Tramcars
Coventry trams, and subsequently buses, were painted maroon and cream with
variations in shade and layout for many years. Although maroon was replaced
by a lighter shade called 'Marshall Red' in 1969, buses continued to carry
maroon until repainted. Some buses carried maroon well into the era of the
West Midlands PTE.
Although the last trams ran in Coventry in 1940, surprisingly at
least two remain. Tramcar 32 was built in 1907 by Milnes Voss. It was a
double deck tram with seating for 50 people. It is in a very derelict state and
continues to decay in a copse in Warwickshire.
One other Coventry tramcar does exist. Tramcar 71 was built by Brush in 1931 was one of the
last trams bought by Coventry Corporation. Unlike tramcar 32, it had a covered top deck
and could carry 55 passengers. It is the furthest travelled of the Coventry tramcars, resting
now in a garden in Surrey.
Four other tramcars are known to have survived for some time after the war. The lower deck of
tramcar 22, built by Dick Kerr and both decks of tramcar 67, built by English Electric in 1929,
lay in a field at Hunningham, near Leamington Spa, for many years. 22 was an open-top 46 seater
built in 1901. 22 was one of a number acquired by Coventry Tramways in 1905 from Wigan when
that undertaking converted from 3' 6" gauge track to standard gauge.
Tramcar 48, a Brush built covered-top tram, was at the rear of Springfield Road in Coventry for
some years. It was a 48 seater built just before the Great War.
Tramcar 68 - sister to Hunningham relic 67 - survived in a private garden in Allesley village
until fairly recently. It was used as a greenhouse. It has now gone.
22, 48 and 67 are now thought to have gone.
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