The Wantage Tramway

A unique history of the Wantage Tramway, exploring its steam traction, eclectic rolling stock, and relationship with the Great Western Railway.

The Wantage Tramway, part tramway and part light railway, had many claims to fame. It was Britain’s first tramway to use steam traction and had a fascinating and eclectic collection of locomotives and rolling stock throughout its short life which gave the company a look all of its own. The company’s unique history created a legend which still endures to this day.

The unique company had its origins in the nineteenth century when the Great Western Railway’s route to Bristol bypassed Wantage and local people gathered together to form a company to build a link to the local main line. The company’s relationship with its bigger neighbour was often friendly, sometimes stormy, but always close despite the tramway company’s fierce independence. The company was an important addition to Wantage’s transport network although not everyone agreed! This new history of the company, based upon primary research, explores how the company was formed, tells the stories of some of the people who worked for the tramway, and its working relationship with the Great Western Railway. The book looks at the tramway’s eclectic rolling stock, its operations and the company’s relationship with its customers, which was not always as good as it would have hoped. It also reveals for the first time the true reasons for its closure in 1946 and its relationship with the United States Army.