One of the many regrets of tramway preservation has been the lack of an Aberdeen electric tram being saved for posterity but all this could be about to change with the apparent discovery of one of the trams, in use as the basis of a house off Wellington Road in the
City. The house is now boarded up and the area has apparently recently been sold for redevelopment so now could be the last chance to save the remains of this tram and to restore it to a presentable state.
A number of lower saloons were sold by Aberdeen Corporation Tramways upon closure of the system in 1958 with many of these being used as summer houses and sheds. This included 54, 70, 80 and 81 of which the first and last are now in private storage whilst the others are believed to still be in situ. It is not known what the identity of this tram is in Wellington Road but old photos of the property seem to confirm that it is indeed the lower saloon of a tram as the window arrangements matches the four bay style of Aberdeen’s trams.
A group of enthusiasts in Aberdeen have now got to together with the idea of rescuing the tram and possibly restoring it and they have recently had their first working party at the site. The main focus was on clearing the many layers of floor coverings and the dwelling house panelling and to take a general look at the condition of the body. The group discovered that there is very little wood rot but there has been a significant amount of woodworm damage particularly to the original plywood ceiling panels and to the main pillars for the top deck. From first inspection it appears that when the tram was converted into a dwelling the interior was almost completely stripped and the exterior was also stripped down to the frames. This means that any identification of the tram is very difficult
as the panelling only remains internally on one side of the car.
The group plan to move the tram from its current location in one piece and a redundant road low loader will need to be acquired for this. It is also likely that the top deck will need to be shored up for transport.
* A photo of how the “tram” looks today can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/41987105@N06/7755493064/
Thanks to William Brown for information contained within this article
But of course the real tragedy is that none of the postwar streamlined trams survived, being, I believe, wantonly and vandalistically (?) burnt.
Reading this article about Aberdeen trams stirred the old grey cells as 60 odd years ago when i used to live in Aberdeen , my late father purchased a ” used tramcar ” as it said on the receipt, from the Corporation. He converted it into a house as at that time affordable houses were very few and far between . He sited it in an area next to Nigg Church placing the top deck next to one end and created an ‘L’ shape with all facilities as required . When i started to be mobile he applied to the Council for a tenement but when they came to inspect the ‘ tram ‘ they were reluctant to rehouse the family because they considered that Dad had made such a wonderful home for us .
Eventually the family moved south to Nottingham but Dad sold the tram to another family and i understand that it survived until about 1957 when finally it was set on fire and totally destroyed . Sad really that this was almost a practice run for the disposal of the main fleet down on the approach to Sea Beach , ratepayers always come off worse when the word ‘ progress ‘ is invoked !
Can Keith Hopkinson tell us in Aberdeen if there was a loch beside the tram/house he lived in, as Nigg Church is about a mile away from the tram presently being discussed and we in Aberdeen are wondering if another tram did exist next to the Nigg Kirk as well as the Loch of Loirston tram
Can Keith Hopkinson tell us in Aberdeen if there was a loch beside the tram/house he lived in, as Nigg Church is about a mile away from the tram presently being discussed and we in Aberdeen are wondering if another tram did exist next to the Nigg Kirk as well as the Loch of Loirston tram
The location of the field as it was then, is now buried beneath all the developments in Nigg Kirk Road. All the old sheds / living vans etc have long gone, went to visit about 20 years ago and it was cleared then . The Tram was within 50 yards of the main road just aside the wall opposite the Kirk , if i find a photo’ of it will attempt to scan and post it . Dad used to mention other tram bodies very close to ours but details are long forgotten , but one detail does stick in my memory in that having lived in Nottingham as a young man dad was amused that he could ride on them when he moved north to Aberdeen, and one of them had escaped to be used on a farm ” north of the city “. Sorry to be vague but it was a long time ago .
Hello, after reading this article I was wondering if anyone knows what happened to the two cars taken into private storage? And what the whereabouts of cars 70 and 80 are? Are any of other of the magnificent machines being restored? I have passed the tram that’s located in nigg a few times and there does not seem to be anything happening with the project yet? Is that restoration still going ahead?
