The first part of Blackpool tramway opened on 29 September 1885. It was a conduit line. It ran from Cocker Street to Dean Street on the Blackpool Promenade. This was one of the first practical electric tramways built in the world. It opened six years after Werner von Siemens first showed electric traction. At the opening was Holroyd Smith, the person who created the system, and Alderman Harwood, the Mayor of Manchester, along with many other people.