This was an explore on the weekend before I took my holidays in Manchester … see other threads for my “tourist snaps” from Fletchers and other sites. Explored with Pincheck and Cuban on a rainy Fife morning … after I’d had a look at it myself on a sunny afternoon.
Kirkcaldy, now infamous through its connection to Gordon Brown, was the only town in the Forth valley which had a munincipally-owned tramway, conceived largely as a piece of small town one-upmanship in its quest to go one better than Dunfermline. The tramway was first put forward in 1882, but it took many years of civic debate until workable proposals were tabled in 1897. The electric power required for traction would also be used to provide street lighting in the town, and a domestic supply for houses. 30,000 people benefitted from the council’s foresight, even if it was delayed … and a site was feued from Miss Nairn, of the local linoleum dynasty. Lino was invented in Kirkcaldy, and the town still contains a large lino works, and one of a small handful remaining across the world. Once there were over 30 lino plants in Scotland …
Construction of the Tramway power station began in 1899; the building was designed by the local architect William Williamson, and the main contractor was McLaughlan of Larbert, who excavated 6000 cubic yards of material, mainly to accommodate the engine beds, which were cast in concrete 10 feet deep! Construction also proceeded slowly due to delays in the supply of sandstone from Grange Quarry at Burntisland. Three Stirling water-tube boilers were installed, along with five “engines” (presumably triple expansion steam engines) built by Browett, Lindley & Co. of Patricroft, Manchester – they were coupled to alternators built by Lawrence Scott & Co. of Norwich. Sets Nos. 1 and 2 were 80bhp; Nos. 3, 4 and 5 were used for both lighting and traction, and each developed 250bhp.
The power station first generated electricity in December 1902, and the 3 foot 6 inch gauge tramway began running shortly afterwards. The power station was formally opened in February 1903, and after initial success, the tramway was extended in 1904, when 2.7 million passengers were carried. In 1909, the gallery overlooking the generating hall was extended, and a cooling tower was added in 1912. By 1922, the Fife Electric Power Co. recognised that the Kirkcaldy munincipality were onto a good thing, and offered to take over the power station, which was overloaded by demand, and needed to be refurbished and extended. The council decided to remain independent, and in the end they borrowed money against the tramway (now carrying over 5 million passengers each year) and extended it themselves. They commissioned new turbo-alternators in June 1923, which sat in the steel-framed extension to the west.
Based on its success, a report by the electrical engineers Kennedy & Donkin considered the tramway’s future, which recommended upgrading and relaying track and the overhead line. However, it wasn’t acted upon, so the track condition gradually worsened, and the tramcars became prone to breakdowns. In 1928, a bus service was set up in direct competition with the main tram line, and despite still carrying over 5 million passengers, the system closed in May 1931. Some of the tramcars went to the nearby Wemyss Tramway – others became henhouses. Scotland lost the rest of its tramways after the War – with Dundee’s system shutting down in 1956, although Glasgow hung on to 1962.
The buildings have lain empty since the power station stopped supplying power to the town at some point in the Sixties, and dereliction is advancing; yet fascinating equipment like the two Edwardian gantry cranes remains inside, as do the enamel-glazed bricks which line the halls. I came across some excellent silver print images in the archives, showing all the well-tended Edwardian generating plant, as well as resistance grids to cope with peaks and troughs in demand from tram braking and acceleration. Sadly, the power kit has all been stripped from the power station.
Anyhow, as ever with my reports, you won’t find any of this material elsewhere on the web, as it’s been tracked down by scouring the archives …
Kirkcaldy, now infamous through its connection to Gordon Brown, was the only town in the Forth valley which had a munincipally-owned tramway, conceived largely as a piece of small town one-upmanship in its quest to go one better than Dunfermline. The tramway was first put forward in 1882, but it took many years of civic debate until workable proposals were tabled in 1897. The electric power required for traction would also be used to provide street lighting in the town, and a domestic supply for houses. 30,000 people benefitted from the council’s foresight, even if it was delayed … and a site was feued from Miss Nairn, of the local linoleum dynasty. Lino was invented in Kirkcaldy, and the town still contains a large lino works, and one of a small handful remaining across the world. Once there were over 30 lino plants in Scotland …
Construction of the Tramway power station began in 1899; the building was designed by the local architect William Williamson, and the main contractor was McLaughlan of Larbert, who excavated 6000 cubic yards of material, mainly to accommodate the engine beds, which were cast in concrete 10 feet deep! Construction also proceeded slowly due to delays in the supply of sandstone from Grange Quarry at Burntisland. Three Stirling water-tube boilers were installed, along with five “engines” (presumably triple expansion steam engines) built by Browett, Lindley & Co. of Patricroft, Manchester – they were coupled to alternators built by Lawrence Scott & Co. of Norwich. Sets Nos. 1 and 2 were 80bhp; Nos. 3, 4 and 5 were used for both lighting and traction, and each developed 250bhp.
The power station first generated electricity in December 1902, and the 3 foot 6 inch gauge tramway began running shortly afterwards. The power station was formally opened in February 1903, and after initial success, the tramway was extended in 1904, when 2.7 million passengers were carried. In 1909, the gallery overlooking the generating hall was extended, and a cooling tower was added in 1912. By 1922, the Fife Electric Power Co. recognised that the Kirkcaldy munincipality were onto a good thing, and offered to take over the power station, which was overloaded by demand, and needed to be refurbished and extended. The council decided to remain independent, and in the end they borrowed money against the tramway (now carrying over 5 million passengers each year) and extended it themselves. They commissioned new turbo-alternators in June 1923, which sat in the steel-framed extension to the west.
Based on its success, a report by the electrical engineers Kennedy & Donkin considered the tramway’s future, which recommended upgrading and relaying track and the overhead line. However, it wasn’t acted upon, so the track condition gradually worsened, and the tramcars became prone to breakdowns. In 1928, a bus service was set up in direct competition with the main tram line, and despite still carrying over 5 million passengers, the system closed in May 1931. Some of the tramcars went to the nearby Wemyss Tramway – others became henhouses. Scotland lost the rest of its tramways after the War – with Dundee’s system shutting down in 1956, although Glasgow hung on to 1962.
The buildings have lain empty since the power station stopped supplying power to the town at some point in the Sixties, and dereliction is advancing; yet fascinating equipment like the two Edwardian gantry cranes remains inside, as do the enamel-glazed bricks which line the halls. I came across some excellent silver print images in the archives, showing all the well-tended Edwardian generating plant, as well as resistance grids to cope with peaks and troughs in demand from tram braking and acceleration. Sadly, the power kit has all been stripped from the power station.
Anyhow, as ever with my reports, you won’t find any of this material elsewhere on the web, as it’s been tracked down by scouring the archives …