Re the recent enquiry , as far as I am aware, 54 is still at Insch, Aberdeenshire but the farm it went to is now vacant, 70 was in the middle of a field in the Maryculter area of Aberdeen, was in a poor state for years and in the end collapsed on to the ground and the remains are still there. As regards 80 It is still a farm store in the same area. 81 was destroyed when a housing Developement took place at cobble stock farm after 54 left the same address in the 90s.
You may wish to know that we are also aware of the lower body of Nottingham 6 is at Strachan , a village up Royal Deeside, and is being well looked after on a large property there
Thanks for the info, I am really glad to hear there is still some of these magnificent machines in the go! I am a budding restorer in my spare time and if I had the space wouldn’t mind trying to save one of these trams if they are still on the go! They are a forgotten part of Aberdeen in the younger generation and even some the people my age (20), and I think it would be amazing to have some of these trams restored and maybe even operational to show the people of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire some of these machines that used to run the streets of the town.
Is there any plans to save number 54 or 80? Or even to try save the remains of number 70…? Surely because of the rarity or these Aberdeen trams we should be trying to save them before they all rot away?
The property is now detailed for sale on a local website. It details that the tram is to be removed, and a new building built, does anyone know if it has actually been saved? – http://www-e.aspc.co.uk/cgi-bin/public/LiveProperty/310291?ID=FGKHECMH#picture
Aberdeen 54 has been saved as a summerhouse at a farm to the North of Insch, near the standing stones, the remains of 70 are in rotting bits in a field up the back of Blairs College, 80 is to the west of 70, along the Maryculter school road, and I was offered 80 for £5 by the farmer who still is its owner,but I did not think it could be restored then, and that was at least 6 years ago. It was taken out of service in the days of Mr. smith as amazingly his name could be still read on a side panel! As regards 81 since the Auction at Cobblestock Culter, it was never transferred to the farm at Insch, and disappeared when the barns at Cobblestock were redeveloped into houses several years ago…As regards James Wests query, I am waiting further information on any prospective move, but would prefer not to comment further at present.
I found this article by accident whilst researching about, how many of the old tram shed buildings remained within Aberdeen.
I had already seen an article about the tram find in a local newspaper and plans for its restoration.
I also found some more recent details on this site:
http://www.mcjazz.f2s.com/Trams.htm
I remember going on a tram when I was an infant. I was very surprised to find out that they were all gone by the time I was 4 years old. I wish my present day memory was half as good.
I’m sure there are now only three of the old tram sheds still standing in one form or another.
Constitution Street – Now a Science Museum.
North Esplanade West – Office block.
Crown Street – Flats.
Tram depots/ N Fraser
Bankhead, opposite North side of Church retails still in place coming out from under takeaway premises
King St. World H.Q for first Group / Office block
Mannofield. Flats opposite church. Mannofield Surburban Depot small shopping centre, Queens Cross Horse tram depot/ office Block
Queens Cross Electric depot. Was Grampian tv HQ until 2003, now flats…Other depots as above…WAB
I also missed a further link on that original link page.
This site is dedicated to the restoration project:
http://www.aberdeentram.co.uk/1/archives/08-2013/1.html
When I grew up in Aberdeen, which I left in 1973, I remember going to a farm house somewhere on Deeside, Cults, or Maryculter, I can’t remember now, but there was the lower saloon of an ex Nottingham car.
Somewhere I have a picture of it. Does anyone know anything about this?
I have a load of pictures of tram bodies all over the north east which I took in the early 1970s.
If Raymond Dick would like to send details of any such pictures of tram, or railway carriage body’s in the Aberdeenshire area, he should contact the Curator at Grampian Transport Museum who I am sure would pass the Information/ pictures to his various volunteer experts at the museum for their perusal!
He should note that a lot of railway carriages were scrapped or sold off from Inverurie Railway works up to the 1960s as were wagons but all information will be checked out.
Regarding Aberdeen 15, it remains at Dundee Museum of Transport at present, and planning and finance for the way forward are still under discussion.
I was pleased to note that Dundee have the go ahead to Developement Maryfield Depot and wish them well in their endeavours!