Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

8 23:4 5 00:0 0 00:4 5 01:1 0 01:1 5 01:2 5 02:0 0 02:1 5 02:4 5

Daisyfield to Salford goods departs

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Haslingden to Church goods

Nelson to Phillips Park goods

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Stalybridge to Colne goods

Colne to Royston Junction goods

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Miles Platting to Blackburn goods

Rose Grove to Patricroft goods

Adlington to Church empty stock

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Engine and vans to Accrington

Colne to Manchester special parcels

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L & Y SLIP COACH WORKING The wheelers, dealers and businessmen of Lancashire during those years which epitomised the boom era when cotton was king, regularly commuted to Manchester where they had headquarters and offices in the city to trade in the institutions. Not for nothing was Manchester dubbed ‘Cottonopolis’. From the Fylde Coast and Southport special ‘Club’ Trains were run in the mornings to take these gentlemen to their work and in the evening to carry them home again. East Lancashire did not have a Club train as such, but one service called the ‘Executive’ which operated during the late afternoon to bring these businessmen back. It ran between Salford and Colne and was to all intents and purposes an express by any definition, running over the almost 28 miles to Accrington at an average speed of just over 33 mph. In order to achieve this without having to make a stop in Accrington the L & Y used the system of ‘slipping’ a coach, which meant detaching the carriage whilst the train was still on the move. There would be a ‘brakeman’ in this coach when it became uncoupled, who would then be responsible for slowing it safely to a halt on the platform of Accrington’s Station. Running on Mondays to Fridays, the 15:23 from Manchester Victoria ‘slipped’ three carriages in Accrington. Another train followed on ten minutes behind. This did not slip any coaches but stopped additionally at Huncoat, Hapton and Rose Grove. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays the 16:25 ‘business train’ from Salford to Colne, often loaded to 10 carriages with a weight of 270 tonnes tare, which involved 16 miles of almost continuous climbing before the steep descent into Accrington. Because the first stop was Burnley Barracks the Accrington portion of 2 carriages had to be ‘slipped’. The Brakeman had to be well versed in this procedure and be very accurate in his control. On approaching down the incline his first task was to check that the distant signal was in the ‘clear’ position, and having ascertained that this was so would apply the hand brake to bite slightly onto the wheels. Only then could he disconnect the locomotive’s vacuum pipe, (not before), by means of a cord which activated a special ‘slip cock’ disconnecting the train’s hoses. A hinged knuckle coupling would then come away, and following this the Brakeman was in total control of these carriages. He would gradually but more forcibly wind on the brakes in order to facilitate separation, and when this had occurred he would signal to the guard remaining on the train or the driver of the engine that this had happened. He could do this by waving a green flag or shining a green light, which would be acknowledged by the footplate crew. The Brakeman would then ease the brake to allow the carriage to roll under its own momentum onto the platform where he would bring it to a stand. What made this manoeuvre one of the most difficult on the entire L & Y system was it came whilst the train was on the descent from Baxenden on an incline of 1 in 38/40 down towards the station. This was followed immediately by a tight radius curve towards the east over the Accrington Viaduct with a speed limit of 5 mph. ( The Viaduct still retains a speed restriction .) The inherent dangers posed by these actions can no better be illustrated by the fact that three porters were strategically positioned along the

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