History: The city system was created from several companies and an approach can be made from an outlook of the following periods:

1872-1880  In the first period the basic system was built in a radial structure that comprised the following lines: Gràcia and Barceloneta (B.T.), Sants (T.B.S.), half Circle (S.C.T.), Bonanova and St. Gervasi, Les Corts and Sarrià (C.G.T.) and St. Andreu (T.B.C.S.A). The gravitational centre of the system was in the middle of the Rambla later moved to Catalunya sq. Companies were in a hard competition to build new lines. The first steam tramway line appeared in 1877 to  St. Andreu.
 
 

BT tramcar 1(bis) Horse drawn double-decker. (1888)	B.T. horse tram in the ring line. End of the 1890's.	CGT. Steam tram hauled by loco nº.6. (1878). Sant Gervasi route in 1882.

1880-1899  This is the consolidation period.  New lines were built:  Roger de Llúria st. line to Gràcia (T.B.E.G.), Horta (T.H.S.), Badalona (T.V.B.L.) and Circle line was completed. B.T., the most important company, took over S.C.T. and T.B.E.G. and this provoked an homogenization of the services and also the possibility to create new routes, that incorporated indicators.  A lot of projects of new lines were prepared (this was the golden age of the tramways) but only a few number came to an end. Some trials were made in order to lighting cars with batteries and a steam Purrey car  was put on trials.

MAP IN MOTION

A Fausto M. Gonzàlez © production

1899-1912  The first electrification project was prepared in 1881, the same year that Berlin launched its first electric tramway, but the network remained horse and steam powered till 1899. From then, all the lines were changed to electric power and in 1907 no other system was in service. There was an increasing number of lines and routes and new tramways were put into service, including open cars and double deckers in a very british style.  B.T was took over in 1905 by a belgian group and became L.T.B.  Other companies were integrated in another belgian group, the T.B.S.A.E., and this led to a reduction of companies. In 1912, L.T.B. took over the control of the whole system services, under the management of the Marquès de Foronda. During this period the stops were implemented and also route indicators with letters (1908) later with numbers (1911) over colours code. The fleet livery turn into a mustard yellow.
 
 

BT.  1-124 serie tramcar (1899). Circle line.	TBSAEx. Tramcar 5 (405). 1-12 (401-412) batch (1901). Horta line.	CGT. Tramcar 23 (323).  1-65 (301-365) batch. (1903).  Muntaner st.	TBSAE. Tramcar 443 (ex43).  438-443 batch (1903).  St.Martí depot.
LTB.Tramcar 142. 140-165 batch (1904). Route C, in 1909.	LTB. Open car 128  125-133 batch (1906). Diputació depot.	CGT. Open car 380 (ex80)  366-380 batch (1906). Vilana depot.	LTB double decker of 169-193 batch.(1909) Bonanova line.

1912-1925  During this period, the network came into stability and few new lines or prolongations were built.  Near 225 new cars of several types were bought but services, due to increasing population, was unable to cope with.

1925-1929  The Nationalisation Act converted  L.T.B. in T.B. The new company improved services and tramcars in order to cope with the increasing patronage due to International Exhibition that was held in the city in 1929-30.  50 new cars (500 class) were put in service, perhaps the best ones in the system.
 
 

LTB. Tramcar 226. 211-285 batch (1910-7). Sarrià workshop.	TB. Tramcar 947.  900-950 batch (1922).  Sarrià workshop.	TB. Tramcar 870.  860-889 batch (1924). 'Railways & Stations' exhibit in 1981.	TB. Tramcar 525. 501-550 batch (1926). Route 64 in the Rambla in 1936

1929-1939  Theese are the trouble years. The 1929 crack lasted some years and the political changes together with social troubles led to a very conflictive situation. Increasing fares, strikes, sabotages and inadequate services were the rule. The war provoked decreasing services due to lack of spares and power shortage altogether with air raids damages and a heavy lost of capital.  Due to Civil war  the system became an almost withdrawn one. Only 50 tramcars were in running order when Franco troops occupied the city in 26.1.1939.

1939-1951  The long postwar period caused a high impact over the system and the company. The Council forced T.B. to sign an Agreement in order to improve some bureaucratic aspects -specially concerning taxes and reversal dates- and also to reorganize the network. But lack of cars and the power shortage, high fares and other problems derivated of the Spanish situation during the 2n World War provoked a antitramway press campaign that explosed when the user's strike in 1951. The narrow gauge network was dismantled, in many cases without replacement. Nevertheless, T.B. bought 112 new cars and 100  trailers and some new routes were created. Fleet livery turned into red and cream.
 

TB. Tramcar 701. 701-712 batch (1942). Route 63 in Spain Sq. in 1959.	TB. Tramcar 1232.  1200 class (1943). Route  50 in St. Joan Pr. in  1970.	TB. Tramcar  81. 1-124 batch (1898). Route 36 in Pla de Palau in 1958.	TB. Tramcars 839 i 263.  Routes 60 & 67 in Gran Via Av. End of  '50s.
TB. Tramcar 1665. 1600 PCC class (1963). Route 156 in Collblanc in 1969.	TB. Works car  36 passes in front of  French Railway St.  in 1970	PCC 1653: the last car,  in  18.3.1971	1200 & 1600 class cars in a  scrapyard,  in 1971.

1951-1965  The municipalization of the transport companies from 1951, determined some attempts to improve services to cope with an increasing patronage and urban changes but started with a tramway withdrawal politic and the replacement by buses.  In 1962,  99 secondhand  PCC cars from Washington were bought and refurbished and entered in service until 1965 and some attemps to buy new articulated cars from the Nederlands were made. An offer for new cars came from the Soviet Union. All the two-axle cars were withdrawn and scapped and livery turned to a two shades of blue. Some prolongations were built, so late as in 1966.

