Belfast's Lost Tramways Author: Mike Maybin Price: £7.50

By the latter half of the nineteenth century industrial expansion meant that Belfast was the fastest growing town in the UK. Suburb after suburb sprang up to house the workers of new industries such as shipbuilding, machine manufacturing and linen production, and to service these new areas it soon became clear that tramways were needed to take these workers to their places of employment. At first horse-trams were used with a number of different companies in operation, but in 1905 the whole system was electrified and taken over by the Belfast Corporation. The book takes the story from there and provides a history of the system until the last trams were replaced by motor buses in 1954. Fifty-four period photographs are included - many very rare - showing the city in a heyday of streets empty of traffic except for trams and horse-drawn vehicles. The photographs also detail the changes that have taken place to the city's architecture over the years and many long-gone buildings - such as the old LMS railway station and Robb's five-storey department store - are featured.

ISBN 1 84033 277 8 48 pp

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