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

Dear Sir, With regard to your letter of May 4 th , I am instructed to inform you that its contents have been considered by the Tramway Committee of my Corporation, but they could not see their way to agreeing to your proposals. Yours faithfully, J. S. Whalley, (Town Clerk, Rawtenstall). It was resolved the Town Clerk reply in the terms set forth in the following letter ( dated May 12 th ) – Dear Sir, My Tramway Sub-Committee has considered your letter today, and regret to hear the attitude of your Committee in declining to accept our proposals for running a through service from Accrington to Queen’s Square and vice versa, as a tentative experiment for one year. This in face of the fact that your lines are not yet laid through to Bacup and will not be for some considerable time. My Tramway Committee fully understands your position, and will be pleased to receive your Council’s proposals and suggested timetables for consideration. The question of a timetable to suit five centres of population, Accrington, Haslingden, Rawtenstall, Newchurch and Bacup all with different market days and holidays is a complicated one, and we are curious to know how your inexperienced committee proposes to arrange matters. Perhaps in further correspondence you will explain these matters in greater detail? But in the meantime we regret that passengers travelling between Haslingden and Rawtenstall, (who will outnumber by at least ten to one those wishing to travel through to Bacup), will have the added inconvenience of having to change cars at Lock Gate with possibly a wait, for which we accept absolutely no responsibility. If, even at this very last moment, your Committee is amenable to accepting our proposals and will authorise a member of your Committee to meet with our Chairman, arrangement still could be made to commence through running as early as this Saturday, when as we understand it, you are opening your tramway system. Yours faithfully, A. H. Aitken (Town Clerk). The Committee then visited the tramway depot and authorised Mr Pilling to obtain the iron strips and appliances to have them laid down in the sheds for the platforms to run along during the cleaning of the tramcars. The Electrical, Legal & Parliamentary Committee met to hear the Borough Surveyor’s proposals that a temporary shed should be built adjoining the railway arches on Moreton Street, as a place to store the Corporation’s Tower Wagon. This was referred to the Sub-Committee for further consideration. It was further resolved to authorise the Borough Treasurer to increase the insurance on the extended tramway depot by a figure of £1,000. The Borough Electrical Engineer was authorised to obtain the cable and equipment necessary for the overhead extension between Pilling Terrace and the Borough boundary. It was further resolved to purchase two ‘spare’ armatures from Brush Electrical Engineering at a cost of £45 each. A resolution was passed to allow the Tramway Manager to make whatever reductions to the Sunday morning service on the Burnley Road Section as he thought necessary, in view of the small number of people using the trams during that part of the day. The Town Clerk reported on his meeting with representatives of Haslingden Corporation, when the following recommendations were made, subject to confirmation by this Committee -

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