Cape Town, South Africa, has had two tramway networks forming part of its public transport arrangements. Both networks are now long closed.

Cape Town tramway networks
Double-deck trams, cnr Adderley Street
and Darling Street, Cape Town, ca. 1900.
Operation
LocaleCape Town, South Africa
Urban horsecar era: 1863 (1863)–ca. 1896 (ca. 1896)
Status Closed
Track gauge 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm)[1][2]
Propulsion system(s) Horses
Urban electric tram era: 1896 (1896)–1939 (1939)
Status Closed
Track gauge 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm)[1][2]
Propulsion system(s) Electricity
Camps Bay tramway era: 1901 (1901)–1930 (1930)
Status Closed
Operator(s) Camps Bay Tramways Company Ltd
Track gauge 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm)[1][2]
Propulsion system(s) Electricity
Tramways in and around Cape Town, ca. 1906.

History

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The first of the two networks to be established was a horsecar network, which was opened on 1 May 1863 (1863-05-01). In around 1896, it was converted to electrical operation. From 21 December 1935 (1935-12-21), it was gradually replaced by trolleybuses, which were always referred to by English-speaking locals as "Trackless trams".[3] It was finally closed on 28 January 1939 (1939-01-28).

The other network, opened in November 1901 (1901-11), was an interurban tramway linking Burnside Road in Cape Town with Camps Bay and Sea Point. It was powered by electricity, and was in operation until 17 February 1930 (1930-02-17).

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Coates, Peter Ralph (1976). Track and trackless: Omnibuses and trams in the Western Cape (1st ed.). Struik. p. 194. ISBN 0869770632.
  2. ^ a b c Patton, Brian (13 May 2002). Double Deck Trams of the World Beyond the British Isles. Adam Gordon. p. 59. ISBN 1874422397.
  3. ^ Jones, David (2005–2011). "Springbok Bus Roots: the Trackless Trams". Springbok Bus Roots. Retrieved 2 March 2012.

Further reading

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  • Coates, R P (1976). Track and Trackless: Omnibuses and Trams in the Western Cape. Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 0-86977-063-2.
  • Gill, Fraser (1961). Cape Trams: From Horse to Diesel. Cape Town: Cape Electric Tramways. OCLC 25942319.
  • Pabst, Martin (1989). Tram & Trolley in Africa. Krefeld: Röhr Verlag. ISBN 3-88490-152-4. (in English and German)
  • Patton, Brian (2002). Double-Deck Trams of the World: Beyond the British Isles. Brora, Sutherland: Adam Gordon. ISBN 1-874422-39-7.
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  Media related to Trams in Cape Town at Wikimedia Commons

  • Camps Bay Tramways – a description of the line from Cape Town to Camps Bay and Sea Point

33°55′23″S 18°25′20″E / 33.92306°S 18.42222°E / -33.92306; 18.42222