Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

Traffic Manager for the entire East Lancs Railway system. He later worked for the London & North Western Railway after he moved to Liverpool. Despite the fact that these were quite a distance from the platform, the Stationmaster could control the signals from his office using pulley mechanisms. As will be seen the conveyance of goods and livestock was very much to the forefront of the railway’s activities, with buildings put to a single use. The weighbridge was necessary to check that goods could be charged at the correct amounts. Parcels traffic was handled at the passenger side of the station, but goods were administered from a separate office. Products collected for forwarding by rail and goods arriving by rail and requiring delivery, were carried on horse-drawn carts and drays, thus the necessity for stables within the yard. The important job of the railway clerk was to make sure that all transactions were costed at the correct remuneration and despatched to the correct destinations and addresses. Within the triangle was contained Accrington’s first locomotive shed and ancillary facilities. The shed was small and open at both ends which made it difficult for the staff to work. It was a situation which the shed foreman often complained until eventually another larger site was found further to the west. There was also a place set aside when the rudimentary passenger rolling stock could be cleaned and serviced. During November, 1849, the way that trains were being worked at Accrington’s Railway Station was giving such considerable cause for concern, that Mr Perring was called to a meeting with the Board of Trade. This was to discuss the fact that intending passengers approaching from Paxton Street, had to cross the running lines in order to book their tickets and catch their trains from the single platform. Captain Wynne of the Board of Trade pointed out that with up to six trains at any one time in close proximity to the station this was a potentially very dangerous situation. It was also about this time that the local magistrates were voicing complaints about the lack of sheltering facilities. In response the East Lancs Railway opened another booking office at the top of the Paxton Street slope, supplementing the Eagle Street facility. An Inspector came to view the situation on December 23 rd , and agreed that an underground subway connecting the Paxton Street side with the Eagle Street side, as suggested by the local magistrates, would be a solution to the inherent dangers being posed by three trains arriving almost simultaneously at one time from the Preston, Manchester and Colne directions. Each of these was being divided into two portions, then being remarshalled to go off into other directions and this was being repeated eight times every weekday. This entreaty seemed to fall on the deaf ears of the Secretary of the East Lancs Railway, James Smithells, and his Directors. Such was the congestion that trains were given 15 minutes to load and depart, but delays caused knock-on effects which often saw trains delayed by up to an hour. Up until 1876 the passengers were required to have their tickets examined on the platform instead of aboard the trains. Then wooden platforms were constructed on both the main viaduct and the Wellington Viaduct, so that trains could halt short of the station and staff could check tickets. The working timetable of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway laid down that the maximum speed at which a train should start the descent of Baxenden Bank was 10mph, whilst through the station it was no more than 4mph, which gives an indication of how inconvenient the layout of the station actually was. The rolling stock of both the Liverpool and Manchester express trains was serviced at Accrington, and one of the tasks delegated to Porters was to keep this rolling stock clean. Their tasks also included trimming and refilling the oil lamps. These were transferred to the lamp room on special Lamp Trolleys, as there was anything from 70 to 80 to be filled and returned to the roofs of the carriages. In cold weather foot warmers were also provided for passengers. The life of a Porter was hard with the daily shift lasting anything from 12 to 14 hours. The station however did have some great advantages, as it was an important junction for routes from east to west, east to south, plus it contained avoiding lines which allowed trains to pass from south and west and vice versa. It also was on the fringe of Accrington town centre which made it easily accessible for foot passengers. Within the station complex there were facilities for the handling of parcels and goods, which during the boom years were essential for the town’s industries and commerce. Due to this layout and the pressure of work being undertaken every day at Accrington Railway Station, it is not surprising that serious incidents occurred from time to time. It has to be said that these occurred in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when many of the rules and regulations

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