Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

were constructed at the East Lancashire’s own works in Bury until 1876, whilst some were built by outside contractors. After 1876 all construction of rolling sock was transferred to the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway ’s works at Newton Heath which had recently been opened.

EAST LANCS RAILWAY’S GOODS ROLLING STOCK Year Open wagons Closed vans Brake Vans 185 0 692 none none 185 7 1,743 26 24 TRAIN SERVICES

On May 27 th , 1848, the first test train was run on the section of line between Blackburn and Rose Grove, and the line was passed fit by Captain Wynne (Royal Engineers), the Government Inspector. His party included Mr Hacking, the General Manager of the East Lancashire Railway Company, Mr Donaldson and Mr Perring ( both engineers ), and the contractors Messrs Pearce and Smith. Of the Aspen Viaduct, Captain Wynne stated that a mainly wooden structure had been substituted in order to save the cost of constructing a stone viaduct. He said he had stopped two locomotives at several places whilst carrying out his inspection and it had remained in a stable condition before passing it as safe for operation. He added that this type of structure was less likely to impede the natural flow of water. The track was laid double across the viaduct in 15 foot lengths of rail at 73lbs per yard of weight. On June 19 th , the Railway was opened between Accrington and Blackburn and a large crowd witnessed the departure of the 07:30. The timetable showed four trains from Accrington to Preston in the mornings, the first at 06:15, with five departures in the afternoon the last of which, left at 19:00. Most trains consisted of 1st Class, 2nd Class and 3rd Class carriages, except for two ‘fast’ trains and one express, which had no 3rd Class accommodation. A reporter from the Blackburn Standard was on board the first train from Blackburn to Accrington, and stated the 15 minute ride was “preferable to a bumpy ride on a stagecoach”. Although trains began to operate on the five-and-a-half mile section between Accrington and Burnley Barracks on September 18 th , 1848, there were more problems. Accrington Viaduct was closed for a period of fifteen months starting on July 4 th , 1866, again for remedial work due to subsidence of four of the piers. The work of stabilising them once again on their blue clay foundations lasted until September the 11 th , 1867. During this time through passengers were ferried between Accrington and Huncoat stations on horse buses, thus providing the link between Accrington and Huncoat. This was at the time that the first railway station in Huncoat was situated just to the west of Highbrake Bridge, and before it moved to Enfield Road. ( It is ironic that these were the first rail replacement services in a town which became famous for such operations much later .) The first timetables showed trains departing Burnley for Accrington at 07:30, 08:30, 09:15 and 11:15 in the morning and at 14:06, 16:35, 17:18, 18:40 and 19:25. On Sundays the three trained left Burnley at 07:55 12:50 and 18:15. The extension further to the east opened on February 1 st 1849, when the East Lancs Railway reached Colne and it met end-on, the lines of The Leeds & Bradford Extension Railway, which had reached Colne from the Skipton direction the previous year. In 1851 the L&BER was absorbed into the Midland Railway, whilst during 1859 the East Lancs Railway was similarly taken over by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, Colne thus became the railhead for these two companies. Up until 1876 passengers were required to change between the two Companies trains at one of Colne’s three platforms, as there were no through timetabled passenger services until this time. After this date however the trains of the L & Y ran right through to Skipton. Accrington thus became a junction station situated at the north and eastern sides of a triangle of lines. Shortly after the railway opened, the 1849 timetable showed there were 7 weekday services from Manchester to Colne via Accrington, and 6 in the opposite directions. An early casualty of the railway in Accrington was labourer Thomas Riley 34, of Oak Street in Accrington, who was killed in an accident on the railway on June 5 th , 1851. He left a widow, Martha and four children. ( This is likely to have been the first fatality on the railways in Accrington .)

12