Lancaster didn't get its own buses until 1916, although it did have trams from 1903. In those days, local councils, especially in the north of England, were often pioneers of new technology and fierce local rivalries also played a part.
Early buses were rather primitive and their operation was fraught with difficulty. Perhaps January wasn't the best time to hold a trial run, but Haslingden Corporation seems to have had a particularly adventurous beginning in bus operation. This poetic account by Ann Rawcliffe, based on contemporary press reports and reproduced with permission from "The Lancastrian", the journal of the Friends of Real Lancashire makes for an entertaining read and we hope you enjoy it!
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| This isn't the actual bus used on the trial, but the design and the terrain would have been very similar. |
When Rossendale thought to geet buzes
T'Council from Haslingden said...
Let's beat that Rawtenstall to it
Let's show 'em we're forging ahead
Now they'd bin to a demonstriation
Of buses in Manchester town
But difference 'tween Hasy and Manky
Is one's flat, t' other's all up and down.
But in January 1907
They decided to put one to t' trial
And 27 Council officials
Were took on a jaunt of ten mile
They'd hired a 36-seater
An open-topped jobby it were
A proper double-deck motor buz
And them on top could breathe fresh Rossendale air
Being January, t'weather weren't too great
Ice on t'ground and fog up in th'air
And they set off up th' ill toward cemetery
Hoping they'd not end up there
Unfortunately, on t'way up Free Lane
A passenger on the top deck
Were struck by a telephone cable
It copped him reyt across t'neck
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| The Grey Mare, seen here on Street View, would have been even more isolated in 1907 and the roads much more basic. You can see why some passengers were tempted to "stop for a tot"! |
After much skdding and sliding
They turned left o'er Grane past t'Grey Mare
And there were some as were tempted to stop for a tot
To wearm up and steady t' nerves there
All t' passengers were shivering and freezing
And t'going were terribly rough
And they coundn't see owt for the fog and the mist
But Hasy folk, they're made of stern stuff
On going down th' ill into Blackburn
T' bus slithered, and spun raound and raound
It were facing wrong way now, so most folk got off
So as t' driver could safely back daown
At this, some ut Council turned chicken
And wouldn't get back on again
As fer t' rest, they were big cock-sure fellas
Who brazened it out in the rain
T' streets o' Blackburn proved hard for the driver
They were narrow and obstacle-filled
He hit one 'lectric light, missed a few maore
It's a wonder that no-one were killed
Boosted up by "success" he reached Langho
Where under a low bridge he ran
T' folk up top, had to lay flat on their backs
Losing yeds weren't part of the plan
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| Early motor buses suffered frequent accidents. This one, belonging to Rawtenstall Corporation, came to grief in Burnley in 1908. |
All t' roads were still slippery and slidy
And tyres weren't too good in them days
T' bridges were narrow and steep up-and-down
No better than on t'packhorse ways
At Cock Bridge, t' buz skidded badly
And hit un 'igh wall wi' a crash
T' conductor went reyt through t' back window
And a load o' stones tumbled on t' path
At Hyndburn Bridge, t' driver had trouble
He drove up than slid back again
It took him three goes to get o'er that bridge
And he'd shaken and scared them brave men
Most o' t' Council now said "Enough is Enough"
And on reaching Clayton-le-Moors
They got off t' bus and took t' tram for home
So as only four finished the tour
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| Even the primitive early trams were seen as a safer bet than the bus! |
After resting their nerves and debating
And tekin' some legal advice
T' Council decided that these motor buses
on Haslingden's roads weren't that nice
Once Hasy were out of the runnin'
Rawtenstall saw it's big chance
In November that year, they got a new bus
While Haslingden looked on askance
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| Haslingden's first bus was a "nice single-decker" but lasted only two years. |
Course, Haslingden wouldn't be beaten
Now they had to have a buz too
So they chose a nice single-decker
Wi' conductor and driver for crew
But after just two years of toiling
On the Hasy to Helmshore bus route
They'd tu swap it for one pulled bi horses
Which their steep hills did much better suit
When in th' end Hasy's first proper motor bus
In 1914 it were bought
T' Government took it for war-work
So their plans had once more come to nought
Till, finally, in 1920
Hasy got buses agate
Havin' started in 1907
They were nobbut 13-year late
So look sharp and learn from our history
And mark what this tale does prove true
When it comes to daft Council projects...
Who's footin' t' bill? That's You!
All photos, other than Street View, (c) Rossendale Library
