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

not until the Lease Agreements or Legislative powers referred to in Clause 1 have been obtained, participate in the distribution of Director’s fees. 7. In the event of the Lease Agreements or the Legislative Powers referred to in Clause 1 hereof being duly obtained, the existing Directors shall forthwith elect five duly qualified nominees of the BET Company to sit upon the Board of the Tramway Company, and thereupon and upon payment to them the sum of five-hundred pounds as compensation for loss of office, the existing Directors shall retire from office. 8. This Agreement and everything therein contained is subject to the approval being given thereto by the Shareholders of the Tramway Company, in General Meeting within eight weeks from the date hereof. ( In Witness ). Whereof the Companies parties hereto have caused their Common Seals to be hereto affixed, the day and the year first above written. July The Legal & Parliamentary Committee heard a letter from Blackburn Corporation, asking if the Accrington Steam Tramway Company required to renew the facility of using their passing loop situated in front of the Commercial Hotel in Church, as the five years for which the agreement was signed was due to expire next August. A letter from the Tramway Company was read out stating they would require a renewal of the use of this turning place. The Town Clerk was authorised to communicate to the Tramway Company that they would now be liable for all the charges incurred in the renewing of this agreement. August The General Works Committee received a letter from the Tramway Company respecting the Council’s view on the continued use of the passing place and asking them to reconsider their decision on not contributing to the payment for its use. September The Blackburn Tramway Company announced they were to introduce electric cars on to the Intack – Church section of their tramways, along with a doubling of some sections of line between the two towns. It was felt that this would leave Accrington looking poor in comparison. In the local Observer & Times reference was made to a publication by Cassier called ‘The Electric Tramway Number’. This was a learned volume of 290 pages which suggested that Great Britain was lagging behind continental Europe in introducing electric traction onto its tramways. It contained an article by Sydney Garcke, ( whom Accrington people would recognise as recently attempting to take over the local Steam Tramway Company.) There were several salient points made in this publication, one of which was that Girder Rails had a groove which was both shallow and narrow, and therefore prone to wearing out rapidly. There were several opinions expressed in favour and against municipal ownership of tramways, with the claim for those in favour stating that when privately owned companies were more likely to put profits before service. It also suggested that if Accrington’s tramways had been municipally operated from the outset it would not be operating the cars which were currently in use. These it described as “clumsy in appearance”. It quoted the example of Glasgow who was making thousands of pounds each year by letting space inside and outside the cars for advertising. This was something that Accrington was not disposed to allow, as it was considered to be ‘undignified’. It ended by stating that there was no single instance of a municipally operated tramway proving to be a commercial success although Glasgow had been the closest, and there was not one example of a municipal tramway fulfilling its social aspirations. October The Legal & Parliamentary Committee conducted a general discussion on a proposed meeting between the Tramway Company’s directors and representatives of the British Electric Traction Company (BET), which was due to take place. At 11am on Tuesday, October 17 th , a deputation from the Tramway Company attended this meeting, and a representative of BET, Mr Garcke, made a wordy statement on the general terms of his company’s policy when buying up such concerns as the Accrington Steam Tramway Company. At the culmination of this presentation, the Chairman of the Tramway Company requested that any proposals they wished to make should be put in writing. These would then be placed before the Council for due consideration. A synopsis follows of the proceedings of a meeting held in the Council Chambers, between the Legal & Parliamentary Committee and the Directors of the Accrington Corporation Steam Tramway Company, on Tuesday, October 17 th , 1899 at the Company’s request, and in order to receive their deputation. ( Note Alderman Kenyon was attending in his dual role as an elected councilor and also as a board member of the ACSTC).

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