Hagley Historical and Field Society

Our first meeting of 2011 saw the welcome return of Melvyn Thompson, this time talking about trams rather than Kidderminster carpets.  Melvyn’s grandfather had been a motorman on the Kidderminster and Stourport Electric Tramway and had regaled him with stories of the trams when he was young.  Construction of the tramway started in 1897 and the four mile line from Somerleyton Avenue to the Severn bridge at Stourport opened in the following year.  Melvyn had obtained a fascinating series of photographs and postcards of trams in the two towns and he took us on a (3d) journey along the route.  Edwardian Kidderminster looked quite appealing and very different from what can be seen today; some of Melvyn’s photographs were ‘past and present’ pairs, emphasising what has been lost.  However, the little tramway had but a short life and, faced with bus competition and the need to replace worn-out track, it was forced to close and the last tram ran on 2^nd April 1929.  The evening was greatly appreciated by a large gathering of members and visitors.