Warrington Corporation Tramways was the owner and operator of an electric tramway system in the early 20th century serving the town of Warrington until 1931, at the time a county borough of Lancashire, England After construction of a power generating station at Howley in 1900 that the Corporation was encouraged to apply to Parliament for powers to lay down and operate an electric tramway system along the five main arterial roads within the town boundary. This was granted as the Tramways Orders Confirmation (No. 4) Act 1900 (63 & 64 Vic. cap. cci) and construction began in 1901, with responsibility for the operation assumed by the Corporation's Electricity and Tramways Committee under the name of "Warrington Corporation Tramways" The official Board of Trade inspection of the Latchford and Sankey Bridges branches was made by Lt. Col. P.G. von Donop R.E. on 17 April 1902. Despite a minor hiccup involving a broken trolley pole, permission was given for operations on the two lines to begin. The first tram left Rylands Street for Latchford at 7.40 a.m. on 21 April. Operation of the Sankey Bridges route did not start for another two days until enough trams were available for service, thus a through service between the two lines commenced on 23 April. Eight open-top double-deck trams built by G.F. Milnes & Co. of Birkenhead were purchased for the opening, with a further 13 arriving later in the year The line south along Wilderspool Causeway initially operated to a terminus at Stafford Road just north of the Manchester Ship Canal, being at the time the boundary between Lancashire and Cheshire. On the Cheshire side of the canal was the village of Stockton Heath, which may have been expected to provide a more suitable terminus. However, strong opposition from Stockton Heath Parish Council was encountered Warrington Corporation applied for a Light Railway Order to cover the sections north of Stockton Heath.
