The Wantage Tramway

When the Great Western Railway's mainline route to Bristol bypassed the Berkshire (later Oxfordshire) town of Wantage, locals came together to form a company to build a link to the main line. The Wantage Tramway - part tramway and part light railway - opened in 1875 .

Despite the company's independent nature, its relationship with the Great Western Railway was close, often friendly but sometimes turbulent. The tramway was an important addition to Wantage's transport network, although not everyone agreed.  

The Wantage Tramway had many claims to fame. It was the first tramway in Britain to use steam traction and its fascinating and diverse collection of locomotives and rolling stock throughout its short life gave the company a distinct identity.  

In this new history of the Wantage Tramway, historian Dr Richard Marks delves into the company's archives - often thought to have been lost - to reveal a fresh perspective on the Tramway's story.

The book explores how and why the company was formed and tells the stories of some of the people involved in its formation, development and operations.  It explores the company's

working relationship with the Great Western Railway, its customers, and the United States Army. In addition, the book looks at the tramway's unique mix of second-hand locomotives that came from a wide variety of British engineering companies.

It also reveals for the first time the true reasons for its closure in 1946

The book is available now.

Pen and Sword Books: The Wantage Tramway - Hardback (pen-and-sword.co.uk) 

Dr. Richard Marks is an experienced historian, researcher, and lecturer with a background in technology and business, and expertise in manufacturing history, the Industrial Revolution, railway, and military history. He recently authored  ‘A History of British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL)’ and has further books in progress .