-

ROADS AND ROAD TRANSPORT HISTORY CONFERENCE NEWSLETTER November 1995 Issue Number 9

President : Professor Theo narker London School of Economics Index to this Issue - November 1995

Chairman : Professor John I libbs ORE 2 Conference Matters University of Central England, Report on the September 1995 Meeting Perry narr, 3 Book and Video Review Birmingham R42 2SU 4 The Pride ofthe Road Report on the October 1995 Symposium Secretary: Gordon Knowles 7 Squirrels Green, 5 Movers and Shakers ofthe Bus Industry Great Bookham, John Hibbs' paper given to the Symposium Surrey KT23 3LE 6 Matters Arising Published Horse Bus History Treasurer : Roger Atkinson ODE 7 Rural Travel in /ate nineteenth century 45 Dee Ranks, John Dunabin's talk given al September Meetinl!, Chester CI-13 SUU 9 History on a Postcard I (J The Omnibus Society Research Coordinator : Ian Yearsley History ofone of our Corporate Members 97 Putney Bridge Road, 11 New Members London SW15 2PJ\ 12 History on a Postcard Newsletter Editor : Ron Phillips 13 Public Transport and Pedestrianisation I 6 Victoria Avenue, A contemporary issue, looked al with history in mind Grappenhall, 16 The Grand Fiasco Warrington W A4 2PD A look at the good old days, when things never ran smoothly. A feature article on the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge, opened in 1905 (Three limes) NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING and NINTH BUSINESS MEETING Keeping up Appearances 3rd February 1996 New technology now allows us to change the type style Members should receive with this copy and increase the size of the News/et/er. Another change, (~f of the Newsletter the fonnal notice of policy,means that our meetings will henceforth he recorded the AGM and Business Meeting to be in greater detail in these pages. To come, we hope, will he held at the Museum of British Road an increase in the number ofphotographic illustrations. Transport, Coventry, on Saturday 3rd The frequency and timing ofthe appearances of the February, 1996, at 11.00. Newsleller are also under review, and by the time of the February AGM this may well be announced. There remains As usual, the afternoonn session will but one factor outside the control of the Editor ...... !he supply include presentations by members: this ofmaterial for publication." All contributions are gratefi1/ly time themes will be 'The Tribulations received". must. for.the time being be my cry, but 1 look of an Amateur Researcher" and "The forward to the day when I can say "For the lime being, no Centenary of Dennis of Guildford." _further material can he accepted for publication!!"

Matters for discussion will include the idea of Colloquia, a new type of event which could be held alternately with Symposia. -

There was also discussion of the need for a Conference Matters reference book ofsource materials for transport histo­ Rc11ort of the 8th Business Meeting held at the de Vere rians (] ). Several members spoke of archive docu­ Hotel, Coventry, on Saturday 16th September 1995 ments in which they had an interest: there was discus­ sion on the Smithies Lists of British bus operators, The 8th Business Metting began with two upon which both we and the Omnibus Society are announcements concerning Society Officers. We are working, with the eventual aim of publication; there pleased to report that Professor Theo Barker has was mention of a bibliography of documents relating accepted the post of President of the Society. How­ to London Transport kept at the PRO; the Chairman ever, Gordon Knowles wished it to be known that he spoke ofhis efforts in tracing known copies ofGarcke 's intends to resign from the post of Secretary at the next Manual ofElectrical Undertakings and The Motor AGM, and gave due notice of this intention. Transport Year Book (2); and John Dunabin referred The Chairman gave a report on the securing of to an unpublished manuscript by W.T.Underwood various archive documents for future consultation by ( founder of East Midland Motor Services) relating to historians. The rescue of an almost complete set of his activities at Portsmouth Dockyard during World A&Ds (Road Haulage Records) is described below; War Two. the preservation of original scripts by Charles E. Lee The latter, "a document in search of an author and Charles Klapper on the subject ofthe bus industry or editor", led to a suggestion that the Society should in England/Wales and Scotland was discussed and publish short or medium-to-short length items as arranged between members present; and the Quick "Occasional Papers".This was another idea referred Smith papers, a series of documents by a leading for further consideration. figure of the period of transport nationalisation in the The afternoon session began with matters con­ late forties, was discussed as a possible key resource cerning the 1995 Symposium, and then followed document for a book on Road Haulage in Britain. members' presentations by John Dunabin, Richard Other items mentioned included the BET archives, Buckley, and John Hibbs. John Dunabin's contribu­ now housed at the National Tramway Museum at tion is printed on page X. Richard Buckley gave an Crich, and the Brush records housed at Leicester City illustrated talk entitled "How to dispose of the oppo­ Museum. sition. Yorkshire Traction Company v. Deame Dis­ Professor Hibbs proposed that the biennial trict Light Railway" The DDLR was the last entirely Symposia should be interspersed by another type of new British tramway undertaking ( I 924) unti I the event (perhaps known as Colloquia) at which mem­ recent arrival of Manchester Metrolink and Sheffield bers would discuss previously circulated papers. This Supertram. During the whole of its time it ran with the would allow for round table discussion with instant opposition ofthe Barnsley & District (later Yorkshire input from members able to add to the body of Traction) buses. Various truces were agreed, and knowledge presented, and those unable to attend would there was a system of pooling fares. The local authori­ have the oipportunity to write in advance with a ties who owned the DDLR finally agreed to close contribution. Indeed, the Meeting itself illustrated the down the tramway if Yorkshire Traction would pay a viability of this, as several requests thrown out to the yearly sum towards the repayment ofthe debt incurred assembly met with instant offers of answers, or sug­ in constructing the lines. Herein lay the final irony: gestions of where the answer might be found. This idea such was the wording ofthe agreement, that the victor was well received, and will be raised again at the next of the battle for traffic ended up losing money, and Meeting and AG M, the provisional date for which was subsidising the rates of the Deame Valley residents. fixed for Saturday 3rd February 1996, at Coventry. Perhaps there was a hidden warning in the notice Professor Hibbs also introduced the matter of carried by the DDLR trams: Gentlemen do not spit, Data Protection, and a scheme whereby the Society others should not! might, by self-enrolling, provide such a service to Finally, John Hibbs screened some black and affiliated societies at a reduced cost. Other members white pictures of Corona Coaches of Sudbury, ver­ raised diverse issues. A remark that there were impor­ bally adding the colour by a string of anecdotes and tant gaps in the documentation of the major Scottish reminiscences concerning the vehicles, the staff, and bus companies led to a discussion on the "boundaries" the passengers of this now long defunct country bus of the Society, and it was generally felt that although operation primarily British, this certainly embraced British in­ Our thanks must be extended to the Museum of terests worldwide, and several instances were quoted British Road Transport (our usual venue) for arrang­ of foreign historians writing to members for informa­ ing substitute accommodation at the de Vere at short tion on matters relating to their native countries. notice. 2 The A6 route across Shap Fell was the main west coast road between England and Scotland before the opening of the M6 motorway in 1970. The hazardous Books are chosen for their historical content, and ascent with modestly powered and under-braked lorries because they place hitherto unpublished material coupled with frequent appalling winter weather condi~ or ideas before the reader. tions, led over the years to the name 'Shap' becoming synonomous with deeds bordering on the legendary. This PULLING PINTS by Robert Coates, published by reviewer's own memories of Shap date back to being a schoolboy passenger in the cab of a Bedford S type,in Fitzcharles Press 1993 (£18.95). 1960-1. I looked forward with eager anticipation to the Robert Coates is both enthusiast and professional journey, only to be bitterly disappointed because I saw and it shows! His book outlines the history ofthe brewerJ nothing. The route was shrouded in dense fog! A few days dray from the point when animal drawn carts replaced the later I repeated the journey, and witnessed the slow two-man yoke as a means ofmoving heavy casks, through procession of lorries grinding their way to the summit the steam era, to the motor age, and even looks at possible along a long, steep, and narrow road. future developments. Brewers' drays arc specialist vehi­ In 1994, the Shap Memorial Trust fund erected a cles, and as a former transport manager with a major stone memorial to the road, the drivers who traversed it, brewery, the author explains the requirements for a brew­ and the many local people whose lives revolved around the ery fleet, and discusses the various methods used, and the route and its commercial importance. Gordon Baron, of specialist features needed for the efficient delivery of a the Friends of the BCVM, researched the history of the heavy, perishable cargo at both local and national level road and produced a book, which then led to this video.Afler with some explanation of legislation and productivity. ' an opening sequence of some vintage vehicles passing The book is copiously illustrated (275 pictures in through Shap Village (an Atkinson Mk I 8 wheeler with l 44 pages), with views ofmost 13ritish makes ofsteam and drawbar trailer, an Atkinson tractor unit with low loader a motor lorry, all with excellent captions. There are also Reid's Transport Leyland Octopus, a Ribble Leyland Tig~r useful appendices on imperial measure and British and coach and an Austin A35 van), the history of the road is foreign commercial vehicle manufactures whose vehicles traced incorporating drawings, maps, and paintings, fol­ have appeared on British roads. lowed by some archive film showing the years of transition "Treat yourself to a copy" said Co 111111ercial Motor from horses and earls, steam trains and railways, to the but perhaps the best comment of all is that of Vintage early days of mnptorised transport. Some excellent film without any padding." This reviewer Roadscene: " ..... footage shows two L&Y0-6-0 freightengines with a heavy would add that this book breaks new ground, and is a very goods train. welcome addition to the few available titles on the subject As the history of the road is traced through the of road freight transport. twentieth century, local residents record their memories. The lady whose family was responsible for the weekly BRITISH TROLLEYBUSES - 1911 -1 972 by Geoff winding ofthe Leyland Clock has some wonderful stories Lumb, published by Ian Allan 1995 (£14.99) to relate, and a driver recalls his memories as the vintage Geoff Lumb's book is about British trolleybuses, convoy is seen covering the Kendal - Shap village stretch and not trolleybuses in Britain. ll differs from previous of the road. For anyone with an interest in road transport, works in that it is arranged in alphabetical order of local or regional history, this video production is thor­ manufacturer, and an excellent attempt is made to deal in oughly recommended. depth with the early and varied "trackless cars" most of Graham Edge which were semi-bespoke rather than series buil;, and for which tabulated data is supplied in some cases.Various RANK ERROR foreign orders are mentioned and depicted, but it is a pity (From the Parliamentary debate 3/5/63 on Beeching) that not all are listed, and the volume would then have During the debate Sir Robert Cary, the MP who been complete and definitive. The photographs are nu­ is chairman of Lancashire United Transport, spoke merous and of a good standard, there has been much about having to follow a gigantic vehicle at New Cross, research, and the book is a good work of reference for carrying the slogan "Rank's Bulk flour - bringing you enthusiast or historian. your daily bread", and said it carried the sort of cargo which should never have left the railways. Mr.P.E.Briggs, transport manager for Joseph IVIDEO REVIEW! Rank Ltd., said yesterday,"! know exactly the vehicle he means. Jt is an 8 wheeled Foden box bulk tipper, THE STORY OF SHAP (time 50 minutes) which shuttles all day between Battcrsea and Deptford. produced and edited by Ray Johnson in collaboration Hardly a job for liner trains. Anyway, Sir Robert with the Shap Memorial Trust, and Friends of the cannot have been following it for long or he would British Commercial Vehicle Museum. (£16.50 inc. have got the slogan right. It reads "Rank's nour for P&P). Available from BCVM Trust Archives, Oak your daily bread." House, High St., Chorley PR7 lDW (Cheques made Contributed by John Hibbs payable to Shap Memorial Trust Fund) 3 -

