London Tram & Trolleybus Maps

LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL

The LONDON TRAMWAYS GUIDE for 1908 was the first comprehensive listing of tram services and of the places of interest served by LCC trams. The Guide contained 152 pages and was sold for 1d. The first part contained listings and photos of places of interest in London. The second section detailed LCC tram services which were referred to by route number (even though the numbers did not appear on the cars). It was not until 1912 that the familiar notation of even-numbered services south of the Thames and odd-numbered ones north of the River came into use.

From 1913 on, the LCC TRAMWAYS GUIDE & MAP used a standard format of a route map on one side and service and fare details on the other, which was repeated and updated until the end of tram operation by the Council. These maps were distributed in large numbers. By 1927 first and last car times and information on all-night routes was also included, as well as connections to neighbouring systems and through services. The Council’s final TRAMWAYS MAP AND TIMETABLE, issued in May 1933, also contained inserts for Croydon and the Kingsway Subway, as well as authorised extensions. The new London United trolleybus services were also included.

Robert Harley: LCC Electric Tramways

Spring 1918	1919

1920	1921	[October] 1922	[November] 1923	[November] 1924

[May] 1928 Kenwood & Hampstead Services 3.5.7.11.15.25. Ref (23897)

[May] 1929 The Tower	[November] 1931 Victoria Embankment	May 1932 Big Ben & Boadicea	November 1932 Lambeth Bridge Services 12 14 26 31	← The penultimate LCC Tramways map to be issued—in November 1932—with an etching of Lambeth Bridge on the cover. Detailed maps are on one side, and full route and first and last tram times on the other.
May 1933 York Water Gate (1626) Charing Cross	← The LCC’s tram network was absorbed by the London Transport Passenger Board in July 1933, just two months after this map was issued; indeed later stocks of this map had an LT overprint, but this one does not. The cover shows the York Water Gate in Embankment Gardens. The reverse lists every tram route and gives times of the first and last cars.

LONDON UNITED METROPOLITAN ELECTRIC SOUTH METROPOLITAN ELECTRIC	TRAMWAYS
The “company” tramways of London were part of the London Suburban Traction Company (i.e. the Underground Group).

1913-14	1915	1919-20	← This map is undated but was apparently issued about 1919-1920, according to the reference books. It includes a route map, details of routes operated, an index to places served and a list of places of interest.

192?

Summer 1924	Winter 1925-26	1927	1928	1929 1.1.29 S.O.1015

1930 S.O.3357	1931 S.O.4404 2340—500,000	1932

LONDON TRANSPORT

November 1933 Waterloo Bridge	← The first London Transport Tramways Map of Routes, dated November, 1933. It is printed on thick paper, and opens out to approximately 20½ inches by 16 inches. The map is in colour, with routes shown in red. On the rear is a list of routes, with times of the first and last trams on each route, and basic fare information.

3rd October, 1934	← This was the “grand tidying up” of route numbers following the creation of the London Passenger Transport Board and the final absorption of the multitude of bus and tram operators. It sought to resolve all the issues of service number duplication—although it missed one or two! It is a 12-page booklet in “folder” format and covers the Central Area, Night Buses, the Country Area (northern and southern) and Trams. Dated 3 October 1934 with reference 34-3247.	Winter 1934/5 Nº 1	1935 Nº 3
1936 Nº 1	1936 Nº 2	Winter 1936-7 Nº 3

1937 Nº 1	1937-8 Nº 2	1938 Nº 1	1938 Nº 2	1938 Nº 3
1938 Nº 4

1939 Nº 1	← The first of the editions with the solid blue cover, this is the No.1 issue of 1939. The reverse lists first and last times for all services, and includes a full set of All-Night services timetables.	1939 Nº 2	1939 Nº 3	1940 Nº 1

1946 Nº 1	1947 Nº 1	1947 Nº 2	May 1949 449/885E (90,000)

January 1950 1149/2455D	← This was the last issue of the combined TROLLEYBUS & TRAM map. Trams were soon to go and trolleybus routes were then shown on the Central Area bus map—but without the first and last journey times that occupy most of one side of this map. There were two issues of the map, but both said JANUARY 1950 on the cover. →	January 1950 650/1430D/75M