Dublin United Transport Company


The Dublin United Transport Company operated trams and buses in Dublin, Ireland until 1945. Following legislation in the Oireachtas, the Transport Act, 1944, the DUTC and the Great Southern Railways were vested in the newly formed Córas Iompair Éireann on 1 January 1945.

History

Formation

The DUTC was formed by the merging of several of Dublin's existing tram operators in 1881, that is:
Dublin's first electric trams were run between Haddington Road and Dalkey in 1896, initially by the Dublin Southern Tramways Company, but soon incorporated into the DUTC, as it purchased from the Imperial Tramways Company and integrated that company, itself comprising:
The DUTC subsequently changed its name to the Dublin United Tramways Company Limited, and later again changed the "Tramways" part of its name to "Transport" in 1941, reflecting the increasing use of buses and a reduction of the tram fleet.
File:Straight On or Left or Right to Westmoreland Street Only.jpg|thumb|Straight on or left or right to Westmoreland Street only, with a busy O'Connell Bridge in the 1930s with double decker trams.
The DUTC's logo was adopted as the logo of CIÉ and continued to be painted on the sides of Ireland's buses and trains until the 1960s.
The company's Sandymount depot was on Gilford Road.

Other tram companies in Dublin

The Hill of Howth Tramway was never part of the DUTC, instead being operated by the Great Northern Railway prior to that company's incorporation into CIÉ in 1958.

Rail gauge

Unlike the gauge being used by the Luas tram system, the DUTC trams used two different gauges: the gauge and 4 ft.