THE date was August 8, 1935, when this shot was taken of the open-top tram at the entrance to Heaton Park.

The Prestwich to Whitefield route was opened on April 3, 1903. Tram car No. 4, standing in front of Whitefield Railway Station, in immaculate condition, was one of the first in a fleet of tram cars Salford Corporation had built.

Bury Old Road in Prestwich came into its own when the route to St. Margaret's was opened on December 16, 1904. The service was extended to Besses O' th' Barn in April 1905.

The trams passing the entrances to Heaton Park Station and St. Margaret's carried the greater number of passengers during the summer season.

It was unfortunate that the low height of Bently Bridge which spanned Bury Old Road across the railway line between Kirkhams and Besses prevented the use of closed-top, double-decker tram cars. The open-topped trams were comfortable on fine, sunny days but not so when the weather turned wintery.

Mid-evening tram cars running down Bury New Road and Bury Old Road into Manchester carried postal boxes which allowed fast sorting and delivery of mail.

Before the tramway era faded into transport history, Salford Corporation had purchased and was running solid-tyred omnibuses along local routes.

Returning to the picture, tram service 73 converted to bus service 73 on September 27, 1936 with the terminus moving from Blackfriars Street to Victoria Bus Station.