by the DUTC in 1927, and the coastal service to Howth was part-DUTC for many years.
Clontarf and Hill of Howth Tramroad The
Clontarf and Hill of Howth Tramroad (C&HoHT), incorporated by a local act of Parliament, the
Clontarf and Hill of Howth Tramroad Act 1898 (
61 & 62 Vict. c. clxxxii), having considered both a coastal route and one via
Raheny, had a single line, from
Dollymount to
Howth Harbour, which opened on 26 July 1900. It operated as an extension of the DUTC lines and shared operation with the DUTC, providing a route from Nelson's Pillar to Howth. It remained legally independent until closure, being wound up on 1 July 1941, but was operationally integrated with the DUTC, at least from the second decade of the century.
Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway The
Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (DBST), (1888–1932), which ran from
Terenure to
Blessington, at a length of and with a total journey time of 1 hour and 25 minutes. Although the DBST connected with the DUTC system at Terenure, through-running was not allowed, as
Dublin Corporation prohibited the operation of steam trams within the city. The line was actually one of the first proposed in Ireland, as the
Dublin and Baltinglass Tramway, but the costs of setting up operation under the early legislation were deemed prohibitive, and it was only after the
Tramways (Ireland) Amendment Act 1881 (
44 & 45 Vict. c. 17) that the promoters were prepared to develop the idea. The tramways was approved by the
Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway Order 1887.
Dublin and
Wicklow county councils guaranteed this line,
Kildare however, despite usage from the direction of Harristown (and
Kilcullen and
Ballymore Eustace) refused to be involved. It came under the administration of the Dublin
County Surveyor in 1916, after years of profitable operation ended in 1914, and later under a committee of management. The potential inclusion of the line into the new
Great Southern Railways entity was debated in the Dáil in 1924, but the government successfully opposed the idea. The DBST was closed by the
Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway (Abandonment) Act 1932 (No. 13), after years of being a burden on ratepayers, especially in the much more sparsely populated
Wicklow.
Blessington and Poulaphouca Steam Tramway The
Blessington and Poulaphouca Steam Tramway (1895–1927), was a extension of the DBST from
Blessington to
Poulaphouca, Under the
Dublin and Lucan Electric Tramways Order 1900 (
SR&O 1900/785), the DLST was electrified and
regauged from
narrow gauge to and renamed the
Dublin and Lucan Electric Railway Company (D&LER). Legally a railway, it was taken over and supported by the government during
World War I under the
Defence of the Realm Act 1914 (DORA). However, this ended in 1921 and facing increasing competition from the Tower Bus Co., the D&LER's financial position deteriorated. In 1925, after their failure to be amalgamated into the
GSR under the
Railways Act 1924, the line was closed, going into liquidation. Following discussions, and enabled by two acts of the
Irish Free State, the D&LER was bought up by the DUTC. The lines were regauged to Dublin's only as far as Lucan, a new line was fitted in Chapelizod, and it reopened as a DUTC route in 1928.
Extensions beyond Lucan ; Lucan and Leixlip Steam Tramway The
Lucan, Leixlip and Celbridge Steam Tramway Company was established to build lines from the Lucan terminus to Leixlip and
Celbridge (branching off just outside Leixlip). The
Lucan and Leixlip Steam Tramway (L&LST) extension was built, and operated between 1890 and 1898. After it went into liquidation, its assets were sold at auction on 1 August 1899, including around of rails, two bogie passenger carriages, two other passenger carriages, two goods wagons, a locomotive engine, a water ram in the River Liffey and much other material ; Lucan and Leixlip Electric Railway A new line was laid close to the original steam line, over a decade later, under an Order in Council, the
Lucan and Leixlip Electric Railway Order 1910 (
SR&O 1910/1316), by a completely new company. Despite the name, this does not seem to have followed the full distance to Leixlip but rather only the to the Spa Hotel at Doddsborough. This was opened as an electric line in 1910, and was leased to the (D&LER) in August 1911. When the DUTC bought up the insolvent D&LER, they also purchased the L&LER from its shareholders, and although required to refit and reopen it in like manner, following objections from Dublin County Council the extension beyond Lucan was not reopened.
Interconnection of the Lucan / Leixlip and city trams While not originally connected, the Dublin terminus of the Lucan line was 12 yards from the Park Gate terminus of the DUTC lines, on Conyngham Road, and the two were connected after the purchase by the DUTC.
Hill of Howth Tramway Operated by the
Great Northern Railway (GNR), the
Hill of Howth Tramway comprised a single route, from
Sutton railway station to
Howth railway station over
Howth Head by way of the Summit. The tramway was opened under the
Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Act 1897 (
60 & 61 Vict. c. ccviii) (and the Tramways Acts), the first line segment, from Sutton to the Summit, on 17 July 1901, the remainder to Howth on 1 August 1901.
Industrial services Guinness Brewery tramways The
Guinness Brewery tramways was a system of industrial tramways that operated on and around the site of
St. James's Gate Brewery. The tramway had direct access to the
Liffey via a specially constructed quay and made use of a spiral tunnel to overcome a height difference on the brewery site. The tunnel cost £3,000 and construction spanned 1877–1878.
The broad gauge tramway The broad gauge tramway connected the brewery with the goods yards of
Heuston Station. The system began circa 1880, had a gauge of and was horse drawn but they were replaced by the narrow gauge tramway's locomotives on a special
haulage wagon. The broad gauge system closed on 15 May 1965. == In literature ==