Manchester Carriage (and Tramways) Company
Owner Manchester Carriage Company
Opened 17th May 1877 (horse)
Took over (lease) 1877 to 1897 (all lines owned by Salford Corporation, via Messrs Busby and Turton)
Took over (lease) 1877 to 1897 (all lines owned by Manchester Corporation, via Messrs Busby and Turton)
Took over (lease) 1878 to 1880 (all lines owned by Barton, Eccles, Monton, Moss Side, Newton Heath, Rusholme, Winton and Withington Local Boards)
Took over (lease) 1st November 1880 (all lines owned by Oldham Corporation)
Took over (operation) 1879 to 1898 (all lines owned and constructed by the company itself)
Merged 2nd August 1880 (with the Manchester Suburban Tramways Company to form the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company Limited)
Took over lease 25th June 1890 (for the Manchester and Salford Corporation-owned lines - from Busby and Turton)
Taken over 28th April 1901 (Salford Corporation Tramways - all lines owned by Salford Corporation)
Taken over 6th June 1901 (Manchester Corporation Tramways - first batch of Manchester Corporation-owned lines)
Taken over ? 1901 (Stockport Corporation - company-owned lines within Stockport boundary; worked by MC&TCoLtd until electrification, thereafter Manchester Corporation Tramways
Taken over 31st October 1901 (Oldham Corporation - all lines owned by Oldham Corporation)
Taken over 1st April 1903 (Manchester Corporation - last remaining company-owned lines in the borough)
Taken over 1st April 1903 (Ashton Corporation - company-owned lines within the borough)
Taken over 1st April 1903 (Stalybridge Corporation - company-owned lines within the borough)
Length 27.63 miles (company owned)
Gauge 4ft 8½ins
Button description Uniforms not worn
Comment The initial lease for the first horse tramway (The Pendleton and Kersal Tramway), later known as ‘The Manchester and Salford Tramways’, was granted to Messrs Busby and Turton jointly by the corporations of Salford and Manchester. Shortly before the line was opened, a deal was struck (by Busby and Turton) to transfer all their tramway assets and interests to the Manchester Carriage Company. This arrangement was reached without the knowledge of the two corporations - who strenuously objected - and led to an endless series of disputes, a situation that persisted for 13 years. Throughout this period, the de facto operator of the corporation lines was the Manchester Carriage Company (and its successor, the Manchester Carriage and Tramway Company Limited), either directly (for newer lines) or indirectly via Busby and Turton (for the original lines)!
Numerous photographs of ‘MCC’ and ‘MC&TCoLtd’ staff indicate that no uniform was worn. Staff appear to be well-turned out, but in a mixture of jackets and hats (eg, flat caps; bowlers etc); it therefore seems extremely unlikely that marked buttons ever existed for these companies.