The fare conductors had dozens of classes of tickets to issue and had to negotiate the dangerous railings and footboards. Due to the enormous load of passengers the train progressed at only 5 miles per hour and the journey took almost an hour to complete. Local children performed somersaults and tricks by the trackside and many passengers showered them in coins for their efforts. A young boy was employed as lookout on the front of the locomotive and rung a bell if anything strayed onto the track. The Victorian pier at Mumbles survives intact today.
Boys perform trackside tricks for passengers of a slow train.
Notice the lookout boy at the front left of the locomotive. Due to the limitations of steam power, the innovative line attempted to perfect a new form of carriage traction in 1902 - battery accumulator. However, the early batteries were crude and the stored electric power drained too quickly. It was the company's intention to replace steam with electric trams, the variety which followed overhead power cables. The expense of electricity and the coming of the First World War thwarted these aspirations, however, and the line wasn't electrified until 1929.