Scottish Tramway & Transport Society

Infrastructure

The 1870 Tramways Act provided an interesting brief description - 

“Every tramway which is hereafter authorized by special Act shall be constructed on such gauge as may be prescribed by such special Act, and if no gauge is thereby prescribed, on such gauge as will admit of the use upon such tramways of carriages constructed for use upon railways of a gauge of four feet eight inches and half an inch; and shall be laid and maintained in such manner that the uppermost surface of the rail shall be on a level with the surface of the road; . . .”

 Transport & Works (Scotland) Act 2007   has an interesting section regarding tramways  and provides a description as follows

“......

“tramway” means a system of transport used wholly or mainly for the carriage of

passengers and employing parallel rails which—

(a)provide support and guidance for vehicles carried on flanged wheels, and

(b)are laid wholly or mainly along a road or in any other place to which the

public has access (including a place to which the public has access only on

making a payment),

......”