Aberdeenshire Tramways

The original horse tramway lines of the Aberdeen District Tramways Company opened in 1874, between Queens Cross and North Church, and St Nicholas Street and Causewayend, covering the city as it then existed. As Aberdeen started to expand, so too did the tramway network, and on 26 August 1898 the District Tramways passed into the ownership of Aberdeen Corporation. Under Corporation ownership, the tramway network was electrified and developed further as Aberdeen continued to grow. Although there were route closures in the 1930s, the network was not finally closed until May 1958 and was the most northerly municipal tramway in the United Kingdom. In this wonderful collection of images, Mike Mitchell, a historian of Aberdeen transport, shows the development of tramways not just in the city of Aberdeen but wider Aberdeenshire as well, from the Aberdeen Suburban Tramways Company through the Strabathie Light Railway to the Cruden Bay Hotel Tramway.