Scottish Tramway and Transport Society


The Scottish Tramway and Transport Society was founded on 27 June 1951. Until 1983 it was known as the Scottish Tramway Museum Society. The Society was originally formed by tramway enthusiasts, mainly living in the Glasgow area, with a view to preserve a Glasgow "Room and Kitchen" type single deck tramcar. The Society was less successful in attempting to preserve an Aberdeen tram. Tram 73 was Aberdeen's last double deck tram with an open upstairs balcony; it was stored for two years until lack of resources led to its scrapping in 1956.
The closure of Scotland's last tramway led to the Society preserving several tramcars, including some in working order at the National Tramway Museum at Crich, near Matlock, Derbyshire. In 1963 the Society published the first edition of its magazine "Scottish Tramlines" which was later renamed "Scottish Transport" - covering all aspects of public transport in Scotland including tramway preservation. The Society has also published many other books of interest to transport enthusiasts, profits from which have largely been donated to the National Tramway Museum for the upkeep of its fleet of historic Scottish tramcars.
In the 1980s the Society started campaigning for the introduction of modern tram systems in Scotland. Since 2008 work on building a new tram line in Edinburgh has been underway and, following extensive delays and contractual disputes, opened 31 May 2014. The completion of this project is the fulfillment of one of the Society's major ambitions.