resemblance to an urban tramway became more marked with the introduction of the huge Brush-built electric cars and because of the style of operation (the signalling was used only to regulate entry to the passing loops and not to control the actual running of cars). The track was always laid with conventional railway-type rail and not grooved tram-rail and the railway also handled conventional goods wagons (exchanged with the London & North Western Railway (the London Midland & Scottish Railway after January 1923) at Mumbles Road station and with the Great Western Railway at the Swansea terminus). In the early nineteenth century a tramway was a line for mineral wagons (trams), the term railway being used when edge rails replaced plates. The term tramway did not become almost exclusively associated with urban transport systems until after the passing of the Tramways Act of 1870. Suggested re-opening On 16 February 2009, the City & County of Swansea started the process of looking at the feasibility of trams for the Swansea bay area again. The ERC (Environment, Regeneration and Culture) Overview Board, which is a policy making committee chaired by Councillor Rob Speht, discussed the options for feasibility work and scheduled tasks to assess the technical, financial and social feasibility of bringing trams back to Swansea. In 2016 the group were working through a formal constitution and going through the steps to register as a Charitable body. See also Timeline of railway history Further reading The First Passenger Railway (The Oystermouth or Swansea & Mumbles Line), by Charles E. Lee, 1942 The Swansea & Mumbles Railway, by Charles E. Lee, 1988 () The Mumbles Railway, The World's First Passenger Railway, published by the Mumbles Railway Society, c1980 Rock & Roll To Paradise, The History of the Mumbles Railway, by Rob Gittins, 1982 () The Life and Times of the Swansea and Mumbles Railway, by Gerald Gabb, 1987 () References Julian Thompson. British Trams in Camera. London, Ian Allan LTD 1978 External links Company Website BBC Article "Swansea looks at tram return" Brief history City tram scheme back on agenda The Mumbles Train - the world's first railway service Closed railway lines in Wales Rail transport in Swansea History of Swansea Early Welsh railway companies Tram transport in Wales Railway companies established in 1804 Railway lines opened in 1806 Railway lines closed in 1960 Standard gauge railways in Wales Horse-drawn railways 4 ft