By Paul Stoddart-van der Maaden
The 12 th July 1880 saw the first horse drawn tram on the streets of Groningen . The route followed Ebbingepoort > Station and was run by 'Sociètè anonyme belge des tramways de Groningen et de la provincie', an organisation based, believe it or not, in Brussels . The route was extended in the following years, and in 1903 the idea surfaced to replace horse with electricity. At the same time there also existed a campaign, led by councillor Schaper, to place the tram companies in the hands of the local authorities. This was to ensure continued investment rather than see all profits made disappear into the hands of private corporations. In 1903 'De Gemeente Groningen' paid the grand sum of Dfl 130,000 and for this became the proud owner of 30 horses, 15 tram carriages, an unusable salt wagon and 4674m of track.
In 1893 the Groningse local authority veterinary surgeon conducted research into how the 18 horses - the transport then still being in private hands - were treated and under what conditions they were forced to work. He concluded that the average horse covered a total distance of 22 km per day and were fed 4½ kg horse-feed, 4 kg bean-based rye bread and as much hay as they could manage. This was in fact not bad at all when compared with similar tramway companies. The report did however criticise the fact that there were no 'reserve' horses. This of course meant extra pressure for the 18 horses and a loss of service should one or more be 'out of service'. 1893 saw a total of 5 horsemen (drivers) and 5 conductors. Their days were long to say the least, starting at 06:00 and going-home-time at around 23:00 . As long as there were no 'absentees', the employees could look forward to one day-off in every nine. In 1898 SDAP-party councillor 'Schaper' led a campaign to bring the tramways under public control. One of his slogans to achieve this was "The horse-men and conductors are treated worse than the horses". By 1910 the tramways were under local authority control and total employees had grown to 88, of which 60 were tram drivers and conductors.
The first electric trams which appeared on the streets of Groningen were M.A.N units, a Neurenberg based manufacturer. 6 th January 1910 saw the first road tests, after which a total of 16 units were purchased to enter service on the 1 st March 1910 . Five 'open trailer-cars' were purchased which were in fact manufactured by the 'Nederlandse Fabriek van Werktuigen en Spoorwegmateriaal'.