The inter-relationship between motor bus The Pride of the Road operators and manufacturers

The Early Days of the Omnibus Alan Townsin next addressed the meeting on TheThird National Road Transport History how the early London motor-bus proprietors all be­ Symposium, 14th October 1995 came involved with manufacturers in order to build up at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. fleets ofreliable machines suited to the conditions and legal constraints of service in London. Thus Daimler, Introduction AEC and Tilling-Stevens became established. The First World War held up the development of heavy The Chairman opened proceedings by extend­ passenger chassis, so it was the USA where the next ing a welcome to all those present, and in particular to technical advances were made (wider, longer, lower Theo Barker, with us for the first time as President. buses, eventually on pneumatic tyres), and both Thanks were expressed to Grahame Boyes for his help Leyland and A EC eventually recruited John Rackham, in establishing the Conference, and his successful who was responsible for the mould-breaking Leyland launch of the Newsletter, to Gordon Knowles, for Titan/Tiger and AEC RegentJRegal range of 1927-9, having organised the Symposium, and to Roger from a position in North America. Operator influence Atkinson, for ably manipulating the purse strings. was still strong, however, with the Tilling Group, the Professor Hibbs then wondered whether there BET, London Transport and the larger municipalities might be a "pyramid of esteem" in transport studies: all proscribing aspects of design. railways at the top, tramways next, then buses and Unfortunately, the constraints of time did not coaches, and finally freight transport. He went on to allow Alan to fully explore more recent examples of urge the Conference to renew its interest in the move­ his theme, such as the NBC and the Leyland National, ment of goods by road, and suggested that "commer­ GMPTE and Northern Counties, and other similar cial road transport" might be the subject of future post-deregulation ties. activities. He then introduced the topic for the day: the Leading figures of the past early development of the omnibus, from the horse drawn version through to a reliable motor driven After a lunch break, the Symposium was chaired version, with mention of how manufacturers and by Professor Barker, who introduced John Hibbs' operators organised themselves. paper on leading figures of the past in the bus industry.This is featured on the next page. The Horse Drawn Omnibus The Work of the National Motor Museum Professor Theo Barker then gave the first paper of the day, and in his opening remarks he stressed the The final presentation was made by Michael impo,tance of road transport even in the pre-turnpike Ware, Curator of the NMM, who explained how the age. Moving to the 1820s, he felt more research was collection of the Museum had been built up from the needed, particularly on provincial road transport. In small assembly of old cars displayed by the Montagu London. Shillibeer originally wanted to call his bus family, when they first opened their home and estate to 'Economist' but finally launched it in 1829 named the public.He explained how the present administra­ 'Omnibus'. The later nineteenth century saw the crea­ tion had been built up, and the site developed, now tion of operator associations for routes in London, including the fine lecture theatre in which the event while the 1842 change from a seat-based to a mileage­ was taking place, and the library and archive facilities based duty encouraged development oflarge capacity that participants were invited to tour. buses with seats on top. Trams were kept out of the After tea, tours of the library stacks were centre of London, and so buses found much more use arranged, and some idea conveyed of the wealth of there than in provincial cities. By the 1890s there were books, catalogues, magazines annd photographs that four horse-buses a minute along Fleet S1reet and are available for research in a library which is open Oxford Street. seven days a week (Christmas Day excluded!), and The presentation provided a 'taster' for a new which is manned by both permanent and volunteer book, 'The Rise and Rise of Road Transport, 1700- staff. Limited funds are available to purchase items 1990', by Theo Barker and Dorian Gerhold (Cam­ for the archive, and one of the functions of the volun­ bridge University Press), pre-publication copies of teers is to look out for suitable new material. which were on sale at the Symposium. ARP/IY 4 I choose to emphasise the word imagination Movers and Shakers here because I believe it to be unjustly neglected in the of the Bos Industry study of business behaviour. l refer to Wordsworth's definition, from The Prelude : '. .. Imagination, which in truth, John Hibbs, in presenting his paper entitled 'Leading 'Is 1,ut another name for absolute power, Figures of the Past', declared that it re1>resented work 'And clearest insight, amplitude of mind. in progre!iS rather than a finished project. It is his 'And Reason in her most exalted mood.' intention to publish the paper together with a series of I suggestthatamp/itudeofmindwascharacteristicof short biographies of the people referred to, when his these men who had faith in what the future could be research is complete. This summary, and the four lists made to deliver. of key figures within the industry used at the Sympo­ sium, is published now, both to inform readers and The careers of these men stretched beyond the invite comments or additional suggestions. Please write pioneering days, and many ofthem must appear again to John Hibbs at the University of Central England. in my second list of the Consolidators. My paper originates from a commission from James Amos ( 1895-1970) Sidney Garcke ( 1885 -1 948) the Oxford University Press to contribute a number of J.F.Heaton ( 1880-1949) entries to the New Dictionary of National Biography R.J.Rowley (1871 -1955) (New DNB). Let me express my gratitude to Professor Frank Pick ( 1878-1 941) Armstrong for ensuring that the transport industry William Thomson ( 1881-1949) will be well represented when the work comes out - From the horse-bus-with-the-motor-in-front, the in­ slowly we see the industry recognised for what it is - dustry came to be able to run vehicles with the along with agriculture and public health, the essential reliability of the tramcar,and the 1920s saw the bus underpinning ofcivilised life. One ofour functions, as map of Britain filled in by a variety of business and l see it, is to play a part in raising the status oftransport municipal enterprise with a trulyremarkab le speed. The studies, by encouraging the serious study of the his­ Consolidators had a vision of stable investment with torical background, and Theo Barker and Dorian a structure that Iimited what they saw to be the "waste" Gerhold have now established firmly the importance of competition. From them came the "territorial" of our particular comer of it. impulse, as chronicled by C.E.Lee in his lnstitute of The New DNB continues the contribution ofits Transport Paper "Voluntary Organisation "of 1947. Victorian forebear in providing access to the part These were men who could foresee a future on played by people in our history. This paper envisages a grand scale, and from them I tum to an assortment a larger enterprise, in which the various contributions ofthose I call the Developers, men who worked largely ofthe people may enlighten us in our study ofthe way in the field, as it were. It is a fairly heterogeneous the bus and coach industry came into being, grew and collection, and there could be many more names flourished, and moved into a period ofconcensus . "Let added. It does not contain the "pirates", whether of us now praise famous men", therefore, and I shall try London, Glasgow, the Potteries or elsewhere, who to impose a frame ofreference that seems to me to help played their own part in the expansion ofthe industry: to understand their contribution. First of all, I shall not least in the growth of express coach services take the Men offoresight. Ofthese men it can be said between 1925- 1930. that their imagination gave them the confidence to A.C.Baker ( -1 950) invest in an industry that did not exist, when the R.W.nirch 'establishment' remained committed to rails and horses. Ned Edwardes ( 1875-1 955) Ronald Fearnley Walter Alexander (senior) ( 1879-1959) Commander F.T.Hare W.P./\llen ( -1959) Major J. llickmotl (1881 -1947) T.H.Barton (1866-1946) Shirley 11. James A.D.Cannon & A.D.Mackenzie W.T.Jamcs (1892- ) Thomas Clarkson (1863- ) 1-1.R. Lapper Claude Crosland Taylor ( 1889-1935) R. Stuart Pilcher ( 1882-1961) Walter Flexman French C.H.Preece ( 1900- ) Sidney Garcke ( I 885-1948) John C. Sword (1983-1960) A.H.Hawkins (1881 -1963) John H. Walls (1890-1 972) E.B.Hutchinson ( 1882-1967) As with any form of classification of human James Coventon Moth (1887-1963) O.C.Power (1879-1 943) activity, there must be some overlap between these Frank Searle ( -1 948) categories. I turn finally to a small group ofmen whose William Thomson (I 881 -1949) contribution was central to the development of what Richard Tilling(1851-1 929) I have called the "concensus": the view that the bus Walter Wolsey (1873-1 964) 5 - industry should not be left to the unregulated working of market forces.It is a view most clearly to be found Matters arising ...... in the second report of the Royal Commission on Records of Provincial Horse Bus Operation Transport of 1929-1931 , but which was to pass largely unquestioned into the policies of the British Theo Barker's presentation on the horse drawn Transport commission, and thus tothoseofthe-Trans­ omnibus suggested that much had been written about port Holding Company and the National Bus Com­ pany and Scottish Transport Group. As I have re­ the operations in London, but little on those in the provinces. Over lunch, a list of known publications marked elsewhere, the proceedings ofthe Royal Com­ was drawn up, herewith presented. mission are marked by the absence of contention as The Story of Solomon Andrews and his family J.F.Andrews much as by the absence of representation from the (Stewart William, Barry 1976) entrepreneurial tradition of the so-called pirates. Early Omnibus Services in Birmingham 1834-1905 Lord Ashfield ( 1874-1948) (The Omnibus Society) Sidney Garcke ( 1885-1948) Horse Buses of Brighton & Hove A.PeasgooStagecoach Group nation and vision, my first boss, Arthur Lainson. For has been announced. This includes a quantity of buses it is the Pemier Travel slogan, Support Independent for the use of the overseas companies in the group. Enterprise, that has been in my mind while preparing Fifty are for the Portuguese operation (based at Cascais these remarks. and Sintra) which also includes a ninety year old John Hibbs I 0/95 tramway! ARP

