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

Profit for year (without provision for renewals) 1919/20 = £295 and for 1920/21 = £2,813 MEMO The amount in the Depreciation & Renewals Fund on March 31 st , 1920 was £26,271. Add interest on investments = £1,370. TOTAL credit at March 31 st , 1921 = £27, 641. DEPRECIATION & RENEWALS FUND The amount in the Depreciation & Renewals Fund on March 31 st , 1921 was £32,815 – 5s – 3d. CONTRIBUTIONS. Year Car miles @ 1d per car mile Interest @ 3% TOTAL @ March 31 st , 1921 1920/2 1 597,043 £2,487 – 13s – 7d £984 – 9s – 0d £36,287 – 7s – 10d The ‘actual’ sum set aside on March 31 st 1921 was £26,271, a deficit on this basis of £6,544 – 5s 3d. The deficit on this basis = £8,646 – 0s – 0d. Calculations on this year’s contributions at the rate of 2½ pence per car mile (which is equal to the current cost of permanent way renewals), the amount would be = £6,219 – 4s – 0d, a difference of £3,731 – 10s – 5d. The corresponding figure for last year was £3,707 – 7s – 0d which would take the deficit of this fund to £16,085 – 5s – 3d. The total length of single track is approximately 10½ miles. Taking the cost of renewals at £11,000 per mile, then there is only sufficient money set aside to renew 2½ miles or thereabouts, and this after only 14 years of traffic out of the 16 years which is the estimated useful life of the present track. The total sum taken from the rates since the tramway system was first established and not yet repaid is at the end of the Financial Year £4,558. The Health Committee decided to join with the Electrical & Tramway Committee in their bid to have toilet facilities built on the Market Grounds, as the facilities formerly available for the men working in these departments had been lost due to the alterations to the fire station. Following talks with the Borough Surveyor, it was suggested that two water closets should be provided adjoining the men’s toilets on the Peel Street side of the Market. The Market’s Superintendent indicated that he was in favour of this suggestion. On the same day the Town Hall & Markets Committee met to consider the application from the Electricity & Tramway Committee along with the Health Committee, for the erection of toilet facilities on a suitable site on the northerly side of the Market Grounds for the use of employees working for the Council. June At a meeting of the Electricity & Tramways Committee, it was resolved that the restrictions imposed on the tramway operations should now be extended to include Fridays, if the Electrical Engineer could provide enough power due to the shortage of coal. The Electricity & Tramways Committee met again and the Tramway Manager called the Committee’s attention to the poor state of the depot roof. He then submitted an estimate from the Borough Surveyor for the cost of putting it back into a safe state of repair. As instructed the Tramway Manager then submitted a scale of proposed increases in order to improve the revenue of the Parcels Department. These were then submitted to the Works Committee with a mandate to do whatever they thought appropriate. The Tramway Manager then presented a comparative statement of traffic receipts and wages between April 1 st and June 15 th , 1921, with the same period in 1920 as follows - TRAFFIC RECEIPTS Date 1920 1921 Increase Decrease April £4,568 – 14s – 8d £4,952 – 14s – 3d £388 – 19s – 7d - May £5,058 – 6s – 5d £3,317 – 17s – 2d - £1,740 – 9s – 3d June (part) £2,309 – 5s – 10d £1,330 – 16s – 9d - £978 – 9s – 1d TOTALS £11,936 – 6s – 11d £9,601 – 8s – 2d £383 – 19 – 7d £2,718 – 18s – 9d The actual deficit over the period under review was = £2,334 – 19s – 2d. It should be specifically noted that over the 1921 period a 50% increase in fares was in operation.

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