Trafford Park Tramways
Photographs of employees of either the British Gas Traction Company Limited (operators from 1897 to 1899) or the Trafford Parks Estates Company Limited (operators of the gas trams between 1899 and 1908, and electric trams between 1903 and 1905) appear not to have survived, so it is currently unclear whether tramcar crews wore uniforms or informal attire. However, a photograph of a conductor working on one of the replacement railway services (for the gas trams) has survived; the subject is clearly wearing informal attire, which suggests that conductors working on the gas trams probably wore informal attire too.
From 1905 to the closure of the system in 1946, all electric services were operated as through services by Manchester and Salford Corporations. Details of staff uniforms can be found on the pages for Manchester Corporation Tramways and Salford Corporation Tramways, respectively.
For a history of this little-known tramway, see: 'Trafford Park Tramways 1897-1946' by Ted Gray; Northern Publishing (1996).
Images
Motormen and conductors
A photograph purportedly taken in 1908 following the replacement of the company's gas tram services by locomotive-hauled services. The precise location is unknown. Author's Collection.
An enlargement of the above photograph showing the conductor. Although he has the typical accoutrements of a tramway conductor (cash bag and ticket punch), he is clearly not wearing a uniform.