{"product_id":"the-railways-and-tramways-of-ryde-9780999011508","title":"The Railways and Tramways of Ryde","description":"\u003cp\u003eNearly everybody living in Ryde must have travelled on the Pier Tramway at one time or another. Its ancient, overcrowded cars with their narrow doors, hard seats and apparent lack of springing were a standing joke to all its regular passengers. Yet it was this tramway that provided the town with several important amenities. It caused the reclamation of the foreshore that now provides the site for Eastern Gardens and Pavillion; it was responsible for the construction of Cornwall Slipway and helped drain the marshes once covering the area of Simeon Street Recreation Ground. Surprisingly few people know of this short but interesting period of the tramway's history when it ran right across the town to join with the railway and the Pier Company had high hopes of running railway trains on their tracks. The tramway later distinguished itself by becoming one of the country's pioneer standard-gauge electric railways. Strictly speaking, the Ryde Pier Tramway was a light railway running as it did later on enclosed tracks between stations. However, it has been called a tramway since the early days of horse traction in the streets and, despite several attempts to call it a railway, this name has persisted through the years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSoftback, 14x21cm, 163 pages, black \u0026amp; white photographs\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Good\/Very Good\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Town \u0026 Country","offers":[{"title":"Secondhand (286)","offer_id":58117476188543,"sku":"9780999011508","price":6.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1910\/7111\/files\/9780999011508.jpg?v=1786103810","url":"https:\/\/rail-books.co.uk\/products\/the-railways-and-tramways-of-ryde-9780999011508","provider":"Rail Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}