St Helens Corporation Tramways
History
St Helens Corporation had always been minded to own and thus control the tramway within the borough, and in 1893 it sought and obtained powers to purchase the tracks of the local standard-gauge steam tramway — the St Helens and District Tramways Company (see link) — including those outside the borough boundary. The powers were granted on the 24th August 1893 under the St Helens Corporation Act (1893), though importantly, they only authorised the corporation to operate the tramway if a lessee could not be found. Three years later, in May 1897, the corporation purchased the track (the date being retrospectively set to the 1st of April 1897), thereby taking on responsibility for its maintenance, the StH&DTCo continuing to operate the system as the lessee. This decision was no doubt driven by a desire to convert the tramway to overhead electric traction, and in October 1897, the corporation formally decided to proceed with this course of action. Powers to convert the existing tramway to electric traction, and to extend it, were granted on the 12th August 1898 under the St Helens Corporation Act (1898).
The corporation was, however, undecided as to whether it would operate the new system itself or lease it to a company. Somewhat surprisingly, given the long and often rancorous relationship between the council and the company, the corporation agreed to lease operation for 21 years — from the 1st October 1898 — to the New St Helens and District Tramways Company, the latter simply being the old company recapitalised. The task of reconstructing the steam tramway began later that year, and the first electric trams commenced running on the 20th July 1899. It is thought that the last steam tram ran on or around the 6th April 1900, though the precise date seems not to have been recorded.
Further powers to extend the tramway were granted on the 6th August 1900 under the St Helens Corporation Tramways Order, which was passed into law via the Tramways Orders Confirmation (No. 2) Act of 1900.
The relationship between the corporation and the company remained a fraught one, with the former seemingly intent on finding every opportunity to lodge a complaint. It was therefore perhaps no surprise when, in 1915, the corporation made it clear to the company that the lease would not be extended when it expired on the 30th September 1919. The corporation duly took full control of the tramway on the 1st October 1919, buying the operating infrastructure (e.g., the tramcars) from the company.
The corporation could not, however, have picked a worse time to take over. The company had of course reduced investment to the bare minimum, and on top of this came the challenges of the Great War, with hugely increased passenger numbers and restrictions on infrastructure replacement, which enforced a 'make do and made' approach. As a result, the corporation inherited a very run-down system with a significant renewals and maintenance backlog, all at a time of high costs and impending unregulated bus competition. The corporation nevertheless chose to invest in the tramway, rebuilding the tramcars and renewing the worn-out track.
The corporation purchased 36 tramcars from the company, many of which were rebuilt in the coming decade. Eight new tramcars were purchased in 1921, along with two secondhand vehicles in 1927.
On the 1st April 1921, the corporation handed over operation of services between the Kings Arms in Prescot and Brook Bridge to Liverpool Corporation, ownership of the track following on the 4th August 1921. Liverpool Corporation was the operator and owner of the Liverpool and Prescot Light Railway, which connected to the St Helens system at Brook Bridge, having purchased it from Lancashire United Tramways Limited at the same time as the NStH&DTCo's St Helens lease expired.
In the 1920s, St Helens Corporation began to supplement its tramway services with its own motorbuses, introducing its first permanent service on the 17th August 1923, and expanding them steadily thereafter, including joint running with other operators, both municipal and private. Powers to operate motorbuses were acquired on the 4th August 1921 under the St Helens Corporation Act (1921).
As an electricity producer, the corporation was also interested in trolleybuses, obtaining provisional approval in May 1924 to use them to replace the tram services between Toll Bar, Rainhill and Prescot; these powers were confirmed on the 7th August 1924 under the St Helens Corporation (Trolley Vehicles) Order Confirmation Act (1924). Despite this development, the corporation continued to invest in the tramway, the first closure (Toll Bar to Prescot via Rainhill) only taking place some three years later in May 1927, when motorbuses temporarily took over from the trams pending conversion of the Rainhill to Prescot section to trolleybus operation, the latter running for the first time on the 11th July 1927 between Nutgrove and Prescot. Further trolleybus powers were acquired on the 29th July 1927 and the 1st August 1930 under the St Helens Corporation (Trolley Vehicles) Order Confirmation Acts of 1927 and 1930, respectively.
