Metropolitan Electric Tramways, London - map of routes & particulars of services, c1908

            A small folding map, tipped into a booklet of tramway walks, and with some old damage but nevertheless of great interest when it comes to the history of transport in London and the growth of its suburbs in the early 20th century. The Victorian growth of London was enabled primarily by the mainline railways and by a network of horse tramways that made better use of horse power than horse buses. The latter were hugely popular and extensive but somehwat served the existing Metropolis - the real outward growth requiring transport that had quicker journey times and could develop more economic fares over growing distances.

By the turn of the 20th century the electrification of existing tramways, both horse, steam or cable, was fast becoming an economic proposition and indeed was allowing for the extension of tram routes to create some lengthy routes that penetrated out from existing suburbs to local towns and villages. This is what this map shows - the core network of one of London's private capital tramway operators, the Metropolitan Electric Tramways. The concern had its origins in proposed horse trams in the 1890s but the turning point came when the company reached an  agreement with Middlesex County Council to complete and operate the 'light railways' the Council were constructing across the northern part of the county. 

The first sections of the MET opened in 1904 and the network continued to expand until 1911 as the company opened both the Middlesex CC's lines and those of its own. MET services, as seen here, connected with the London County Council's lines and indeed, agreement was reached for a degree of joint operation. In 1913 the MET became part of the London & Suburban Traction Co, important in that this company was jointly owned by the nationally important British Electric Traction Company (owners and operators of many electric tramway systems) and the Underground Electric Railways Group. The MET was thus joined by sister companies  the South MET and the London United Tramways and helped to give the Underground Group's "Combine" a very dominant position in the capital's transport provision as they also owned the largest bus operator, the LGOC. The municipal tramway operators also played their not insubstantial roles until in 1933 all would be folded into the new LPTB.

The map isn't dated but - a few clues. The Paddington section is shown as under construction to Edgware Rd Bakerloo line station and that station opened on 15 June 1907 as part of the slowly constructed extension to Paddington main line station. The Sudbury extension I think opened in 1910 and finally the 'under construction' line at Ponders End was I suspect the electrification of the old steam tram line that was completed in 1911?

The map also proudly shows the Willesden Power House where the current to power the trams was generated. In time this was associated with a parallel story - that of the North Metropolitan Electric Power Supply Company, in which the Underground Group came to also be part of the electric generation and supply to a large area of north London and the surrounding counties until 1933 and nationalisation in 1948.

Taken on: April 5, 2020

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