6 --

and normal service resumed. Once he rode from Some realities of Newbridge-on-Wye to Hay in a magnificent saloon RURAL TRAVEL used by Lady Bailey the previous day to come from London. Unmentioned is the shunting necessary at in the second halfof the Three Cocks Junction. NINETEENTH CENTURY For his longer journeys, Kilvert cornn10nly by John Dunllbin travelled 2nd class, using 3rd for local ones, but problems did arise.Returning once from the Gower, Talk given to the Meeting ofthe Roads and "As r was taking my ticket, Hughes, Rector of Road Transport History Conference Brangwyn, clapped me on the back. He was going to on 16 September 1995 Hay, so out of politeness I was obliged to go third class with him though I had paid for a second class ticket". "Some" in the title is an important qualification. On another occasion he notes that the Rector of This is a limited view of a small area on the Welsh Whitney with his mother on their way to Hereford border as seen through the eyes of a young curate and wanted to go second class, but one carriage was full of later a vicar there. farmers and another full of tobacco smoke so they Francis Kilvert arrived in the vitlage of Clyro, went first and paid the difference. We also learned a mile north west ofthe market town ofHay (now Hay­ that when Kilvert travelled with his vicar, the latter on-Wye), in 1865 when he was 24, to take up duties as paid his fare. Very occasionally he used an excur~ion assistant to the Vicar. For part of his stay there and in train; this prompted sharp comments on the behaviour later years he kept a detailed diary written up each of some of his fetlow passengers. night by lamp or possibly even candle light. But of course, to use the train he had first to Rural curates at that time were in a somewhat reach the nearest station, which he usually did by unenviable position. Educated, well educated, they walking. From Clyro to Hay this was easy, and from obviously had little other than their faith in common Bredwardine when he was Vicar there, he walked the with the so called lower classes. Socially, they fitted four miles to Kinnersley station, allowing one and a better into the society of the gentry, but money was a half hours for the journey. Returning was different. perennial problem. Vicars often had private wealth to Hay did boast an omnibus which probably met so~,e supplement their rewards of office, which included trains but he records walking back to Clyro leavmg spacious vicarages, but curates rarely did. With sti­ his lu,ggage to follow by the bus. On a surprising pends of perhaps £100 to £150 per annum, they may number of occasions though, friends gave him lifts. not have been technically poor - a farm labourer's This leads me to my ma in theme. The picture we wage was a fraction of this- but they had no cottages get from Kilvert's diaries of this sparsely populated to live in, no kitchen gardens, and there were many rural area is one of near-continuous movement. The demands on their slender resources. Their commit­ gentry were scattered, social; intercourse was their ments rarely included wives and children. lifeblood, and for this, transport was essential. All of The steam railway had only reached Hay a year them possessed the means, means it would appear in before Kilvert. From the use made of the train it is plenty. We learn ofgigs, broughams, 'chariots', 'chairs', clear that life in this previously isolated village would phaetons, covered waggonettes, 'whitechapels' etc. have been very different for him in its absence, with Some households had several types of conveyance for some strains, arising in part from his financial situa­ different purposes. Kilve1t sampled them all; he was tion, becoming unbearable. Even as a curate, but a frequent participant in social activities, and never possibly more frequently later, J(jlvert travelled, largely lacked invitations to ride with their owners. for pleasure, on a scale many cannot afford even now. There was undoubtedly an element of 'one Neglecting his visits to France and to Switzerland, of upmanship' in all this; Kilvert saw it but remains which we know little, apart from many local journeys, uncritical. We do not know if the Thomases of even village to village, by train, he reached Canter­ Llanthomas - Mr.Thomas refusedfto let his daughter bury, Cornwall, Liverpool and London, with faily Daisy marry the diarist because ofhi s p~r prospec~s frequent trips to visit his parents in Wiltshire. - lost status by buying a second-hand carnage. He did We learn from Kilvert of trains running very however comment on the irony ofthe local squire, Mr. late because locomotives were inadequate for their Baskerville, in his one-horse brougham, being over­ heavy loads, and, to be fair, of trains on time and taken by the Vicar in his mail phaeton (a much more therefore missed, of "slip" carriages, a broad gauge expensive vehicle) which also carried two servants. train immediately fotlowed by a narrow gauge one, Lord Hereford, as befitted his status, owned a travel­ and ofa derailment on the lsle ofWight when a screw ling carriage with imperials. Kilvert was precise jack was brought, the carriage restored to the line, 7 -

