Been at the library. There may be threads ahead...

Crumbs. I'm only 1 paragraph in and just found out that when Edinburgh Corporation (i.e. the Council) took over the tramways in 1919 it was used as a pretext to relieve all female clippies ("conductresses") of their empolyment! Male employees all kept on

Chapter 2. Edinburgh's first "through" electric tram from Leith was attacked by students on South Bridge. Dignitaries had flour thrown at them. Some students climbed onto car roof and rode that way to Liberton

The Battle of South Clerk Street. Students storm the tramcar. Polis were outnumbered and helpless (and probably unused to dealing with crowds of posh kids)

The law summoned reinforcements and took suitable precautions to defend the return journey

When Edinburgh switched from cabled-hauled to electric trams in 1922, @thecockburn led opposition to the erection of street-centre poles to carry the tram wires and a "Citizens Protection Committee" was formed to resist this outrage

I should add that was specifically in regards to Princes Street. The end result was questions in The Commons, a public enquiry and a suitably grand and ornate centre pole was designed to appease the critics

Tell you what though, they didn't hang about. The conversion of Princes St. from cable to electric was done in a single overnight shift, including erecting the entire pole and wire system and removing the cable aparatus

It took only 2 weeks to re-lay the entire north-side track 2 feet further out to allow the centre poles to fit in. Service was maintained throughout on a temporary track laid on top of the road surface