Some people maintain that electric trams are not merely unlovely, but are decidedly dangerous to travel in. There have been electric tram accidents, of course, and very serious ones. For instance, at Huddersfield, one June night in 1902, a car, as it approached the town and was half-way down an incline of a mile in length, got out of control. The trolley arm left the wire, plunging the conveyance into darkness. By this time the pace of the car was too great to permit of anyone getting off. It went whizzing past the car standing in the next loop; but failing to negotiate a sharp curve at the bottom of Somerset Road, ran straight across the street, smashing the pavement and dashing with great force into a grocer’s shop, the wooden front of which collapsed. The front of the car was also driven in. Three persons were killed and six seriously injured. At Chatham a catastrophe, resulting in four deaths and many injuries, is still fresh in people’s minds. It occurred on October 30th, 1902, and was extraordinary in many respects, the tram being completely wrecked. The Chatham and District Light Railway is worked as an electric tramway on the overhead trolley system, and has been in operation about twelve months. The scene of the mishap was at the foot of Westcourt Street, Old Brompton, in the parish of Gillingham, close to the main entrance to Chatham Dockyard, where there is a very steep gradient. A workmen’s car, filled with mechanics and labourers on their way to work, suddenly bolted in descending the hill, notwithstanding that the brakes had been duly applied. The weight of the heavily laden vehicle increased the velocity every yard of the way, and a terrific pace was obtained. There is a sharp curve in the railway at the end of the road. The passengers screamed as they realised their danger. The driver shouted to them to jump off the car, which many did; and the driver and conductor themselves took a leap for their lives, and thus avoided serious injury. As anticipated, the curve proved fatal to the safety of the car. The heavy vehicle toppled over on its side with a terrific crash, and the passengers, projected in all directions, made a confused heap in the highway. Those who were not seriously injured struggled to their feet, but others remained prostrate, unable to move, shrieking or groaning with pain, and several more were rendered insensible. Assistance was speedily forthcoming, and the sufferers were removed to the Royal Naval Hospital, which is within a stone’s-throw of the scene of the accident.