Nostalgia: Should Torbay bring back trams?

Paignton had trams for a relatively short length of time. 

They ran from 1911  to 1934 in Paignton, although Torquay had them a few years earlier.  Trams ran on rails buried into the  tarmac and were powered by overhead wires. 

There are many pictures of the tramlines running along the strand in Torquay both when they were being installed and also when they were up and running.  There are fewer pictures of the trams in Paignton but one can be seen above.

The tram depot was in Orient Road in Preston and can be seen today.  Now a working MOT garage, the owner Paul has gone to great lengths to ensure that something of the original depot remains.  Both the tram tracks and the overhead lines can be seen in the garage still in place.  Unfortunately some of the original equipment has gone, however a substantial amount of the Edwardian ironwork is still in situ. 

Currently boarded over , it is believed to be undamaged and will, hopefully, one day be visible again.  The building was in use as a tram depot for a relatively short time, but was believed to be in existence for much longer.  Old maps show a building on that site for at least 200 years.

Another reminder of the days of the tram are the three remaining tram shelters, now used as bus shelters.  Preston shelter being one and the other two are situated opposite the Grand Hotel and opposite Torre Station.  The grandeur of the Edwardian ironwork is still apparent in the shelters and demonstrates how much care and attention was put into even the less important buildings in the early years of the 20th century.

The tram depot recently underwent some changes and the owner Paul, anxious that nothing should be lost to posterity, saved a section of the track which had been removed and offered it to Paignton Heritage Society.  Needless to say we were delighted with this and the piece of track mounted on wood is proudly displayed in the beautiful garden of one of our members in Lower Polsham Road. 

One thing we weren’t expecting when we started looking at the Tram Depot was stories of the supernatural.  Apparently, the garage has witnessed many strange happenings, Mechanics working into the evenings have experienced unexplained noises on a number of occasions.

Brief sightings and shadows by one of the workers have led him to believe that other people are there  Paul tells of an occasion when the garage was being painted.  When the painters reached one corner of the building the temperature suddenly dropped and they became freezing cold  even though it was the height of summer. 

One of the strangest things was the discovery under the floor of bags of Victorian children’s clothing that appeared to have been burnt and then buried.  Possibly predating the trams an attempt had clearly been made to destroy  the clothing. 

No explanation has been found for this.  It’s possible there may have been an outbreak of disease locally and the clothing had been burnt to stop the disease spreading, or maybe there’s another reason. We will probably never know. However, perhaps we will. The local group Haunted Devon have been given exclusive rights to investigate.  We await their findings, watch this space!

Paignton Heritage Society is now into the Autumn program.  Our monthly meetings on the third Thursday of the month recommenced in September.  Meetings are held in Gerston Chapel Torquay Road Paignton and start at 7pm,  There is always a speaker on a subject of local interest, together with a  chance to chat to other members of the society,  to our speaker and also to enjoy a  nice  cup of tea/coffee.

Entry £5 or £4 to members of PHS.  Our next meeting is on October  16th and the speaker will be Lee Hayward.  Lee was one of the authors of Paignton Our Home Town. The book was written for schools as a teaching aid but has proved very popular with the general public. Lee will discuss the work that went into writing the book and the various people who helped and contributed.

October 4th is PHS Heritage open day.  Held in the Methodist Hall in Palace Ave from 10am to 4pm.  Many of our books, photographs and artifacts will be on display.  There will be slideshow of old Paignton and special features on the Harbour and the Railway.  

There will also be an area devoted to our new Junior Explorers group.  This group is for 8 to 13 year olds who are interested in local history.  Unfortunately due to unexpected issues, the start of the group has been slightly delayed.  However work setting up the group is going ahead and we hope to be up and running in the near future