The story
On 3 December 1884, Blackpool Corporation agreed to use Michael Holroyd Smith's conduit tramway and granted him a seven-year concession.
The Blackpool Electric Tramway Company was formed in January 1885, and set up with capital of £30,000 (equivalent to £3,333,011 in 2025). The first rail was laid in March and the first test runs were made on 29 June. The tramway was officially opened on 29 September 1885. The chairman of the company was Alderman Richard Horsfall. The location caused many problems for the conduit system and the company employed horses to pull trams when the track was flooded.
With further extensions, the line ran from Cocker Street to Dean Street near South Pier and from Manchester Square along Lytham Road.
The tramway was a financial success. In 1890 the profits of the year were £2,983 (equivalent to £331,412 in 2025), out of which a dividend of 7 per cent was paid.
From Wikipedia’s article on Blackpool Electric Tramway Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3