Sydenham District Tramways
History
The Sydenham District Tramway Company was formed in 1885 to promote a tramway line eastwards from the Belfast Street Tramways Company terminus on Newtonards Rd to Belmont. The SDTCo eventually reached agreement with the BSTCo for the latter to build and operate the tramway under a lease arrangement, the first service commencing around the end of 1888.
As part of the agreement, the BSTCo had the right to purchase the SDTCo at the end of the lease, which it did around August 1902.
The BSTCo passed into the hands of Belfast Corporation on the 1st January 1905, as a precursor to reconstruction for electric working. The last horse car service over former SDTCo tracks is believed to have taken place on the 4th November 1905.
Uniforms
The tramway was worked for its entire existence by the Belfast Street Tramways Company; for information on BSTCo staff attire, please refer to the entry for that company (see link)
Further reading
For a history of the Belfast's horse tramways, see: 'The Belfast Street Tramways' by Alan T Newham; Tramway Review 78 (p163-178), 79 (p195–207) and 80 (p245-252); Light Railway Transport League (1974).