in his terminology, so no doubt the meaning ofthe two miles short of their destination, a rear axle broke, so words was clear to him, but in one place I have seen the driver on one of the horses galloped back to the 'imperial' defined as an outside seat, and in another as home of Mr. Berkeley Stanhope, and borrowed a a trunk (presumably secured). waggonette from him, leaving the broken carriage in Here, I must leave Kilvert to speculate a little. the ditch 'with its lamps burning'. We do not know These people were comfortably off by late nineteenth whether the prime reason for trus was the safety of century standards with private incomes from land or other road users or to reduce the risk of damage to the investments. They usually owned their own (large) coach. homes, food was cheap, so were servants, and their Two days later, Mrs.Kilvert suffered a touch of domestic lifestyles were modest. I suspect that bronchitis, brought on, her son concluded, by the posession of means of transport, even without osten­ change from a close carriage to an open tation or extravagance, was a major item of their waggonette. Kilvert himselfwas very hardy, but ladies expenditure. Long before this time coachbuilding had were not regarded as capable offacing the cold winter become a fine art and therefore expensive. A large air. 'Close' carriages were essential for them, but more carriage, made of the finest woods from far afield, was sometimes called for. Going out for a drive in brightly coloured (yellow was a popular colour) and February, Mrs. Venables ofLysdinam had carriage highly polished, could cost up to £500. Broughams and cushions thoroughly aired with hot water bottles were cheaper, whilst gigs, the most widely owned and warming pans. middle class carriages, might only cost £25. All When after serving elsewhere Kilvert returned however, needed horses and horses needed covered to the area as Vicar ofBredwardine he had a house of accommodation, as did the coaches. They also needed his own, a coach house and a stable too, and ofcourse a stableman, possibly a coachman too, and they a higher salary, but he did not acquire a carriage. An needed hay.Then there were taxes, modest but irk­ unmarried local lady of means, daughter of a former some, on male servants, on carriages themselves, and Vicar, was assiduous in providing him with transport, for those entitled to display them, taxes on armorial but he still walked to and from his nearest station, now bearings. Kinnersley, four miles away, as a matter of course There was the risk factor too. An expensive even though Mrs. Bynham's trap, used by a 'live-in' coach could be reduced to matchwood in minutes as pupil when he came to stay, must have been available. the result ofan accident and horses, expensive horses, One of the last known diary entries is perhaps could be killed or rendered unfit for further uses. One revealing. "Went to Hereford by the 11.45 train..... , solution of the horse problem was hiring ('jobbing'), Busy shopping all day, and getting things to furnish a widely used in London but possibly difficult in rural bedroom for my pupil that is to be. Went to the Radnorshire. Kilvert quotes figures showing it cost National Provincial Bank, and found that J had over­ nearly four times as much to hire a horse as a house­ drawn my account by between £3 0 and £40". Obvi­ keeper. ously he could not afford personal transport. Kilve1t's diary entry for New Year's Day 1878 But all this movement, to picnics, garden par­ provides two illuminating pieces ofinformati on. After ties, and many other social gatherings, together with visiting his friend and ready provider of transport, the ready use of the train, barely touched the vast Miss Newton, he called at Mrs. Matthew's shop to ask majority of country dwellers, now lumped together in Mrs. Baynham, obviously the local carrier, to bring a retrospect as the underclasses. A few travelled, the new chimney glass from Hereford the following day. carriers going to town and girls using the carts to leave This was not Hereford market day, so perhaps Mrs. home for good, entering service in London or big Baynham made several round trips each week. country houses. Greater numbers went to the nearest Greater excitement followed. Francis Kilvert market, but on foot, driving animals for sale in front was expecting his parents to visit him that day from ofthem. The young, the old and in fact most women of Wiltshire, arriving by posting from Hereford at 5.30 any age, rarely strayed far. They were born at home, pm. The anticipation ofreliability and good timekeep­ died at home, and never took holidays. Even for their ing was made clear not only by the expected time of last journeys, wheels were not essential, coffins often arrival, but by the fact that Mr. Kilvert senior was to being carried for several miles by relays of human take evening service at Bredwardine Church. The bearers. bells, though, were ringing, and Kilvert junior was One striking omission from Kilvert's accounts hurriedly preparing a sermon himself, when the trav­ of journeys around Clyro and Bredwardine is any ellers arrived. There had been a slip-up regarding the comment on road quality. Even though some were provision of post horses at the Green Dragon in made in unsprung carts, or riding outside, once by Hereford, and his visitors left an hour late. Then, five choice even in the 'rumble', normally reserved for 8 servants, there is no mention of ruts, potholes or Bridge), and the final group indicates the vehicle worse; apparently, all went very smoothly. It should identity (number) or other information as be borne in mind that many country lanes, now applicable.The system was designed for materials metalled, were then like the great drovers' roads (the relating to railways in Great Britain and Ireland, and 'green' lanes) neither intended nor suitable for wheeled therefore also has the ability to classify into three time traffic. periods (Pre-grouping, the era of the Big Four, and British Railways), but it can be adapted to catalogue Kilvert's l)iary is published in three volumes. by Jonathon other types of vehicle. Cape. Individual pictures may be encoded several times, for example, our hypothetical picture of a PhotoCAT locomotive and van crossing Lodge Bank Bridge might be listed for the locomotive, the van, and the The Historical Model Railway Society's bridge. Similarly, a road transport picture of a tram computer coding system/or photographs and and an articulated lorry on a level crossing could be documents recorded by three codes. Peter emphasised in his demonstration talk how a single picture can contain At our Seventh Business Meeting early in 1995 'something for everyone', and should therefore receive we were addressed by Peter Stevens of the HMRS multiple classification, although it must be said that who showed us a series of photographs and asked us there are many other pictures of transpo1t subjects to classify the pictures, and in a brief way, to indicate which deomoostrate the single-mindedness ofthe pho­ both content and detail. tographer, and his desire to isolate the subject from the Peter then went on to describe the system world in which it worked. evolved by himself, as the society's computer data Ian Yearsley, our Research Co-ordinat0t·, is manager, to classify photographs by a series of 15 keeping in touch with the HMRS and any future characters, forming 3 groups of 5: the first group developments of the PhotoCAT system will be re­ indicates the ownership and type of vehicle, the next ported in this Newsletter. indicates the type oflocation and, if known, the exact ARP/TY location (i.e. "Crossing a bridge/or on Lodge Bank

HISTORY ON A POSTCARD

A curious by-product ofthe First World War was the large number of postcards produced showing the destruction ofmany French and Belgian towns. The view below shows damaged overhead and blockaded tracks at Rheims.

-=~-::;:~ 15 LA G e Crime de Rei,~,. - Rue du Fau 011rg . . Ma,-sons incmdi;es el bombardees par les Allemands. - The Cr,,ne of Re11ns. Ceres district. - One of most bombarded street. 9 -

The Omnibus Society research group bulletins, access to the library and archives for research work, a photographic service of Second in a series of items describing the Corporate prints from historic negatives donated to the Society, Members of the R.R.T.11.C.,contributed by Reg Westgate and the use of OSMART for the disposal of surp!us items and/or the purchase of items for personal Three transport enthusiasts, after visiting the collections. Commercial Motor Show Exhibition at Olympia in November I 929, adjourned to a Lyons teashop (long Full details of membership are available from: since disappeared) for light refreshments. There they The llon. Secretary, discussed the lack of any organisation for the study The Omnibus Society and exchange of information about the bus industry The Spinney, for anyone who might be interested. An inaugural Meadow Road, committee meeting was held in Dulwich on 15th Ashstead, November I 929, at which Charles E. Lee was elected Surrey KT21 IQR. RGW Chairman, Charles F. Klapper Secretary, and W.Noel Jackson Treasurer. The Omnibus Society was born. Off the Beaten Track The first meeting held on 17th January 1930 at Stepping back in time J995 Tillings.Social& Athletic Club, Park End, Forest Hill, coincided with the issue of the first Omnibus Maga­ The recent Symposium took your Editor by zine. The first visit, arranged on 29th May 1930, was road to the South, via Motorways and Clearways. to the Chiswick W arks of the London General Omni­ Seeking a break from the "race track" of the A34, I bus Company. took the A338 on return, via Wantage, a place I had Now entering upon its sixty-seventh year, the never been to, but knew of its name because of the Society has become a widely respected nationwide famed Wantage Tramway, a rare instance of a rural organisation, with headquarters in London, and steam hauled passenger tramway in England. This branches covering the Midlands, North East, North ceased its passenger service in 1925, but continued as West and Yorkshire, Scotland, South Wales and the a goods carrier for another twenty years. West Country. Meetings and visits are arranged in all areas. Each year since 1946, when Sidney Emile Garcke, CBE, accepted the Presidency for a year, a leading figure from within the industry has been invited to serve as President. An associated weekend study tour, including the annual dinner, is regarded as the highlight of the Society's calendar. Many lifelong friendships have resulted through membership of the CLEGG & SON for Photo IIIatcrlals Society, which covers a wide age range, and is drawn from all walks of life, as well as from professionals ESTABLISHED OVER A C.llNTU RY. from the industry itself. J. N. ARBERY & SON, The Omnibus Magazine, currently published The uv-to-.!ate F amily and Furnish• bi-monthly, is the official journal of the Society. Its -iog Dra.pAr, C11rpt1tm"n, Tailor and contents of current and historical interest, and details Gontl9man's Outjitter, IloaNJr, .. Glover, n ... ttor, &c., of events, satisfy the needs of the enthusiasts, the - - ·:,'I, .. professionals, and the historians. It is supported by Olothing Olubs ,md C/v,;itie.• ,upplie

