It was on the 22nd of August in 1901 when 2 single decker trams travelled from Lansdown Castle to Cleeve Hill. The trams had VIP passengers riding in them and this travelling ceremony was to officially open this state of the art light railway.
There had been a test run just 2 days before the opening but sadly, this resulted in the deaths of 2 men who had worked for the tram company. There was a curve on the track where the driver had to apply the brakes but they didn’t work. After the accident, the double decker tram was inspected and it was found the American made tram had no wooden brake shoes. The Board of Trade told the tram company that they would only grant a licence on the condition that only single decker trams were used, to which the tram company agreed to.
The tramline was used until around 1930.
