Colne and Trawden Light Railway / Colne Corporation Light Railway
Owner Colne and Trawden Light Railway Co (a subsidiary of Batley and Greenwood limited)
Opened 28th November 1903 (electric)
Operator Colne and Trawden Light Railway Co
Taken over 25th March 1914 (Colne Corporation - title changed to 'Colne Corporation Light Railway')
Transferred (operation) 1st April 1933 (Burnley, Colne and Nelson Joint Transport Committee)
Closed 6th January 1934
Length 5.23 miles
Gauge 4ft 0ins
Button description (Pattern 1) Elaborate script initials 'C&TLR'
Materials known Brass
Button Line reference [None]
Button description (Pattern 2) Arms (shield with a fleece, a fig leaf with a Roman letter 'C' imposed upon it, two Roman coins and a cotton sprig; surmounted by a helmet with garlands and a lion on a torse) all above motto: 'We Long Endure'
Materials known Brass
Button Line reference [None]
Button description (Pattern 3) Monogram of intertwined initials 'BCN'
Materials known Nickel; chrome; black plastic (vulcanite?)
Button Line reference [None]
Comment Supporting evidence for the Pattern 1 button being an issue of the C&TLR rests principally on the initials, which are of course a 100% match, but also on the fact that the manufacturer is 'Briggs, Jones and Gibson Limited', a relatively local (Manchester) concern who also manufactured buttons for several other tramways. Although the Pattern 1 button may well have been used throughout the entire life of the tramway, we should also consider the possibility that Colne Corporation may have issued tramway staff with a general Coat of Arms button (Pattern 2) during their 19 years of ownership, especially as they changed the official name of the tramway. Additionally, as the tramway subsequently passed into the hands of the Burnley, Colne and Nelson Joint Transport Committee (1st April 1933), it is also conceivable that buttons were issued to tramway staff by that concern (Pattern 3). However, evidence to support either of these assumptions is currently lacking.
A torse is a twisted roll of fabric that was wound around the top of the helm and crest to hold the mantle in place. The Roman 'C' is said to stand for 'Colunio', the Roman name for Colne.