The Marseilles Transporter Bridge, posted 1916

1•IA/?SEILLE- Le Psnt 1ranshc1tu•,1 L.z 'lf1kjfte .. \i '(, \ I ' i\ I -,lllt!II , . \-:;1. •.· I '. if.'

....;,&;>It''

' .._ 1

DONCASTER TOWN CENTRE The cardfealured above was TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SCHEME posled in 1916 by a serving FROM l ST OCTOBER 1995 member of the British armed f _/

The card depicts an end-on view of the "gondola", or transporter car, Marseilles. Note how !his contraption bui/1 by the French engineer Arnodin (not R.Emmelf),has .. features of a seaside pier. The netting is for catching falling o~jects.

Starting on page 16 is an article devoted to the first year of a much grander transporter, in fact, the largest in the world, at Widnes and Runcorn.

12 when the fore axle fractured, severely injuring a Poblie Transport passenger. This probably ran at least until 1867, and and other similar Market Day services at that time may have terminated at the White Bear. The house is now Pedestrianisation an important bus boarding point in the town,(4) reviving a very old public transport connection. Two items which look at a modern trend from a different viewpoint. Firstly, Philip L.Scowcroft (1) Trams commenced 2/6/02. On 17/7/02. 20 horses. 5 pair­ examines changes in Doncaster from an historical horse buses and 2 single-horse buses belonging to l lodgsons standpoint, and takes us back into the days when were sold. The business remained in the same place until about 15 years ago.Other in-town horse bus services run bv Steadman vehicles were not very numerous. & Sons Livery Stables. terminated just round th~ corner in Station Road, between cl 889 - cl 903. TRADITION & CHANGE IN DONCASTER (2) The White Bear Coach Office was opened by William TOWN CENTRE BUS STOPS Bradley in May 1836, and ran several services to She11icld. pi us others to New Bridge, near Goo le. and to York and Scarborough. these other connecting with steam packets respectively on the The town centre end of St.Sepulchre Gate in Dutch River and the Aire & Calder Canal. The White 13ear had Doncaster has a long tradition as a bus terminal for in­ been a coach staging point before 1836. In the 1840s. coach town services. This began around 1890, when the services ran to Selby, Gainsborough and Thorne, from the White grocery emporium of Hodgson & Hepworth, situated Bear. (3) The White Bear was also the agent for the parallel aquabus in that stretch of St. Sepulchre Gate, ran horse buses service along the Don to Swinton. J.Ashforth ran both bus and drawn by one or two horses from several Doncaster aquabus. suburbs to bring customers into town. These buses ( 4) The bus shelters outside the White Bear were not readv on did not survive by many weeks the introduction of 1/10/95, and for a while buses had to stop further up Hall Gate. Doncaster's municipal trams( 1) , but the trams and the SECOND THOUGHTS IN CHESHIRE trolleybuses that followed them after 1928-31 used ON PEDESTRJANISATION that same stretch of street as their town stop, as also did several local bus routes after the trolleybus era lt will be noted from Philip Scowcroft's item ended in 1963. This came to an end on 3 0th September that it was a shopkeeper that instigated local horse bus 1995, with the introduction the following day ofa new transport in Doncaster, and the Wantage Tramway town centre traffic management scheme which in­ ticket illustrated on the centre pages would indicate volved (inter alia) the pedestrianisation ofthat part of that shopkeepers were concerned to attract the custom St. Sepulchre Gate. ofthe tramway passengers ( that is ifthey knew how to One tradition thus came to an end, but another, read, and had very good eyesight!). This link between much older, was revived. Before 1st October 1995 , urban passenger transport and commerce has perhaps many local bus routes had a picking-up point in High not been studied before, but is it not true that the tram Street, which was itself partly pedestrianised under and horse bus did as much for the city centres as the the new scheme. The displaced services have now to railways did for the seaside resorts of this country? stop in Silver Street, or in the case of seventeen routes, in Hall Gate, outside the White Bear public house. The Pedestrianisation schemes break the link, and the experience of two Cheshire towns is discussed White Bear (now admittedly much altered) had a tradition during the nineteenth century as a terminal below. In both cases, all traffic including buses must now circumnavigate the town centre, and there was first for stage coach (and stage waggon) services, all-party political support for this. Traders were ini­ particularly during the 1830s and 1840s (2), then for "omnibuses". The first "omnibus" services based on tially "unhappy", but in late November, TV local news bulletins spoke of disquiet amongst traders, and a the White Bear ran to and from the North Midland at Swinton between 1840-9 (3). Then, from 6th October declaration in the case of Chester that the matter would be urgently reviewed if the Christmas trade 1857 William Daykin's omnibus left the White Bear proved disappointing. Similar views have been ex­ for New Bridge (for the packet boats for Goole and pressed in the local press at Warrington.The attitude Hull). This service lasted only four months before its ofthe "public" in both towns differs slightly, but there starting point was cut back to Thorns, but it ran again are many similarities, not least the fact that both from the White Bear in summer 185 8, although appar­ places are the subject of current "bus wars" ently not subsequently. A Saturdays only Market Day omnibus service between Doncaster and Wroot in We should be interested Lo learn ofth e experi­ Lincolnshire, seating 24 passengers, also ran from the ence ofo ther British towns with regard to this issue. White Bear, which it had just left on24th March 1860 continued...... 13 -

Pedestrianisation in Warrington re-sited in unsheltered and poorly lit parts of the ring I I road some distance from the shops. ' Taxi drivers,unable to use the bus lane on the Road traffic was banned from Buttermarket ring road (Academy Way, Scotland Road,Golbome Street and Horsemarket St, Warrington, from 28th St.) have considerable extra mileage to drive, with a August 1995. This was the final stage of a process, consequent increase of fare to pass onto the custom­ which has quite an interesting history in respect of public transport. When horse tramways were pro­ ers. The local press has carried numerous complaints from the disabled, now unable to reach certain central posed for Warrington (none were built) it was sug­ destinations. None have been noted from a group of gested that they be of na1TOw gauge, and even then, people far more numerous than the disabled, those there were doubts expressed as to whether they could who would say they were "bad on their feet", and who reach the centre of the town, which took the form of a form a large proportion of daytime bus passengers. crossing of two major roads, the now A49, a former The motorists ofWatTington have in general remained Roman Road linking Wigan with the mid-Cheshire silent as it is a fact that there are several large car salt fields, and the now A57, the very important park;close to the centre, and the new scheme has in no Liverpool-Manchester turnpike. way affected their facilities, although there have been When electric tramways were proposed, which in recent years higher parking charges and more were to be of standard gauge, the town centre was restrictions on on-street parking. There is no park and declared too narrow, and trams by-passed the central ride scheme in Warrington. ARP crossing. A widening scheme put forward at about the time of the construction of the tramways (1902) envisaged a central circus, with provision for all five WARRINGTON a Cc.■h-olSh. tram routes to meet. The objective was fulfilled in TRAMWAYS • August 1935, when the last tram service was with­ drawn, and all bus routes could meet at the town 1902 I centre. The circus was only partly built at this time (it I took until 1980 for this to be achieved), and Sankey \ I Street (A57) was even then very natTow,so natTow ~~'/ \ s_!~!1L - that Warrington was one of the last to receive buses ~t"'--- ,- ' built to the width of 7 feet 6 inches in 1965.Serious accidents to shoppers in Sankey Street resulted in it ' being first made one-way, and subsequently pedestri­ ' anised by 1980, a decision which certainly was re­ ceived favourably by the citizens.The displaced bus routes were diverted, along with all other bus routes, to the new Bus Station. Bridge St. was partly closed to traffic about 1990, displaced bus routes using Rylands Street in the outward direction. This had also been used after Sankey Street was made one way, but originally it was WA~RINfs.TON Iii c~nl-ral Sm. the "by-pass" used by the most important tram routes 1902-1935. The 1995 stage of the scheme was much \995 more radical. Closing off Horsemarket Street and Buttermarket Street means that all bus routes, with the one exception of routes using Winwick Street, must now circumnavigate the town centre, partly on the ring road, which has an all-day bus lane, and partly along the na,rnw Bold Street, Palmyra Street, Rylands Street corridor. I After three months, the scheme has drawn more criticism than praise. The bus operators, already '\ locked in a bus war, did not want the scheme at all, as \ the majority of routes are involved in extra mileage. H · Mor-.seMcarkca.l- st. Several important stops, once provided with shelters 0 · 9..,fhu-lllari<.c.~ ~- and located in front ofwell lit shop windows, are now

