| Dudley, Stourbridge and District Electric Tramways Company | |
| Locale: | Dudley, Stourbridge |
| Open: | 26 July 1899 |
| Close: | 1 March 1930 |
| Status: | Closed |
| Propulsion System: | Electric |
| Depot: | Stourbridge Road, Amblecote |
The Dudley, Stourbridge and District Electric Tramways Company operated an electric tramway service between Dudley and Stourbridge and also other lines in the neighbourhood between 1899 and 1930.[1]
On 2 April 1898 the Dudley and Stourbridge Steam Tramways Company was purchased by British Electric Traction[2]
A programme of modernisation was undertaken and the service was converted for electric traction. The first electric service ran on 26 July 1899.
In April 1900 the company declared a net profit amount of £4,309 10s for the year ending December 1899.[3] The share capital of the company was £200,000 divided into 20,000 5% cumulative preference shares of £5 each, and 20,000 ordinary shares of £5 each. By mid 1900 the British Electric Traction Company held 19,707 ordinary shares, of which 11,496 were purchased and the remainder allocated in part payment for the electrical conversion.[4]
Extensions were opened as follows:
On 29 September 1902, the company took over ownership of the Kinver Light Railway for the sum of £60,000 (equivalent to £ in).
For the Whitsun weekend in 1904, the tramway saw impressive passenger numbers. The total for the four days commencing Saturday was over 185,000 which at fares of no more than 3d per journey represented an income of £1,100 . The Dudley to Stourbridge section was the most popular. Of the 64,073 passengers carried on the Monday, 31,000 travelled between Dudley and Stourbridge[5] with trams running every 5 minutes.
On 1 July 1904 ownership was transferred to the Birmingham and Midland Tramways Joint Committee, a subsidiary of British Electric Traction.
On 1 April 1924 the company took over some of the routes of the South Staffordshire Tramways Company.
The depot was situated in Amblecote on corner of Stourbridge Road and Collis Street. It was 4 track shed opened in October 1905. It was expanded with an additional 2 tracks in 1908, and a further track was added around 1914. It closed in May 1926 and used as a tram store until 1930.
Route closures occurred on the following dates:
Four vehicles are known to have survived: