Edinburgh and District Tramways Co
of 1 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh
c.1894 The whole of the Edinburgh tramway system was taken over by the Corporation, who decided that the cable system should be introduced on the greater part of the existing tramway routes and additional lines.
1894 The company was registered on March 6th and had acquired from the Edinburgh Corporation leases (expiring in 1919) of about 23.75 miles of tramway, including 3 miles of original cable tramway (presumably that of Edinburgh Northern Cable Tramway Co); by 1908 the remainder, with the exception of a small portion (now in course of conversion), has been changed from horse to cable traction. [1]
1895 The Edinburgh Street Tramways Company promoted a bill in Parliament to give it the powers to build various lines in/around Edinburgh[2]
The first section to be built was the line between the city boundary at Pilrig-street, Leith-walk, and the suburban terminus near the Braid Hills. Dick, Kerr and Co were contractors for cable tramway system. Brown, Marshall and Co Limited, Birmingham, were makers of the tramcars.
1899 Official inspection took place of the first completed section of the Edinburgh Cable Tramway system - the 8.5 mile section from the city boundary at Pilrig-street, Leith-walk to the suburban terminus near the Braid Hills. The Edinburgh and District Tramway Company were the lessees for the cable as well as horse tramways in the city.[3]
1916 A small committee of experts made detailed recommendations about what should happen to the tramways when the leases expired in 1919[4]
1924 R. Stuart Pilcher, manager of the Edinburgh system, presented a paper to the Tramway Conference on the conversion of the Edinburgh tramways from cable to electric traction[5]