14 Pedestrianisation in Chester Thus the grumbles arising from pedestrianisa­ tion in Chester have not mentioned the inconvenienced bus passenger, but have concentrated on traffic con­ Major pedestrianisation took place in Chester gestion in Northgate Street the blame being laid in June 1995. All buses and most other vehicles are squarely on the buses, there have been calls for buses prohibited from passing through the central streets. to be banned from anywhere within the inner ring road, Buses do still serve the Bus Exchange, the principal for the Bus Exchange to be demolished and replaced bus station near to the Town Hall, but most of them by a concert hall (with massive car parking), to be have to pass, in both directions, along the narrow funded by the National Lottery, and for buses outside Northgate Street. Buses to or from the east and south the inner ring road to be routed along a disused used to both enter and leave Chester via F oregate tangential railway track, raising protests not at the Street, a main shopping street with Marks & Spencer, futility of running buses where there would be no BHS, C&A, etc. There they set down and picked up passengers, but from "environmentalists" and house the majority of their passengers, a lesser number owners bordering the old railway track. travelling on to or starting from the Bus Exchange. " ...... these roads would be for use by the clapped out. Since pedestrianisation, after a circuitous journey deregulated vehicles whose obnoxious fumes are cur­ from the Bus Exchange, they still pick up in Foregate rently choking our city to death .... "(Letter in local Street outwards, but inwards they have to deposit paper, 30th November 1995) passengers at the end of the street, leaving them with Pressure groups for the disabled have expressed a significant walk to the main shops. detectable concern only for access for motorists: none All three political parties, with minor nuances for the disabled bus passenger who now has to walk a of emphasis, supported pedestrianisation. Only the significant distance from bus stop to shops. market traders in the covered market behind the Town Perhaps there is scope for an historical study of Hall saw it as unhelpful to their principal customers, the changing attitudes to buses from the early 1950s, the bus passengers. The Chamber ofTrade supported when the middle classes still used them and held them it, but wanted better access for motor cars. in some surviving pride and affection, through the In "Movers and Shakers of the Bus Industry" 1970s when it became socially degrading to be seen summarised on another page of this Newsletter, John standing at a bus stop, to the 1990s when, to the loca1 Hibbs remarked on the concensus in favour ofregula­ press and to an element in the articulate population, tion in 1929-193 I. He also called the bus "a middle they are not even perceived as a public service, but class form of transport". Forty-five years ago, both only as objects of hatred. IU these points remained true. But now, in 1995, the atmosphere is very different. Concensus (= three political parties + Chamber of Trade) has it that CHE:., tEK pedestrianisation is good for us. And the bus is now the transport mode only of the disadvantaged: not of the middle classes.

Maps (Upper left and lower left): These maps illustrate the public transport penetration of Warrington in 1902 and 1995. At a glance, the 1995 situlltion seems the better, hut remember the central streets in 1902 were very narrow, and the population was used to walk­ ing, while the less mobile had other shops· clos·e to their homes ifthey lived in town. In the intervening years, 1913-22 to 1995, trams and buses entered the central area after the widening ofmost ofthe streets, ..., .... and from 1935-1980 all local bus routes met at Market Gate (the central crossing) B • Bos.~<.. :'. 1.1~L (Right):The situation in Chester also leaves the town centre in isolation, hut the ring road is much D • Oe.b. .._,.E.. -.,t---e1"". lacks priority bus lanes. 15 -

