Wantage Tramway
The Wantage Tramway Company was a two-mile tramway that carried passengers and freight between the Oxfordshire town of Wantage and Wantage Road Station on the Great Western Main Line in England. Formed in 1873 to link Wantage Road station with its terminus at Mill Street, Wantage the line was cheaply built parallel to what was then the Besselsleigh Turnpike, and now the A338. The tramway closed to passengers in 1925 and to goods traffic in 1945.
Opening
The line was opened for goods on 1 October 1875, and to passengers on 11 October. The tramway junction was to the east of Wantage Road station; interchange passengers walked under the bridge to reach the tramway yard, where the westernmost siding (parallel to the road) was reserved for passenger tramcars.
Rolling stock
Built as a standard gauge line, and first run using horse drawn rolling stock, the line became the first to adopt mechanical traction when a steam-powered tramcar, designed by John Grantham, was tried out in the summer of 1875, entering regular service from 1 August 1876. In November that year the first steam locomotive arrived for trials, and the line was converted to steam traction in the late 1870s.
- Locomotives
| Number | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Grantham steam tramcar | - |
| 2 | Merryweather & Sons tram engine | - |
| 3 | Details unknown | - |
| 4 | Henry Hughes tram engine | - |
| 5 | George England and Co. 0-4-0WT | ex-London and North Western Railway; previously with the Sandy and Potton Railway |
| 6 | James Matthews patent tram engine | - |
| 7 | Manning Wardle 0-4-0ST | ex-Manchester Ship Canal contract |
