With the introduction of electric trams in Blackpool in 1885, operators of horse-drawn trams around the country turned their attention towards electrifying their systems. The horse-drawn trams that had operated between Portsmouth and Waterlooville since the 1860s were replaced in 1903 by the Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway (P&HLR), owned by the Provincial Tramways Company Limited (Reger).
The construction of the railway, which began in January 1902, was well documented by Waterlooville photographer C.H.T Marshall (link to Marshall information). The line was built to the gauge of 4ft 7 ¾ inches - the same as the horse tramway (Birch, 2024).
The six -mile overhead electric tramway began at the Portsmouth Corporation Tramways depot in Cosham, ran along Portsmouth Road and up Portsdown Hill to the George Inn, then ran along London Road (A3), through Widely to Purbrook, where the line moved parallel to the road, through Waterlooville, past the main depot and repair shops at Cowplain and on to a terminus at the top of Horndean Hill. The route was single track with passing loops controlled by signals. The return fare for the whole journey was an affordable 8d (Reger), equal to about £2.60 today.
The P&HLR opened on the 2nd of March, 1903 and was instantly popular. The villages the railway passed though, quickly began to grow and develop. The population of Waterlooville in 1891, before the railway, was 436. By 1931, it had almost tripled (1250) (Reger). Guidebooks such as ‘Williams Guide and Timetable to some of the Beauty Sports on the P&HLR’, published in 1913, advertised the benefits of fresh countryside area and fresh farm food and enticed people from the built-up areas around Cosham into the countryside. Conversely, the continuation of the trams from Cosham to Portsmouth (from 1924) and onto Southsea (from 1927), provided quicker trips from the countryside to the sea (Harrison, 1955).
Over the 32 years of operation, 24 tram cars operated on the line (Prior, 2019). They were affectionately known as ‘the green cars’, owing to their emerald green and cream livery. One of the original trams, number 13, which served on the line throughout the period of operation has been restored and preserved by the City of Portsmouth Preserved Transport Depot and can be seen on open days at the Wicor depot (CPPTD, 2024).
Eventually, motorised buses replaced most tram systems. The P&HLR was sold in October 1934 to the Southdown Bus Company., and the last tram ran on 9 January 1935 (Reger) and the tracks were removed in the same year. Today, evidence of the railway only remains as embankments and wider sections of pavement.
Bibliography
Birch, A. (2024). Tramway Systems of the British Isles. Retrieved from http://www.tramwaybadgesandbuttons.com/page148/page151/styled/page431.html
CPPTD. (2018, 05 20). Retrieved from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cpptd/photos/pb.100068425826076.-2207520000/795970933926121/?type=3
CPPTD. (2024, 04 30). City of Portsmouth Preserved Transport Depot. Retrieved from http://www.cpptd.co.uk/vehicles-cpptd.htm
Ebay. (2024, 12 30). Retrieved from https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186869632923?_skw=vintage+postcard+waterlooville&it
Harrison, S. E. (1955). Tramways of Portsmouth. Retrieved from https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Portsdown_and_Horndean_Light_Railway
Jones. (2015 Vol 1). The Early Years of Waterlooville 180-1910 and A History of the Forest of Bere. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/TheEarlyYearsOfWaterlooville1810-1910AndAHistoryOfTheForestOfBere/page/n7/mode/2up
National Library of Scotland. (1993).
Palmantics. (2024). Retrieved from http://www.palmantics.com/photo_web/cowplain_photos/cowplain_15.html
Prior, G. (2019, 08 17). British Tram Cars Online. Retrieved from http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/news/?p=29313
Reger, A. J. (n.d.). A History of Waterlooville and District. In Havant Borough History Booklet No. 58.