the electrical engineers, had been burned in an acci­ The Grand Fiasco dent in the power house. No mention was made of an by Ron Phillips impending opening! The Company was clearly getting getting anx­ The Channel Tunnel is not unique in being subject to ious about the delay, and was no doubt very pleased delays in opening, and making a loss. In fact, engi­ indeed when it was able to announce an "Unofficial neers and backers ofgrand engineering works ought Trial Trip". As this trip was well photographed, and to know by now that pioneering schemes are very certain technical details were released to the press, it unlikely to be troublefree atfirst. This article tells the is clear that it was really an "official trial trip", and it story ofthe first year ofthe Widnes-Runcorn Trans­ is almost certain that the car had been tested under porter Bridge, the largest such bridge in the world. power before this heralded event took place. On the Less than 20 such bridges were built, of which four afternoon of Tuesday 9th May, a group of invited were in Britain. Two were minicipal, one was pri­ guests, chfof of whom were the project engineer John vately owned and not for public use,(and all 1hese J. Webster, the resident engineer L.H. Chase, and the three slill exisl), whilst the Widnes-Runcorn Bridge Company Secretary F.H. Stables, made the first re­ was privately funded, with a certain proportion of corded trip from Runcorn to Widnes, and return. The public money subscribed by the municipal authori­ passage from Runcorn took 4 minutes 10 seconds, and ties whose towns it was to bring together. At first it was pointed out that this modest speed could have linked by a primitiveferry, the two towns werejoined easily been increased by the application of more more.firmly by the LNWR high level railway bridge power, but that the test was not for speed, but for in I 865. The terms governing the construction ofthis smoothness. Mr.Webster declared the crossing to be bridge demanded that a footpath be provided, but the "quite satisfactory, there was very little sense of ferry survived as a means of moving goods or live­ motion." Indeed, there would not have been much stock across the River Mersey and the Manchester sense of motion, for 250 seconds to travel 1000 feet Ship Canal, until the transporter opened But, as they represents about two and three quarter miles per hour! say, what goes up must come down, or should it be Various dimensions and other data were sup­ "what goes across does not necessarily come back". plied to the press, and the following statements made about the control of the car. The First Opening " ... it can be brought up within its own length when travelling at full speed. The regulation time for cross­ 1905 should have been a good year for the ing the river is two and a quarter minutes." Widnes-Runcorn Bridge Company. Although work In the light of what is to follow, it is best to consider had fallen slightly behind on the four year project of these two statements now. It is clear that the Company erecting the structure, such a delay was acceptable to intended the car to cross at the higher speed ofjust over the shareholders. In the Spring, the main superstruc­ 5 mph, and considered the method of braking the car ture was virtually complete, and lacked only the to be similar in all respects to that of a tramcar fitted lanterns which would top each of the four towers.At with the same system. Most tram cars running in the end of February, the Board were told that the British towns and cities in I 905 had a power controller trolley was on the rails, the car was shortly to be of similar design as that fitted to the bridge car. When suspended, the electrical machinery was well ad­ the handle was turned clockwise, power was fed to the vanced, and that "all efforts were being made for the motors, which were connected in series for starting, formal opening to take place at the end ofMarch." The and in parallel for high speed running. To stop a tram, local press reported the details of the Board Meeting the driver would apply a mechanical hand brake, after under the headline The Approaching Opening, and having switched off the supply of power, but in an one Runcorn trader was already advertising under the emergenncy, he would continue to turn the controller title The Transporter Bridge Cycle Depot, 139 Church anti-clockwise from the "off' position to apply the Street. March became April before the "Weekly News" "emergency brake". The effect would be to bring some had more to report, and this time the headline was 15 tons oftramcar and passengers to an abrupt halt by Black Thursday, with a sad tale of death and injury. switching the motors of the car into dynamos, whose On the previous Thursday an inquest had been held on generated current was dissipated in the form ofheat in an unfortunate workman who met his death whilst the starting resistances. This could be described as an helping to remove from site some machinery used in electrical transmission brake, with no friction being the construction work, and on the same day another applied to the running wheels. In theory, a good idea; worker had been injured by a plank which fell from the in practice, not to be reccomended, and a method of superstructure, and an employee of Mather & Platt, braking which, as the years went by, was found to have 16 many disadvantages, ofwhich a frequent one was the of the occasion, it was only to be expected that there burning out of the motors. The engineers of the would be a brilliant display, especially in the vicinity transporter saw great advantages in having the car of the approaches, and the most was made of the controlled like a tram. With such a long span, there opportunity." were disadvantages in having the usual cable haulage, Elsewhere in the same edition, however, was not only because ofthe length and weight of the cable, the headline The Transporter. A BriefCareer, which but also because of the difficulty ofhaving the vehicle carried the news that the bridge had been closed to under the command of a man not on board. It was traffic indefinitely at the end of the first day. It also essential that the car be driven from on board because revealed that the glitter of the day's ceremonies had in darkness or poor daytime visibility, a winchman on been tarnished by two other incidents: the behaviour of land could not see vessels in the river nor canal, nor some of the marshals on the bridge approaches, and could he respond to an emergency on the car. All other the fact that the first car, carrying the official party. transporter bridges were halfthe length or less than the had "hit the buffers". The actual wording used was Widnes-Runcorn Bridge, and spanned but one ship­ carefully phrased: ping channel. " ..... the car glided across (it took 3 minutes 55 To return to the matter of braking, it must also seconds), but stoppage at Runcorn was a trifle abrupt, be borne in mind that a tramcar had a hand brake, the buffers not acting with the same ease as had been which could still play a part in slowing or stopping a the case on trial trips, or on those taken at subsequent vehicle, although with less force than the electrical hours during the day." brake. The bridge car had no such brake, as such was The official party at the ensuing luncheon was impossible to rig between a 32 wheeled bogie and a 270 strong, so it is probable that well over 300 persons control car suspended some 70 feet below on wires. were aboard the car, and it is probable that the driver Also, the bridge bogie had motors and controllers was anxious not to stop the car short of land on such similar to those of a tram, and yet was a much heavier an important trip, with the result that he misjudged the by far .. It must have been immediately apparent to the point at which to cut off the drive force and to apply engineers that the system of traction adopted was not the braking force. He had probably not practiced with quite so good as it had seemed on paper. It is also a full load, and a full load would increase the braking notable that the chief engineer, Mr.Webster, when he effort required to bring the car to a halt. commented upon the "smoothness" of the first cross­ The art ofpublic relations is something adopted ing, was probably not comparing the passage of the in the latter half ofthis century, and it was a skill quite car with that of a rowing boat on a blustery day, but unknown by the Widnes-Runcorn Bridge Company .1 t had in mind another inherent problem with the bridge. was not announced in advance that the bridge would The power generator, situated inside the east tower on close again after its first day in service, so it was the Widnes side, was driven by a gas engine, which clearly the intention of the company to carry on transmitted a noticeable vibration throughoutthewhole running. It must have become apparent to the engi­ structure when in operation.It was necessary for the neers that there was something wrong with the opera­ Bridge Company to generate its own power, as in 1905 tion ofthe bridge on May 29th, but no announcements there was no public electricity supply available. were made, and the following morning queues of Shortly after the trial run, the official opening passengers and some cars formed at the landing date was fixed as Monday 29th May.Full civic sup­ points. Rumours were in abundance, but no official port was given to this event, streets were decorated, announcement was made until a few days had passed. and there was to be a large civic party invited to make The following staement was then published in the the first trip, to be followed by a banquet at Runcorn. press: I The local paper, until the opening of the "We are informed that in order to make certain transporter,carried a weekly commentary on local adjustments, which the engineers deem necessary as [ affairs entitled Local Observations by the Man on the the result of experience gained in running the car, the Bridge, but from the edition ofJune 3rd 190 5, this was Bridge will not be opened to traffic for a short period. changed to Observations from the Transporter Top. Due notice will be given when the traffic can be The first words under this new heading were as resumed." follows: The Weekly News opined that the vagueness of "At last 'tis over! After wearying delays, the the statement qualified its author for the diplomatic great structure which is henceforth to constitute my service, and made enquiries ofits own and found three observato1y has been thrown open to the patient and possible reasons for the close down: long suffering public.Considering the magnitude of 1. That the heavy traffic on the Monday led to the interest involved, and the absolutely unique nature repeated overloading. 17 Naming of Parts 3. That the bridge had been opened a week too early. (There is a lot oftruth in this. Neither the structure nor The novel nature of transporter bridges, the electrical gear had been officially accepted by the part vehicular, part nautical, led to some confu­ Bridge Company from the contractors, nor had the sion as to what names should be applied to the bridge been given an inspection by the Board ofTrade . pa~ts. This article keeps to the terms used by the Railways and tramways could not be openedfor public Widnes-Runcorn Bridge Co. and its eventual service without a rigourous inspection, but there seems successor, the Widnes Corporation. to have been no rules nor precedents for transporter The trolley is the wheeled carriage run­ bridges, which were a new-Jangled (and foreign) in­ ning on rails attached to the overhead gantry, vention. In the special article written to commemorate and from which hung by cables the moving the opening ofthe Widnes-Runcorn bridge, reference platform, locally referred to as the car. On the was made to the transporter at Newport, then being first transporters (and the British one at New­ built to the design ofthe French engineer, Arnodin. The port) which were of French design, the car was writer was at pains to point oul that although the design called the gondola (la nascelle). was French, "there will not be an ounce offoreign The man who operated the car at Widnes material in it".) was referred to as the driver, although his kiosk like shelter was known as the pilot's cabin. A week later, on June l 0th, the local paper carried Adorned with navigation lights, lifebelts, and the headline The Transporter Fiasco, and complained nets (to catch anything falling from the trolley) that the engineers still declined to take the public into and equipped with bells and hooters, it is easy to their confidence. The gloom of the paper was tempered see why one if not more of the transporters in by an item immediately below the news of the trans­ France was known as the "flying ferry". The porter. The headline Worse ihan Widnes told of a floor of the car was naturally called the deck, disaster at Kilmarnock, where a suspension bridge had the passenger shelter the cabin or the saloon given way under the weight of people released upon it but the general appearance of most cars wa~ after the opening ceremony. Fortunately, none were remmiscent more of a seaside pier than a boat. killed. (Can any reader throw any further light upon At Widnes the car departed from The this?) The Observer, from his perch atop the towers of Promenade (which pre-dated the bridge) and the bridge, mused on the wild rumours which abounded, which had a bandstand where regular concerts the silence of the engineers, and some facts he had were held. The space between the towers where discovered about the rate of rusting in metallic struc­ the car came to rest was known as the dock tures! This was a little unusual, as the four towers of On a lighter note, the local paper ran a weekly the Widnes-Runcorn bridge were built on the competition, in which readers were invited to submit river bed, rather than founded on terra firma, so limericks on local themes. The suggested theme ap­ that the car ended each crossing by nestling peared one week, the entries appeared the next week, and between them. In windy conditions, the car the readers communicated their preferences by filling in service was suspended, as lateral swaying would a coupon which could be handed in at the newspaper have caused the car to strike one of the towers offices, or to certain local agents, and the winning poem when attempting to dock. "Conventional" trans­ was then repeated on the third week. "The Transporter" porters, with towers planted on land, would was an obvious subject for the competition in the last require mooring ropes ropes to hold the car week ofMay, butthe subject for the second week in June steady against the shore in bad weather. was, wickedly, "The Transporter Breakdown". Here are the winning entries: (This could mean that staff allowed too many passengers on the car, or that the electrical system The Transporter was su~ject to overloading. Both are possible.) The Transporter's been opened by Brunner, ( I) 2.That the iron work had not "found itself' In build and design it's a stunner, and had suffered a strain. ' May it bring both renown (A source consulted by the newspaper said that And trade to our town, strain on the structure was unlikely, andpointed to And of better times be the forerunner. the excessive velocity with which the car came into (A.Gamer) (I) Sir John Brunner was Chairman of the Widnes-Runcorn Runcorn dock on I he inaugural trip as a more I ike/y Bridge Co., and he invested a large sum of money in it, reason.) which he eventually lost. 18 -

