Photo © Paul Haywood. Please do not re-post without permission.

Southampton Corporation Tramways 11 was one of a batch of five open-top cars built in 1920-1924 by SCT with Brill 21e trucks and originally numbered 3.
In 1925 it was rebuilt to the TCB (Top-covered Bargate) design and renumbered 11.

The second photo show the beautifully restored upper deck interior with its domed roof profile and recessed light fittings. This would have been a significant improvement over the open-top, back-to-back, knife-board seating arrangement used prior to these TCB (Top-covered Bargate) rebuilds.

It is a remarkable survivor, having been rediscovered in an overgrown plot of land in Cheriton belonging to a Mr Corbett who had bought the car from a scrap dealer in 1950 for use as a playhouse for his children. Thankfully, unlike many tram cars sold to landowners, it retained its top-deck. In 1977 Mr Corbett donated the car to the City Council and, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Southampton Tram Project, has gradually been restored to its near original TCB condition. After a number of years in storage at the City's Collection Centre it was moved to the Solent Sky Museum in 2020 and has since been fitted with a restored former Porto small-wheeled truck and motors (re-gauged from 900mm to 1435mm). Next to it is Lisbon tram 715 which was bought in 1997 for spare parts for car 11 (and yet to be restored car 38). Although mainly in locked storage, car 11, unrestored car 38 and Lisbon car 715 can be seen during special weekend events. My access was with the kind permission of Mr Thomas Gregg of the Museum staff.

Photo taken by Paul Haywood, Friday 28 August 2026, Solent Sky Museum, Southampton

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