Accrington on Rails - The Tramways: A Complete History - Robert Kenyon

To A.H. AITKEN (Town Clerk), ACCRINGTON

October 13 th , 1903

Dear Sir, In reply to your recent letter, we are sorry your special Tramway Committee feels somewhat aggrieved to find their labours have been in vain. We respectfully repudiate any blame so far as we are concerned whilst at the same time may we say that we hardly think your labours have been entirely wasted, in as much as we are prepared and always will be to meet with you. Might we suggest that you equip the whole of the tramway with electricity at one go, or, and work the Church and Clayton Sections on the same terms as those for the Baxenden Section, and in the meantime you could get your Bill through Parliament as soon as is possible or, if considered more desirable your Corporation could undertake to equip it. Of course my Company would require value for its expenditure, pro-rata to the time worked with a reasonable interest on the capital spent, and therefore not to be discharged for a period of seven years from the commencement of electric traction. We would take the whole of our power from your Corporation until such times as the other authorities were prepared and able to supply current from their own districts. The price we would require for the surrender value, including the proportion of engines, trailer cars and plant etc for the Church and Clayton-le-Moors sections would be £9,500. It is desirable to have these terms settled if possible at the earliest date, in order to enable my Directors to place this matter before their Shareholders Meeting in February 1904, for confirmation or otherwise. Yours faithfully, Jas. Wilson (secretary), Accrington Corporation Steam Tramway Company. November The Tramway Sub-Committee considered the correspondence recently received from the Tramway Company which related to the possible electrification of the system, and the surrender by the Company of the leases of the Church and Clayton-le-Moors Sections. It was resolved that, because the Corporation could only operate the tramway having beforehand obtained the necessary Parliamentary Bill, the purchase could not be entertained, even if the Sub-Committee recommended the acceptance, which they did not. The Sub-Committee therefore recommended that an application was made to Parliament at the first opportunity to obtain all the necessary powers for electrification and running powers for such extensions and widening of the tramway as might be thought necessary. It was further resolved the Council should contact the respective District Councils of Church and Oswaldtwistle to ascertain their views with the possibility of extending the tramway up Market Street and Union Road in Oswaldtwistle. December The Town Council meeting took into consideration the views of the Legal & Parliamentary Committee with regard to an application being made to Parliament in order to gain powers to electrify and operate the existing tramway with the extensions and modifications required. It was resolved that this policy would be approved and all the necessary steps in order to put an application before Parliament should be put in motion. 1904 (With the end of the Steam Tramway Company’s lease on the horizon plans were being laid for the shape of the electrified tramway, which included a bid by Clayton UDC for an extension further into their

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