Snaps of Stockport no 6 of trams and factory chimneys

This is another of those wonderful snaps of Stockport taken sometime in the 1950s by William Ernest Edmondson whose son has kindly given me permission to publish them.*

I say 1950s but it can be no later than 1951 when the last tram clanked along a Stockport Road.

According to the Greater Manchester Transport Society, “hardly any of the network was abandoned until Manchester replaced the trams between Manchester and Hazel Grove with buses in January 1949. 

This forced the abandonment issue and a fleet of buses was purchased during 1950 and 1951. The last tram ran on 25th August 1951. Stockport was the last operator of conventional trams in Greater Manchester.”**

That said “Stockport Corporation was one of the early pioneers of trolleybuses in this country, placing 3 vehicles into service on the 10th March 1913 on a route that ran from the Market to Offerton along Hall Street. 

The service lasted until 8th October 1919, although by then only two of the three vehicles were in service.”**

Now I don’t have fond memories of the trolleybus which always made me feel ill whenever I travelled on one, so perhaps it is fitting that there isn’t one in sight.

Likewise our picture contains only one of those tall factory chimneys, and perhaps later I should set myself the task of finding out how many are left, but then I bet there will be someone who knows.

Picture; of Stockport, from the collection of William Ernest Edmondson, courtesy of Ian Edmondson

*Stockport in the 1950s, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Stockport%20in%20the%201950s

** Greater Manchester Transport Society,
http://www.gmts.co.uk/explore/history/stockport.html