ONCE I entered Bolton School in the mid-30s, I'd become quite an authority regarding the Bolton system; at least, I liked to think so!

My only regret was that, unlike so many of my contemporaries who lived in distant outposts such as Atherton, Walkden and Westhoughton, I either walked or cycled to school rather than travel daily by tram, as they did using a convenient local route plus a further journey on the splendid five-mile "N" to Horwich route.

I guess there was many the time when the excuse: "Afraid the tram was late again, Sir," was used by regular latecomers to mollify "Teddy" Gwynne Jones, the veteran senior master. He motored to school each day from Pleasington, near Blackburn, and invariably arrived a few minutes' late himself. Ironically, he kept an eagle eye open for other less privileged latecomers who had to wait forlornly outside the doors to the Great Hall before being admitted to what remained of the morning assembly. I'll never forget a certain boy's immediate rejoinder upon receiving Gwynne Jones' admonishment

of "Late again, boy!" The boy responded with "Really sir, so am I!" Needless to say, the cheeky lad remains anonymous to this day!

The main tram shed, opened in 1900 on the site of former stores for horse-drawn trams and stables, was located off Bradshawgate between Breightmet Street and Shiffnall Street. Adjoining the car sheds were additional repair shops providing machining and painting facilities. Judging from the various noises emanating from within the repair shops, all kinds of odd things were taking place.

To an impressionable youngster such as myself who was completely ignorant of industrial practices, I could only imagine what was taking place in the principal shed which housed upwards of 80 cars . . . if only someone in my family had been a tram driver or even a conductor, I could well have been made privy to inside information!

In the hope of seeing something unusual through the shed's high open doors, I once sneaked a look inside, but to no avail . . . the shed retained its secrets.

Suburban tram sheds, each housing eight cars, were also built at Tonge Moor and beyond the Beehive at Horwich; another at Daubhill housed six cars. A newer, extensive car shed was built in 1909, this time in Bridgeman Street -- eventually to house 64 cars -- and a new car repair depot in Carlton Street, off Breightmet Street, was opened in 1913. The latter was considered to be the most up-to-date of its kind in the country and the envy of visiting groups of dignitaries and officials from other authorities.

Rarely did I see Bolton's rail-grinder in action. This mysterious machine had two large wooden carriage wheels, circa 4ft 6ins in diameter, which more than straddled the 4ft 8ins standard gauge track. These were primarily used to help in positioning the grinder which was eventually lowered onto the appropriate rails.

The grinding operation, designed to remove corrugations usually found on rails on the hillier routes where braking was inevitable, began with short backwards and forwards lateral movements. These caused the whole machine to vibrate violently and to emit loud clanks! The power itself was transmitted via a cable, supported by a sturdy bamboo pole, hooked onto an overhead wire. Needless to say, the grinder was quite smartly turned out, being painted in Bolton's colours with the town's coat of arms displayed on a side panel.