I had known that Coventry had a tram network before the war, with trams passing through Broadgate and other areas of the city but I didn't appreciate that there are still signs of it remaining. I've read a few books that indicate that after the November blitz, where the tramlines were badly damaged, the system had been abandoned. Recently I realised that just down the road from where I work on the Albany road by the junction of Broomfield road (by the railway bridge) a former tramway traction pole still exists. I took a walk down to take a look at it on a lunch break and lo and behold there it is. Below is a picture of the pole in its current condition but its quite nice to compare against the pre-war image to see it in the same place with a tram rumbling nearby. It does make you wonder what you take for granted as you walk past it on the street.
Its in a bit of a sorry state with plenty of rust and holes and the top has long since vanished
But it's nice to see that it still remains in the same spot that it was in before the second world war (as below)
I thought that the pole I saw on the Albany road may be the end of this little topic for my blog however a few weeks later on another lunch time walk (that I have made on many occasions!) I happened to realise I was walking past another on Warwick Avenue (again in Earlsdon). What I found quite strange about this location compared to the Albany road pole was the fact that Warwick Avenue isn't really a major route. Its a side street, albeit with large houses probably owned by affluent 1920/30s people back then, but a side street nether the less. So clearly trams also ran here as well.
Interestingly this Warwick Avenue Pole matches the design of the Albany Road pole (image below).
And another pole apparently on Lydgate Road which I found out about online (image below).
As seems to be the case with this topic a few lunch time walks later threw up another nice realisation for me. Having researched a little bit on the Coventry tram network I saw the image below of what is now by Pool Meadow near the Whittle arches of road re-surfacing going on.
It seems that after the blitz the council simply covered over the tracks with the new road. I wondered as I got to the end of Warwick Ave as to whether they may have done the same on this road as well. When I turned to look back up the street I realised that you can quite clearly see the impression of what I assume are the 2 tram tracks pressing on the road surface from below! From the end of the street the 2 tracks run perfectly straight the whole length of the road.
I wonder if there are any more of these tram traction poles still in Coventry other than the 3 locations mentioned here. A public transport system destroyed by the blitz, leaving reminders behind on the landscape.
View Pre-War Tram traction poles in Coventry in a larger map
