English: The Brisbane Courier

Wed 28 Nov 1888

Brisbane Tramway Company

[...] Since the printing of the report the company had sold to the Townsville Omnibus Company a considerable number of light horses which were unfit for the Brisbane traffic, and had formerly been used on the "feeders." They had also disposed of four waggons and three omnibus, the lot coming to nearly £700. This had relieved the company of a considerable number of animals and vehicles for which they had no present use, and they had agreed to take payment for this rolling-stock and these horses in shares in the Townsville company. He [the chairman] had looked into the matter very carefully when he visited Townsville, and he believed the little 'bus company there would be an extremely remunerative investment. The town was so laid out that there were no hills on the routes, and the wear and tear would be but small. At any rate, the board was convinced that they had done the right thing in getting rid of these 'busses on the terms agreed to, and had experienced considerable difficulty in getting rid of them.

He could not allow the opportunity to pass without mentioning the point that was casually mooted at the last annual meeting - namely, the possibility of substituting electricity for horses as their traction power. During the twelve months that had elapsed since that meeting there had been an immense development in the phase of electical science. There was now in Richmond City, Virginia, USA, an electrical street railway that had been running for a number of months with absolute success at a cost of less than half of what the same company had previously expended for the propulsion of their cars by horses or mules. The result of the success of this new system had been very marked in America, and one of the most important effects was that the West End Boston Company had absolutely determined to adopt the system.

Queensland State Archives Item ID 436348, Photographic material