2012-10-23 — /travelprnews.com/ — An historic leather bound pictorial album, thought to be the only one in existence, which depicts the end of the tramways in Aberdeen in 1958 was handed over today to the FirstGroup Heritage Trust.
The Trust was established in 2010 by Aberdeen based transport giant, FirstGroup, to protect and preserve transport items of significant interest. And today the Trust also officially added two antique Aberdeen model trams to its collection. The trams were painstakingly built by hand in 1938, by Mr Allan S Kennedy, who at the time was The Aberdeen Transport Department’s ‘Works Superintendent’. According to press reports at the time, the model tram was constructed to help the courts in deciding the cause of accidents involving trams.
The album, which is a collection of photos highlighting the official ceremony of the last trams in Aberdeen, was owned by Sheila Biggs who stays in Solihull in the West Midlands. It was presented to Sheila’s Great Uncle, George Stephen, who was Aberdeen’s Lord Provost at the time tramways were removed from the city in 1958, and was handed on to her by her aunt, his niece.
Sheila and her husband Geoffrey made a special trip to Aberdeen to hand over the album. She said: “As a youngster I used to visit Aberdeen on my Summer holidays to see family and friends – it’s great to be back and to see how the city has developed. I can vaguely remember seeing trams in the city.
She continued: “We wanted to make sure the album remains in safe hands and take its rightful place in Aberdeen transport history. I know that the FirstGroup Heritage Trust will do exactly that.
“My favourite picture is of the trams being burned at a special ceremony at the beach – it seems a little barbaric now, but nevertheless it is a very striking and historically important image.”
Secretary of the FirstGroup Heritage Trust is Joe Mackie: “I am very grateful to Sheila for getting in touch and offering the album to the Trust,” he said. “FirstGroup’s King Street headquarters used to be home to Aberdeen Corporation Tramways from 1918. Indeed when we redeveloped the site in 2010 we preserved some of the tram tracks and they are now on display outside the building.”
He added: “The last tram ceremony was a significant moment in Aberdeen’s history and I’m grateful to Mr and Mrs Biggs for donating the album. I’m also pleased that the Trust has now taken formal ownership of the model trams. These types of memorabilia are part of our heritage and need to be preserved for future generations.”
History of tramways in Aberdeen
1874: Aberdeen horse trams introduced
1898: Aberdeen Corporation through an Act of Parliament bought the horse tramways and extended the route network
1899: Motorised trams began to replace horse trams
Circa 1920 (post WW1): Buses introduced in Aberdeen operating alongside trams
3 May 1958: An official ceremony takes place to mark the last tram journey in Aberdeen which culminated in the last three trams being burned at the beach.
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Historic Aberdeen Tram Album to be Preserved in FirstGroup Trust