1965-1971  In this last period, the remainig network was sistematically withdrawn, including routes built just 3 years before and the scrapping of PCC cars with only 3 or 4 years in service. On 18th March 1971,  the Mayor Porcioles put the end to the system with the complicity of the citizens completely  influenced by a controlled mass-media. Buses were representatives of discomfort and new and higher fares.

Further information: The horse tram fleet numbering, as well as the steam trailers is not well known. The electrification mens a new numbering for each company until the 1911 unification. The 300, 400 and 900 series were located to the narrow gauge motors. Standard gauge trailers were numbered in the 500 classes but added a '1' from 1926, when the  501-550 batch entered in service. Narrow gauge trailers were located in the 1601-1729 series, most renumbered.

Main companies:
B.T.  Barcelona Tramways Co. Ltd.
C.G.T. Compañía General de Tranvías
L.T.B. Les Tramways de Barcelone
T.B.  Tranvías de Barcelona
T.B.C.S.A. Tranvía de Barcelona al Clot y a San Andrés
T.B.E.G. Tranvía de Barcelona, Ensanche y Gracia
T.B.S. Tranvía de Barcelona a Sans
T.B.S.A.E. Societé des Tramways de BNarcelona à S. Andrés et Extensions
T.H.S. Tranvía de S. Juan de Horta a la Sagrera
T.V.B.L. Cia. Anónima de los Tranvías de Vapor de Barcelona y el Litoral
S.C.T. Sociedad Catalana de Tranvías
 
 

FLEET LIST  at  31.12.2002

Car nº	Class	Type	Truck/Motors	Builder	Year	Notes	Owner	Place
2	?	B2d	Brill21E(1) Horse car	?	1888	R	TMB	Barcelona
58	1-124	M2d	Brill 21E  2x15,4 kw	Girona	1899	D	Museu del Transport	Castellar de N'Hug
129	125-133	M2d	Brill21E 2x33 kw	TMB	1906(86)	O	TMB	Barcelona Tibidabo
525	501-550	M4s	Brill77E 4x20,6 kw	Girona	1926	D	Private	Parets del Vallès
- 861 870 870(1) 872	860-889	- M2d M2d M2d M2s	Brill21E 2x36,7 kw no motors 2x36,7 kw 2x36,7 kw	Girona	1924	- D X R/D X	- Private Museu T. TMB Museu T.	- Ejea Castellar Barcelona Castellar
1204 1242 1250 1252 1270	1200-1310	M4s	Maquitrans 4x29 kw	Maquitrans	1943-6 1943-6 1946 1948 1949	D D X X X	Private Private Museu T. Museu T. Museu T.	Ejea Bujaralo Castellar Castellar Castellar
1627 1631 1653 1683	1601-1699	M4s PCC	PCC/Clark 4x33 kw	St. Louis Car Co.	1945-6	D X D(2) X	Private Museu T. Private Museu T.	Bujaralo  Castellar Ejea Castellar
14?? 1754	1401-1480 1751-1757	B2s	- Brill 21E	C y E(3) Maquitrans	1946-50 1951	X R	Private Museu T.	Ejea Castellar

 

Service  cars

20	Track cleaner	M2d	Schörling/2x? kw	Schörling	1926	D	Private	Ejea
103	Wire greaser	M2d	Brill 21E/2x? kw	TB	1899(44)	D(4)	Private	Ejea
358	Wire greaser	M2d	AEG/2x22 kw	C y E(3)	1904(40)	X(5)	Museu T.	Castellar
LV2	Railgrinder	M2d	Brill 21E/2x? kw	TB	1952	D	Museu T.	Castellar

  TYPE:     M=motor    B=trailer    2=number of axles   d=double-ended    s=single-ended
   ESTAT:    O=running order    R=restored    D=derelict   X=rests
   (1) Ex867 ex887, renumbered 870 for the exhibit 'Trens i Estacions' (Railways & Stations) in 1981.
        From then remains in the lower deck of the Tibidabo depot.
   (2) Last Barcelona tramway.
   (3) 'Cardé y Escoriaza' builder in Zaragoza.
   (4) Built on the 103 truck of the 1-124 batch.
   (5) The last and only one remainig narrow gauge, former passenger car, now destroyed.
 

Basic bibliography:

ANDREU, Marc (et al.): La ciutat transportada. TMB. Barcelona, 1997
    The urban transport history and the city. In catalan. Resumen en español. Abstract
    in english.
GIMÉNEZ ATENELLE, Manuel: Memorias de un peatón.  Ed. autor. Barcelona, 1997. En español
    Líneas de tranvías y trolebuses de Barcelona, años 1939 a 1971.  Ed. autor. Barcelona, 1997. En español:
GONZÀLEZ MASIP, Albert: Els tramvies de Barcelona.
    Vol.1: (Dels origens a 1929). Història i explotació. Dalmau. Barcelona, 1997
    Vol.2: (De 1929 ençà). Història i explotació. Dalmau Barcelona, 1998
    The complet history of the tramways city system. In catalan. Resumen en español. Abstract
    in english.
ZURITA, Fèlix: Tramvies de Barcelona. Catàleg de material mòbil. MAF. Barcelona, 1988
    The fleet of the tramway companies in the Barcelona area. In catalan. En español.
    In english.

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LInks

Dewi Williams site: A wonderful 1956 colour and b/w pictures gallery. DON'T MISS!

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© Albert Gonzàlez Masip