page_title: Dublin tramways
section_title: Electrification and peak operation
hierarchical_section_title: Dublin tramways / History / Electrification and peak operation
caption_attribution_description: English: DUTC advert, c. 1910
context_page_description: Dublin tramways was a system of trams in Dublin, Ireland which commenced line-laying in 1871, and began service in 1872, following trials in the mid-1860s.
  Established by a number of companies, the majority of the system was eventually operated by forms of the Dublin United Tramways Company, dominated for many years by William Martin Murphy. Most of the services ran within the city centre and near suburbs, with the majority of major suburbs served. Additionally, there were two longer-range services, one reaching the "excursion" destination of Poulaphouca Falls, and two services concerning Howth.
  At its peak, with over 60 miles of active line, the system was heavily used, profitable and advanced in technology and passenger facilities, with near-full electrification complete from 1901. Heavy usage lasted from the late 19th century into the 1920s. The tram system was also central to the Dublin Lockout, which caused major distress within the city.
  Elements of the system went out of service from the mid-1920s, in part overtaken by the bus. The decline of the trams accelerated in the 1940s and the last trams ran on 9 July 1949 in Dublin city and in 1959 on Howth Head, near Dublin.
context_section_description: Discussions towards electrification began in the late 1890s, but this was opposed by Dublin Corporation among others. An American panel also opposed the overhead line in densely populated areas
  The Dublin United Tramways Company, with the acquisition of the Dublin Southern Tramways, which had earlier the same year started the first electrical tram line in Ireland, reversed long-standing policy favouring horse-drawn trams, and, having reorganised as the Dublin United Tramways Company (1896) Ltd., proceeded with a rapid electrification. As part of a deal with Dublin Corporation, the DUTC agreed to pay them £500 per route mile for 40 years and a minimum of £10,000 per year when the system was fully electrified. Also included as part of the deal, the DUTC agreed not to charge more than 1 penny from the Pillar to any city boundary less than 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away.
  By January 1901 the entire city system, which covered about 60 miles (97 km) to 66 miles (106 km), was electrified while the system has 280 trams, including a special Directors tram, which was used by William Martin Murphy among others to inspect the system . In 1911 the system had 330 trams
  At its peak the system was known as technically innovative, and was described in 1904 as "one of the most impressive in the world", so that representatives of other cities from around the world would come to inspect it and its electric operation.
caption: A DUTC advertisement, c. 1900
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Model": "", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "600", "Image YResolution": "600", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop 7.0", "Image DateTime": "2007:12:20 16:06:48", "Image ExifOffset": "276", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "414", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "16186", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2907", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4315"}