Stephenson horse tram, 1884

© Transport for London
Enlarge

Two horses can pull a much heavier passenger vehicle over smooth metal tracks than they can manage on a rough road surface. The first street railway with horse drawn trams opened in New York in the 1830s. Tramways were not established in London until 1870, when three companies opened routes along main roads to the suburbs.

The Museum's horse tram, South London Tramways (SLT) no. 284, was originally ordered and imported from the United States in 1884. It was constructed by the long established New York tram builder John Stephenson & Co. and used on the SLT's Waterloo to Greenwich services.