Brighton Tram 53 Society - Works War 1
Purpose-built in 1910, Works Car 1 was the only dedicated maintenance vehicle in the Brighton Corporation Tramways fleet.
Initially serving as a winter snowplough, it was later transformed into a versatile, mobile workshop. Equipped with an oxyacetylene setup for cutting and welding rails, it acted as a track repair vehicle and a tow tram for broken-down carriages.
When the Brighton network closed in 1939, the tram was sold. Its mechanical truck was removed, and it spent the following decades serving as a garden shed for a former tram superintendent. Following the owners' passing, the family offered to donate this unique piece of transport history to the Brighton Tram 53 Society—on one condition: the Society had to replace it with a brand-new garden shed before an April 2019 deadline.
To secure the vehicle's future, the Society launched a public appeal for monetary donations and volunteer moving assistance.
While initially considering hiring a crane to lift the tram over the house using an 'A' frame, the team ultimately opted for a simpler approach. They carefully dismantled the tram into panels, transporting it by truck as a flat-pack kit ready for future reconstruction.
