This book has been commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the
closure of Glasgow's remarkable tram system, when over 250,000 people
lined the city streets on 4 September 1962 to watch a final procession
of some 20 trams representing different periods in the history of the
undertaking. Using a wealth of previously unpublished photographs, the
book shows as many areas and aspects of the city as possible. The trams
are once again back where they belong, right in the heart of the city
and its suburbs with people, period buses, cars and lorries, shops,
churches, theaters, cinemas, parks, shipyards, factories and even steam
and electric locos running on the tram tracks. Furthermore, the coverage
goes way beyond the city boundary to encompass Airdrie, Coatbridge,
Cambuslang, Rutherglen, Barrhead, Paisley, Renfrew, Clydebank and
Milngavie. Over the years many locations have changed beyond recognition
while others remain instantly recognisable. There are scores of
photographs of the long-lasting Standards (some even in Glasgow's
legendary colored route bands), trams acquired from Paisley including
those cut down to single-deckers, Kilmarnock bogies, modern Coronations
and Cunarders, ex-Liverpool cars, one-offs and also works cars. For
those who still remember the trams, we hope you enjoy looking back as
much as we have and for those who have no memory of wires and rails in
the street, we hope this will recapture a lost way of life when services
were frequent and fares relatively inexpensive.
