Opening of Accrington Electric Tramways (1907)

Accrington
1907
Silent
10m

Cheering crowds and much jubilation greet the launch of the Accrington to Oswaldtwistle electric tram service.

Shown at Ellison's Tenement fairground in August 1907, this particularly attractive film won glowing reports from the local press, who delighted at the novel sight of "ladies, prettily attired [driving] three fine, spick and span, gaily decorated Accrington cars [performing] the taxing duty with admirable skill and judgement... accomplishing the four miles' enjoyable run without a hitch."

The film features some cheeky examples of advertising by showmen and their operators, who cunningly place a "Relph and Pedley's the Best" card in a prominent position at the front of the cab to ensure that their name is captured by the camera.

On the Move

Britain in the early 20th century was a society in a hurry - and transport was changing fast.

The era of mass transportation launched by the Victorians gathered pace in the Edwardian age. Mitchell & Kenyon’s films feature countless trains, buses and trams, as well as horse-drawn coaches and bicycles, though cars are still a rarity.

People where the duo’s stock-in-trade, but transport could also take a leading role. Films feature boats, ferries and ocean liners, but much more common - and frequently magical - are those which take us on a journey by train or, especially, by tram, gliding through space and time into the heart of the towns and cities of our ancestors.