The next tramway to close was the Parr line, the last trams running on the 8th December 1928, following which there was a hiatus in the closures. The name of the undertaking was duly changed in July 1930 to St Helens Corporation Transport to reflect the changing service provision.
From the early 1930s, the tramway services were steadily withdrawn, the Haydock line closing on the 20th June 1931, and Windle line on the 12th July 1932. Although tramway abandonment was now a foregone conclusion, the decision to close the tramway was not actually formalised until the 28th July 1933. Lines were now closed regularly: Toll Bar to Rainhill on the 30th April 1934, the St Helens Junction line on the 30th April 1935, Dentons Green on 28th May 1935, and the last line of all, to the Kings Arms at Prescott on the 31st March 1936. This was not, however, destined to be the last tram service within the County Borough of St Helens, as Liverpool Corporation continued to operate the short length of track between Brook Bridge and Prescot until the 25th June 1949.
At its maximum, the St Helens Corporation system extended to 18.74 miles, comprising lines from the centre of St Helens: westwards to Brook Bridge via both Prescot and Rainhill; northwestwards to Denton's Green; northwards to Windle; northeastwards to the Rams Head in Haydock; eastwards to Parr; and southeastwards to St Helens Junction. St Helens tracks were connected to those of Liverpool Corporation Tramways at Brook Bridge, and to those of the South Lancashire Tramways Company at Haydock. The corporation also leased an additional 1.77 miles of line between Haydock and Ashton-in-Makerfield from the SLTCo. Through running tended to be limited (both in extent and duration), though LCT, SLTCo and Wigan Corporation Tramways vehicles did make an appearance in St Helens, whilst those of the StHCT reached Ashton-in-Makerfield and Wigan (via SLTCo tracks).
Uniforms
Photographs of St Helens Corporation Tramways electric tramcars, either during the years the system was operated by the New St Helens and District Tramways Company (1897 to 1919) or by the corporation itself (1919 to 1936), are surprisingly scarce, and those depicting staff are rarer still. Given the paucity of photographic evidence, it is currently impossible to describe either the evolution of the uniforms or the associated badges.
In the years following the corporation takeover of 1919, tramcar crews wore double-breasted, lancer-style tunics with five pairs of buttons (narrowing from top to bottom) and stand-up collars; the latter almost certainly carried badges of some description, most probably a combination of system initials and employee numbers, though these cannot unfortunately be made out on the surviving photographs. It is unclear what badge was carried on the tensioned-crown peaked caps prior to 1930, though a small municipal device badge may possibly have been used. At some point after the change in name of the undertaking in 1930, a circular cap badge was introduced that bore a municipal device in the centre with the full system title — 'ST HELENS CORPORATION TRANSPORT' — around the outside.
Conductors and motormen were also issued with long double-breasted greatcoats, which bore four pairs of buttons; once again, no badges of any description appear to have been carried. They also wore a round licence badge when on duty.
Photographs of inspectors are yet to come to light, so it is currently not possible to state what uniforms they wore.
Further reading
For a history of the system, see: 'St Helens Tramways' by E K Stretch; St Helens Corporation Transport (1968).
Images
Motormen and conductors
A rare photograph of a St Helens Corporation Tramways tram crew, seated on the fender of Tramcar No 2 — photo undated, but probably taken in the early 1930s (No 2 was withdrawn in 1934). Photo by M J O'Connor, courtesy of the National Tramway Museum. 
An enlargement of the above photograph showing the motorman and conductor in more detail. Both men are wearing lancer-style tunics and tensioned-crown peaked caps, along with municipal licences.
St Helens Corporation Tramways/Transport collar badge — nickel. It is likely, though by no means certain, that this one-piece system initials badge was worn on the collars of tramcar crew jackets during the 16 years of municipal operation. Author's Collection.
St Helens Corporation Tramways/Transport collar/cap badge — nickel. It is possible that this municipal device badge was worn on either the uniform jacket collars or the caps during at least some of the 16 years of municipal tramway operation. Author's Collection.
St Helens Corporation Transport cap badge — chrome. It is likely that this badge was introduced following the undertaking's change of title in 1930. Author's Collection.