The Transporter Breakdown Company suggests there had not! Another matter The opening passed off with eclat, discussed was the expenditure of£69 to fit gates on the And thousands went o'er in the car, bridge car, instead ofthe previous waist-high chain. But But, alas, to our sorrow, this meeting came to a close with a very contentious We had on the morrow, and unilateral decision: the Board declared that re­ To use the LNWR. sponsibility for the accident of8th August when three passengers were injured, should fall upon the Arrol The Second Openine Bridge Company and Mather & Platt. This decision. when communicated to the two contracting compa­ It is interesting to note the double entrendre in nies, brought a very swift reaction! the second poem: the French word ec/at can have The Board had to be convened again three days several meanings (to go off with a bang/brilliance or later. There had clearly been a lot ofknocking tyogether a scandal). The scandal was to last for nine weeks. On of heads, and the Company was more or less forced to 15th July, the Weekly News carried an item reporting announce the closure of the bridge, and draw up a list a recent meeting of the Widnes Town Council, at ofall matters which had to be put right before it cou Id which Samuel Owens had been pressed, in his capac­ re-open. As for the question of responsibility, the ity as Council appointed Director on the Board ofthe Company was obliged to issue a certificate of accept­ Bridge Company, to give an official opinion on the ance ofwork done, back-dated to 25/7/ 05, to the Arrol continued closure. He gave what the paper called a Bridge Company, although this document was not "semi-official statement" to the effect that the bridge actually signed and sealed until September 26th. A would open shortly, as practically all the defects had similar certificate was not issued to Mather & Platt been put right, and that a regular public service would until November, as clearly there were problems with not take place until all the adjustments had been made. the generating plant and wiring, as can be seen below.As The 15th July was also the date ofa Board Meeting of for the accident, the Directors gave instructions that the Company, but there was to be a further two weeks the claims made on behalf of the injured passengers of inaction before the service was resta1ted, on Mon­ should be settled (A remarkable decision considering day July 3 1s t. the accident took place only four days earlier.) The Company was now very cautious, and The list of ten faults to be put right before the stated that the bridge would run at the discretion of bridge should run again is as follows: officials, and described the re-opening as "informal". I .New wheels should be fitted to the trolley. The resumed service lasted for just nine days, and then 2. The unsteadiness of the engines and the vi­ three passengers were injured when a plank fell onto brations they caused in the structure should be elimi­ the car from the superstructure. On August 12th it was nated. announced that the bridge would remain closed for 3.Imperfections in electrical insulation to be further safety work to be undertaken. The Company made good. Board, however, was given a more lengthy and frank 4.There should be hand-gear available for use explanation of why the bridge should remain out of should the electrical current fail, and the car be action, at the meeting on August 9th, the day after the stopped in mid-passage. accident. The directors were told that Mr. Webster 5.The car should be fitted with emergency oil (the engineer) was to consider the fitting of double lamps, foghorns, and bells, for use in the event of a driving wheels, which is an indication of lack of breakdown in mid-passage. adhesion by the existing driving wheels. The running 6.Alterations should be made to the insulators ofthe car was said to be still under Mr. Henderson (the situated awkwardly under the main girders, and a engineer of the Arrol Bridge Company) and it was procedure defined for when they should require repair. emphasised that the car operated at Arrol's risk, and 7. The wires below the gangway along the upper that nothing was to be said to the press about the girders should be proiperly fixed and stretched. accident. The adhesion of the driving wheels was not 8.Properly fenced gangways should be fitted at the only problem. Mr Wade Deacon (a director) made both ends of the bridge for access to the wheels on the reference to an half-hour stoppage "due to a break­ eastern side of the trolley. down in connection of an electrical current". The 9.The single gates proposed at the meeting Secretary referred to a new ruling that drivers were not three days earlier should be cancelled, and double to take the car across "if a ship in the Canal is within gates fitted. 200 yards". Does this indicate that until then there had 10. Wire netting should be fitted under the trol­ been no rules drawn up concerning rights of way for ley to catch any falling objects. and the same should shipping? A much later meeting with the Ship Canal be done under the main girders at the docks. 19 It is clear that the Board was very concerned(at At the Board meeting of 17th October 1905, this stage) with the lack of safety precautions, as well held at the Liverpool office at 2.30 pm, the directors as with various mechanical shortcomings. When listened to a report by the project engineer, John J. viewed from the present day, it is inconceivable that Webster, and then telephoned to Widnes to order that only a waist high chain was slung across the open ends the bridge be re-opened immediately. At the same of the bridge car, and that there was no safety rail time, as if to wish away the past problems, they between the vehicle area and the pedestrian area. As authorised settlement ofthe claims made in respect of for protection of the employees, the designers of the the accident on August 7th. At last, things seemed to bridge were not accustomed to a suspension bridge be going better. In November, the Board agreed to with aerial walkways, let alone aerial walkways with issue a certificate of acceptance to Mather & Platt, handrails. This was Britain's first transporter, and the and attention was turned away from engineering mat­ need to attend to running rails and live wires across the ters to that of earning some money. A traffic sub­ top of a suspension bridge had not arisen before. committee was formed, and such mundane issues as The transporter bridges in Spain and France, providing lights in the lanterns which crowned each built by Arnodin, at Bilbao, Nantes, Rouen and Mar­ tower, at a cost oftwo shillings an hour, were debated. seilles, all had flights of stairs leading up to the main It was also resolved that a bell should be rung, one girder and an aerial walkway, and these were open to minute before the departure ofthe car, as a warning to the public for sightseeing.(2) In addition, the Mar­ would-be passengers. seilles bridge was provided with restaurants at each Maybe as a result ofthe recent experiences, the end of the main girder, which one source says were Board refused to publish a timetable for the running of renowned for their gastronomy. Clearly, the French the car for the time being, although it was intended to saw a way ofgaining extra revenue from the necessary run at intervals of 20 minutes from approximately 6 provision of a means of gaining access to the trolley am until midnight. One troublesome matter remained running gear (these bridges were cable hauled), but to be resolved, and engineers Webster and Chase ( the such a course would not have been considered by the latter now taken on as General Manager on a six Widnes-Runcorn Bridge Company, as the local peo­ month contract) were both invited to work on the ple had been walking on high across the LNWR bridge design of a "two-wheel trolley". which referred to an for almost two generations, and were not in the habit arrangement to drive four wheels in tandem at either of dining out at ground level, let alone eighty feet up end of the thirty-two wheeled trolley from which the in the air. car was suspended. This indicates that the perform­ ance of the direct drive system was not yet giving full The Third Opening satisfaction. SincethegrandopeninginMay 1905, the bridge worked on 84 days, and was closed down on After the meeting of August 12th, the Board 131 days during the rest of that year. It goes without met at fortnightly intervals. In mid-September, it saying that it had not earned a penny profit, and that announced that traffic staff, the toll collectors and it had a huge overdraft. deck attendants, had been discharged, and that the As 1905 came to an end, the Widnes-Runcorn engine house in the Widnes east tower had been Bridge Company began a five and a halfyear struggle flooded in a rainstorm. This wooden structure held the to repay its debts and make a profit. It never succeeded gas engine and dynamos which provided power for and it continued to be dogged by technical failures, traction and lighting, and required a new design of accidents, and even death. John J. Webster was engi­ louvres to prevent the ingress of storm water.At the neer to another project, a tramway from Southpott to end of the month the long delayed and backdated Lytham, crossing the Ribble estuary by a transporter certificate ofacceptancce was delivered to Arrols, and bridge of similar concept to Widnes-Runcorn. The it was disclosed that the car was now making regular Act of Parliament to authorise this line was enacted in practice crossings, with loads of up to 20 tons, be­ 1905, at which point no more was heard ofit. Probably tween 6 am and 6 pm each working day.Daily reports news of the Widnes experience played a pa1t in this. of power consumption per trip were being kept. A (2)1Jacdckers "Spain & Portugal" ( 1908) states"lntercoursc contractor was engaged to instal wire netting beneath between Portugalete and Las Arenas is carried on by the Puente the trolley, to catch any falling debris. It is interesting Vizcaya. a transporter bridge constructed in 1893. The llying to note that rope netting, draped rather like fishing nets ferry. about 16 feet above the water, can accommodate about 70 hung out to dry, was carried on some of the French persons and crosses the river in 1 minute (Fare 10 cts.). Lift to the platfom1 (144111. high) 25 cts. View similar to that from the transpo1ters for the same purpose, but that the Widnes lighthouse" netting was metallic and of the industrial variety, and The view upstream. of docks and blast furnaces, would not be therefore in keeping with the locality. dissimilar to that from the Widnes-Runcorn bridges! 20