Great Western Coffee Shop

I have oft wondered about the rails in the yard outside "Platform 14" at the base of the incline up to Bristol Temple Meads Station, and a few 'spare' minutes this morning lead me to researching them ... turns out (according to sources I have not verified) that they were part of the Bristol tramway network.



Above from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Tramways) which includes a map and much more.

Edit to add - also at http://wpehs.org.uk/bristol-tramways which includes similar wording  :D

There are remnants of the Bristol tram system still visible in the car parking area of the Gloucester Road Health Centre. Original rails were retained on the site of the old tram depot as a reminder of it's former use.

...and of course the length of rail embedded end-on in St Mary Redcliffe churchyard, where a high explosive bomb planted it.

When they built the Temple Meads tram terminal, part of the facade of the old station was demolished; you can see that it is no longer symmetrical. Wouldn't get away with that now!

Blimey, you learn something new every day. Added to my 'next time in town' and 'did you know?' lists.

Not to mention the rails and steps outside what is now Zero Degrees at the top of Colston St. And the old tram shed near Page Park. And others.

Hiding in plain sight is the former tram depot at the junction of Sandy Park Road, Bloomfield Road, and the A4 Bath Road, at Arnos Vale. The Bristol and North Somerset line ran through the rear of the now council depot.

(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48808560482_9d88586fb3_c.jpg)
(c) Me, but feel free to use after contacting me for the appropriate attribution.

There are some lovely pictures in this Bristol 24/7  (https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/features/35-old-photos-of-tram-stops-in-bristol/) article.

There is a picture of the tram depot in its heyday here  (https://images.app.goo.gl/HQKGG1mUHYzA35UP6)- the sheds are still visible in my photo above. There is another of a tram outside the depot here (https://images.app.goo.gl/HwLnuBwjQ21BeCDQ9).

This was a different bomb from the one that blew up the bridge in Counterslip, although part of the same raid on Good Friday 1941, and possibly from the same aircraft. It hit somewhere around Bedminster Bridge, and the rail travelled through the air for around 400 yards before reaching its current spot. It proved easier to make it a memorial than to dig it out, and there are pictures  here. (https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/119457/)

Image No.1 in the Bristol 247 piece is at Clifton Down Station - the single-story shops backed onto the coal yard where later the Clifton Down Shopping Centre was built, doing the architectural equivalent of mooning at the station platforms.

Eastville Tram depot is largely intact, though it's easier to make it out from the air (see here https://goo.gl/maps/qmFNoatZ3KyXxf8CA ) than from Fishponds Road owing to a seventies building blocking the view (https://goo.gl/maps/rnWst9EsnE9M8zAA7)

Staple Hill depot is much easier to spot: https://goo.gl/maps/5woNgtnFDAtH9Mxe6

Horfield depot is, as johnneyw points out, now Gloucester Rd Medical Centre; you can see the tracks in the car park ( https://goo.gl/maps/suv64CJW7WK7xUGx8 ). The building to the north of the fossil fuelling station was part of the depot complex.

If you'll forgive a distraction from trams for a second, some rails from the former Clifton Down coal yard are still visible in Alma Vale Road. It's hard to make them out on Street View but I think you can just about see a small length of one in the middle of the road here: https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4636443,-2.611672,3a,75y,265.33h,75.3t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNHcsFNZOSY0chorAifY2yA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
They're much more obvious in real life.