Belfast City Tramways



Owner Belfast Corporation
Opened 1900 [horse] - extensions to the existing company system, built and owned by the corporation
Operator (lessee) Belfast Street Tramways Company
Took over (company) 1st January 1905 (Belfast Street Tramways Company)
Operator Belfast Corporation
Took over (track) 1st January 1905 (Belfast and County Down Railway) - spur to Queen's Quay Station
First electric route 30th November 1905
Last horse service 4th December 1905
Took over 1st June 1911 (Cavehill and Whitewell Tramway [electric])
Department name changed 1st January 1929 (to Belfast City Tramways and Motors Department)
Department name changed 1st January 1938 (to Belfast City Transport Department)
Closed 10th February 1954
Length 51.45 miles
Gauge 4ft 9ins

Button description (Pattern 1; Variant 1) A monogram of interwoven striated initials, ‘BCT’
Materials known Brass
Button Line reference [113/14]

Button description (Pattern 1; Variant 2) A monogram of interwoven striated initials, ‘BCT’, within a raised rim
Materials known Brass; chrome
Button Line reference [113/14]

Button description (Pattern 2) A monogram of interwoven striated initials, ‘BCT’, on a striated background, within a raised rim
Materials known Chrome
Button Line reference [None]

Comment It would seem highly probable that the Pattern 1 button was used from the earliest days of the system, and that this continued in use, by both the Tramways and Transport Departments throughout their entire existence, up until the demise of the latter in 1973. There are two distinct variants of this button, with the rimless variant having the look and feel of an earlier button. Tentative support for this assumption comes from the fact that it is only known to exist in brass, whereas the 'with rim' variant also exists in chrome, a material which did not come into use until the early 1930s (at the very earliest).

It is wholly unclear whether the Pattern 2 button is an issue of Belfast Corporation Transport; indeed, it may well be from a different concern entirely.