Site of tramway at Coed Pella, Colwyn Bay

Site of tramway at Coed Pella, Colwyn Bay

Photo of electric tramway at Coed PellaTrams frequently passed Coed Pella between 1908 and 1956, on the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Electric Railway. The upper photo, courtesy of the L&CB Tramway Society and Conwy Archives Service, shows the view from a double-decker tram as it passed the site now occupied by Conwy County Borough Council’s Coed Pella offices (see below).

The photo was probably taken in the 1950s and shows a bus running ahead of the tram. Growing competition from buses eventually resulted in the tramway’s closure in1956. The tram company then ran its own bus fleet until 1961.

Also in the distance in the photo is an approaching tram with plenty of passengers on the open upper deck. The tramway bought 10 of these trams from Bournemouth Corporation in 1936. They were the most popular trams with many summer visitors. Imagine riding on the top deck on a warm day as the tram travelled along the seashore and over Penrhyn Hill!

Photo of tram interior c.1955The lower photo, by John Lawson-Reay, shows the interior of a double decker in the tramway’s last year. The conductor stands by the staircase at the back (there was a staircase at each end). One of the posters clipped to the window frames advertises Campbell Wools.

The upper photo shows the wires which supplied electricity to the trams – one above each track. Those wires were suspended from transverse wires between posts each side of the road. Here electric streetlamps were attached to every other post on the south side of Conway Road, including the post on the left of the picture.

The £35m Coed Pella council office block was ceremonially opened in December 2018, bringing under one roof c.450 council staff from various departments. Previously they worked at various legacy sites, some of which were old and had substandard facilities.

With thanks to the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Tramway Society and to John Lawson-Reay of the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay History Society

Postcode: LL29 7AZ    View Location Map

Website of Conwy Archive Service

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