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

63.Inspectors have instructions to report all cases of negligent driving or any other irregularities. Any driver guilty of an offence will be liable to a reduction in ‘class’ or dismissal. 64.If any driver finds he cannot keep time through no fault of his own, he must report this immediately to an Inspector or the Office as soon as is practical. CONTROLLER. 1. Drivers should avoid accelerating the car too rapidly. When running at full speed if it is necessary to reduce speed slightly, the controller should be notched back to five, and if desirous then power should be shut off entirely. At no time should a driver use the handbrake to slow down when the car is under power, as this is detrimental to the car’s equipment, a source of brake-wear and costly in terms of electricity. 2. In running with power on when passing beneath circuit-breakers, drivers are instructed to run up as near as possible to the insulator, shut off and if necessary immediately afterwards notch up to fifth or sixth notch and then work gradually up to full speed again. In this method the speed is kept constant and there are no great strains on the motors. 3. If the car is running at say four or five miles per hour without power and the driver wishes to increase the speed it would not be necessary for him to observe the same protocols as when starting a car in motion, but as each notch on the controller is equivalent to a given speed, the driver may bring the pointer of the power handle from zero to the notch representative of the speed at which the car may be travelling at that time, and then work up to whatever speed is required. 4. Drivers are strictly warned never to go directly from zero to eighth notch no matter what speed the car is travelling. 5. Drivers should shut off power from sixth or seventh position rather than put the pointer to eighth and be immediately compelled to throw it into the ‘off’ position as there would be no advantage gained by going to the eighth notch unless there is the possibility of the car travelling on at least a further 20 yards with the pointer in that position. Therefore to put the pointer to the full speed position when working up and in the very next instant to turn it back to zero would cause a great waste of current without any advantage in speed being gained. 6. Upon returning his car to the depot the driver must leave its handbrake in the ‘on’ position. He must then enter into the Car Repair Book any faults he may have noticed, or conversely make an entry indicating that no faults were noted and sign his name as verification. FAULTS. 1. Should a car fail to respond in speed to the different positions on the controller or have a higher speed on notch five than by comparison in sixth or seventh notch, the driver should examine said controller to see that the fingers and contactors are making good electrical contact when the cylinder is revolved. 2. Should it prove impossible to detach the reversing lever when turning at a terminus, the driver must cut out both motors in that controller and operate the car from the opposite end until arriving back at the depot where another car would be substituted. 3. Should the live wire snap and fall into the roadway, drivers should get a piece of dry stick (a walking stick for example), and draw the wire into the groove of the rails, holding it down so that an electrical contact can be made. He should then dispatch his conductor to the nearest feed pillar to telephone the depot to report this problem. On no account must the live wire come into contact with any part of the body. WASTING CURRENT. 1. Drivers must remember that current must not be used except when absolutely necessary, and anyone offending in this respect will be severely dealt with. The following are the ways in which current is wasted – a) By feeding up too quickly when starting.

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