Seafront, Old Stein, Lewes Road, The Amex/ Universities Tram?

[Working class pride]

Just a thought but a simple tram line to the seafront from the ground would be an idea. No idea how much trams cost to build but Manchester has trams. Its just a thought for a long term solution on transport. Short term is shuttle busses to and from Brighton station because no matter how much it makes sense for shuttle trains between the ground and brighton / lewes stations at 5pm on a Saturday and for evening games, the people that run the railways seem to have a cant do instead of a can do attitude. Not much changed from British Rail.. No Use Rushing attitude still prevails.

 

[DT Withdean]

Would be great. Route Blackrock to Shoreham would take so much traffic off the roads.

Has been looked into several times over the years.

But lack of finance, and last time Roger French's B&H Buses dead against it too (competition).

The finances issue was during the boom, so no chance now for many years to come. The cost of these schemes is vast (have you followed the Edinburgh overspend debacle this year?)

 

[Working class pride]

Might get a private investor interested if the council play ball with planning. Electric trams on a rail up one road shouldn't be Billions should it? But I dont have an idea as it was just a thought

 

[DerbyGull]

Shame really. The tram works well in Nottingham, stretching some 5 to 6 miles. Works in harmony with trains and buses. So don't see why not Brighton.

 

[DT Withdean]

Shame really. The tram works well in Nottingham, stretching some 5 to 6 miles. Works in harmony with trains and buses. So don't see why not Brighton.

Nottingham, Sheffield, Croydon & Manchester were lucky and got theirs in before the recession/stagnation.
Must be fantastic if you commute in the conurbations on one of those routes. No jams, no parking & priority over traffic.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

And where would the traffic go that would be dispersed by the construction of such a line? Other than the city centre virtually all of Manchester's tram network run on former railway lines. Also bear in mind that tram carriages are much smaller train carriages and won't solve the issue of clearing a large number of people from a particular area at once.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

Are you serious? A massive investment to be used for about 3 hours every other Saturday for 9 months of the year and about 8 evenigs a year? Plus students during other times I accept but no way in a million years is it financially viable.

Even if the country didn't have a huge deficit.

 

[Mackenzie]

Didn't Brighton have trams years ago, or did I make that up?

 

[DT Withdean]

Didn't Brighton have trams years ago, or did I make that up?

From 1901 to 1939,
and totally different trolley buses 1939 to 1961.

Lewes Road would have been one of the old routes.

Won't be happening for a very very long time!

 

[Mackenzie]

From 1901 to 1939,
and totally different trolley buses 1939 to 1961.

Lewes Road would have been one of the old routes.

Won't be happening for a very very long time!

I think I saw an old picture of the trams at the Steine, they would be great to reinstate.

Here is a map of the route:

Brighton Tram 53 Society - BCT History

 

[DT Withdean]

I think I saw an old picture of the trams at the Steine, they would be great to reinstate.

Here is a map of the route:

Brighton Tram 53 Society - BCT History

Love the history of our great city.
Envious of the new trams in those forward thinking cities.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

The current bus depot on the Lewes Road just beyond the Vogue Gyratory was originally the tram depot. Tram routes followed Lewes Road, Ditchling Road then back down Stanford Avenue, Dyke Road and a small spur from the Old Steine up North Road and onto Brighton station. They all looped around Old Steine.

 

[skipper734]

What's happened to the bendy buses. I thought they were supposed to run a shuttle service.

 

[skipper734]

Used to ride on these.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Love the history of our great city.
Envious of the new trams in those forward thinking cities.

Much as I'd like to see a tram system in Brighton the topography and layout of the roads make it incredibly difficult to fit it in. I lived in manchester when they were building theirs and other than a small portion in the city centre the rest of it used existing or disused railway lines, none of which exist in Brighton. To build one in Brighton requires the use of existing roads which would not be capable of taking both trams and traffic, one has to lose out and I'm afraid that is the trams.

 

[DT Withdean]

The current bus depot on the Lewes Road just beyond the Vogue Gyratory was originally the tram depot. Tram routes followed Lewes Road, Ditchling Road then back down Stanford Avenue, Dyke Road and a small spur from the Old Steine up North Road and onto Brighton station. They all looped around Old Steine.

Great picture. Looks like Old Steine looking East to what is now Harry Ramsdens?
Fiction, but would be great to time travel back into that Brighton era for a day, to really witness a different kind of world and Brighton.

 

[DT Withdean]

Much as I'd like to see a tram system in Brighton the topography and layout of the roads make it incredibly difficult to fit it in. I lived in manchester when they were building theirs and other than a small portion in the city centre the rest of it used existing or disused railway lines, none of which exist in Brighton. To build one in Brighton requires the use of existing roads which would not be capable of taking both trams and traffic, one has to lose out and I'm afraid that is the trams.

I only ever pictured a Shoreham to Black Rock route. Occasionally, a scheme has been mooted using seafront.
What about a Blackrock to Shoreham underground? £1 billion.

 

[Butch Willykins]

Time for this I think!!!

 

[Butch Willykins]

Larger image of the above here

http://www.mikeashworth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/the-brighton-line-tube-map.jpg

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

I was rather hoping to see the bendy buses on matchdays.

Incidentally, for those above interested in the old town's tram history, take a look at the Lewes Road depot and I believe there are just 2 windows left that have the Brighton Tramways logo on. Here's hoping they survive for may years. They are on the part of the building which is now a recording studio, by the taxi rank.