Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Great Tramways Conspiracy: The Covert Campaign That Killed Off the British Tram

The Great Tramways Conspiracy: The Covert Campaign That Killed Off the British Tram

Hamer, Mick

Hardcover

SpeculationAutomobilesTrains

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 1036143341
ISBN13: 9781036143343
Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
Published: Aug 6 2026
Pages: 232
Language: English
The tramways' downfall reveals how entrenched opposition and covert manipulation reshaped Britain's streets.

Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of London to witness the royal opening of the London County Council's first electric trams in 1903. The people loved their trams. But trams had powerful enemies.

In the 1920s the tram-haters became increasingly vociferous. Articles and letters in the press condemned trams as old-fashioned and called for them to be scrapped.

Over the past seven years, Mick Hamer has scoured the archives to uncover evidence of a campaign that was meant to be forever hidden. The Great Tramways Robbery reveals the untold story of a strategy to smear trams as obsolete and drive them off the roads.

The campaign employed a propaganda technique now known as astroturfing, which gives the impression of a grassroots movement while promoting vested interests. Commonly found on social media today, a century ago, hired hacks bombarded the letters columns of newspapers to get the message across.

Bankrolling this campaign were the oil companies - and lurking even deeper in the shadows were the security services, which used their propaganda expertise to provide the campaign organisers with handy hints.

The incessant labelling of trams as obsolete became common currency and the mud stuck. In 1931 the Royal Commission on Transport, which was dominated by tram-hating motorists, called for trams to be scrapped.

There was no pushback. The tram industry was riven by internal dissent, and the motor industry assiduously courted the malcontents. In the face of this onslaught the tram industry capitulated and the country's tramways closed.

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