Alford and Sutton Tramway

The Alford and Sutton Tramway was a steam-operated narrow gauge street tramway that ran between Sutton-on-Sea and Alford in Lincolnshire between 1884 and 1889.
== History ==
=== Construction ===
On the 14th December 1882 the work of laying the track began in Alford. The contractor was W.B. Dick and Co of Leadenhall Street, London. Construction proceeded but there were objections from nearly every parish through which the tramway ran. Following an inspection by CB Major-General Charles Scrope Hutchinson (8 August 1826 – 29 February 1912), alterations were ordered which included widening the roadway at Bilsby Church and Markby Turn. At Hannah and Hannah Hill the gradient had to be eased and more safety post fences on the dyke side of the road were required. The tramway was Completed in 1884 and linked the seaside town of Sutton-on-Sea to the nearby Great Northern Railway line at Alford station. There were initially plans to extend the tramway to Chapel St. Leonard's and Skegness. However, the construction of the standard gauge Willoughby and Sutton Railway in 1888 drew traffic from the tramway. The tramway also had plans to extend the tramway to Skegness and Chapel St Leonards.
=== Opening Day ===
When Alford and Sutton Tramway opened by the spring of 1884, Alford really made a day of it with festivities, and the town decorated end to end. When the tramway was formally opened, after a test run, all Alford shops were closed for the afternoon to enable as many as possible to use the new form of transport to the coast. According to the Louth Advertiser of 5 April, 1884 the cost of the tramway had been more than £30,000. Some eight miles of fencing had been put on the sides of dykes, and 5,500 tons of metal, limestone, granite and Ancaster stone were laid on the roads.
Goods wagons, as well as passenger cars had to be brought into use so great was the demand.
In the evening a public tea was held in the Corn Exchange, followed by a public meeting. 
Services started on 4 April 1884 and the fare was 9d single, or 1s. 
==== Closure ====
On 7 December 1889 the Lincoln Gazette reported: "The Alford & Sutton Tramway have ceased to run their cars, ostensibly for the winter months, but really for an indefinite period...
Track Lifting began in 1891 and completed by 1892.
== Rolling Stock ==
The three trams owned by the tramway were a Steam Powered, Black Hawthorn & Company of 1883, after the tramway closed, it was unknown where they went however number one, is believed to be scrapped.
They also owned an assortment of wagons and a coach.
=== Uniforms ===
The Sutton and Alford Tramway's Uniform was relatively informal, much like other tramway networks at this time with its footplate crew wearing double-breasted tunic with two rows of five buttons (non-metal), but almost certainly self-purchased. Conductors wore smart but informal attire (long, single-breasted, frock-style coats and trousers, shirt and tie). As far as headgear is concerned, drivers wore soft-topped peaked caps or bowlers, whilst conductors simply wore the fashionable headgear of the day,(examples being) a bowler hat; no badges or insignia of any kind were carried on either the clothing or the hats/caps.
=== Stations & Stops ===
Start: Jolly Bacchus (Located on the High Street in Sutton On Sea)
Sutton le Marsh (Located on Alford Rd A1111)
Hannah (Located on the A1111)
Markby (Adjacent to Markby's Saint Peter's Church, Located on the A1111)
Bilsby (Located on a bend, Located on the A1111 Sutton Road)
Alford (Located on the now Hunt's Coaches Site, and in the Former Alford Town Railway Station's Forecourt)
== References ==
Railmap railmaponline.com
• Railmap for Station Locations https://railmaponline.com. 
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* Alford.info. https://www.alford.info/history/alford-sutton-tramway-1884-1889/
* Uniforms - http://www.tramwaybadgesandbuttons.com/page148/page4/styled-136/page559.html
* Info on the Trams - https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/Alford_and_Sutton_Tramway_No._1
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==See also==
* British narrow gauge railways
Category:Two foot six inch gauge railways
Category:Tram transport in the United Kingdom
Category:Narrow gauge railways in the United Kingdom
Category:UK Trams
Category:Alford and Sutton Trams
Category:Alford and Sutton Tramway
Category:Steam Trams