Editing Trams in London (section)

=== Powered trams ===
There were several early attempts to run motor-powered trams on the London tramlines: John Grantham first trialled an experimental {{convert|23|foot|adj=on}} steam tramcar in London in 1873 but withdrew it after it performed poorly.<ref name=worldrail>{{cite book | title = World Railways of the Nineteenth Century: A Pictorial History in Victorian Engravings | first = Jim | last = Harter | year = 2005 | publisher = JHU Press | isbn = 0-8018-8089-0}}</ref> From 1885, the North London Tramways Company operated 25 [[Merryweather & Sons|Merryweather]] and [[Dick, Kerr & Co.|Dick, Kerr]] steam engines hauling long-wheelbase [[Falcon Engine & Car Works]] trailers, until its liquidation in 1891.<ref name = movingmet>{{cite book | title = The Moving Metropolis: The History of London's Transport Since 1800 | last = Taylor & Green | year = 2001 | publisher = Laurence King Publishing | isbn = 1-85669-326-0}}</ref> Although several towns and cities adopted steam trams, the problems associated with track weight, acceleration, noise and power held back their general acceptance in London.

Between 1881 and 1883, a small number of [[Mekarski system|trams powered by compressed air]] were trialled on the Caledonian Road tramway.<ref>{{cite news |title=Compressed Air on Tramways |work=[[The Star (1788)|The Star (London)]] |date=7 July 1883 |page=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Compressed Air for Street Car Motors |work=The Street Railway Journal |issue=10 |volume=2|date=August 1886 |location=Chicago |page=384}}</ref>

In 1884, a cable tram was introduced for [[Highgate|Highgate Hill]], the first cable tramway in Europe,<ref>{{cite book | first1=Sheila | last1=Taylor | first2=Oliver | last2=Green | title=The Moving Metropolis: The History of London's Transport Since 1800 | publisher= Laurence King Publishing |year= 2001|isbn=978-1-85669-241-0|page=82}}</ref> which was followed by a second cable line to draw trams up [[Brixton Hill]] to [[Streatham]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.hows.org.uk/personal/rail/incline/lb.htm | title = London Brixton Hill}}</ref> Both these systems were replaced within 15 years by electric trams.

The electric tram took some decades to establish itself in London. After the storage battery was invented, an electric tram was tested on the West Metropolitan Tramways line between Acton and Kew in 1883<ref name=worldrail/> but it was not until 1901 that Croydon Corporation introduced the first fully operational electric tram services in the Greater London area, using power delivered from overhead wires. Meanwhile, Imperial Tramways, under the directorship of James Clifton Robinson, had acquired the worn-out tram network in West London, which it renovated and extended from Shepherds Bush to Acton, Ealing, Chiswick and Uxbridge, as the [[London United Tramways]] Company, using overhead electrification throughout<ref name=movingmet/> and its own network of ornate power stations, starting with Chiswick.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conObject.1561 | title = 20th Century London | work = Cast iron staircase at Chiswick sub-station | year = 1961 }}</ref>