Although only two miles apart on the railway, Howth and Sutton stations on the north coast of the Howth peninsula were connected in 1901 by the Hill of Howth Tramway, five and a quarter miles long. The line, built and operated by the Great Northern Railway, reached 365 feet above sea level at the Summit Station, three miles from Sutton. Opened in 1901, this most famous of tramways unfortunately never made a profit and CIE, which took over the GNR in October 1958, closed it down on 31st May 1959. The depot and power station were at Sutton, electricity generation ceasing when an ESB supply was substituted in the early 1930s.
On 16th May 1896, Dublin's first electric trams began running between Haddington Road and Dalkey. Initially operated by the Dublin Southern District Tramways Company, the line was sold a few months later to the Dublin United Tramways, at that time running about 170 horse cars over 33 route miles.
Easily one of the most popular vehicles currently on display in the Transport Museum, tramcar No. 224 is in fact an impostor – but one with a splendid story to tell.