Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

tanks with water from the troughs whilst on the move. However, their drawback was they only had sufficient room for 3½ tons of coal in their bunkers, which limited somewhat their range, and were also heavy on the tracks, as their weight in full working order was 99 tons 9cwts. They often passed through Accrington and were utilised to good effect on the fast, heavy expresses between Manchester and Colne and between Preston and Wakefield. The last one was withdrawn from service during January, 1942. 1925 January At a meeting of the Town Council, Alderman Dewhurst described Accrington Railway Station as, “An antiquated barn”. He had been informed that the LMS were to invest a considerable amount of money on improvements. He wanted to know if there had been any communications between the Council and the Railway Company, as to when and if Accrington was to be the beneficiary. To this question the Town Clerk replied, “No sir”. T he question was raised of making an approach to the LMS with respect to the “inadequate and inconvenient” accommodation at Accrington Railway Station. It was resolved the Town Clerk would write a ‘strongly worded’ letter to the Railway Company and that a deputation consisting of the Mayor, Aldermen Dewhurst and Higham along with Councillors Lord and Slack would be deputed to interview representatives from the Company to urge the necessity upon them of a new station for the town The Accrington Gazette of January 24 th , 1925 reported on a shocking fatality which had occurred on Friday, the 23 rd , when 44-year-old Thomas Charnley, a Signal Lamp-man, was run over by a light engine as follows - At about 09:45 a fireman, Richard Walmsley, of Church Street, Rishton, was turning his lt ohceo smi doet i voef tohne t ihnes itduer nt tr aa bc kl e i ant tAh cec rdiinr ge tcot ino’ ns eonf gAi nc cer si nhgetdosn w. Ah el ni g hhte esna gwi nMe rwCahsabr ne il enyg wd railvkei nn gt eanl odnegr fwi rhsits tal et awb ho eunt 7amb opuht i 3n 0t hyea rsdasmfer odmi r eCcht iaornn lbe yy , Ewdhwoa rwd a Rs ocsaer, roy fi nPge rat hl aSmt rpe ei tn. He ae c hh a hd a snodu nc ldoesde ittos Lt hoen sldoac loemSot rt ei veet Bwr iadsg ea. pWp ri tohaocuhti nwga, r wn ihnegnC hi ta rwn laesy soundl yd eanbl yo ut ut r nt herde et o ygaor da cs r odsi ss ttahnet .t rRa ceka loi sni nwg h ihcihs ps lri epdpiecda mo fef natnhde wdar os pppuesdh et hd eblya mt hpes eanngdi nger aabdbies dt a tnhcee oofff sai bd oe ubt u1f f2e ry ai nr dosr db ee rf otroe liitf tc ha immes et ol f ac l he aa rl t, . bBuyt thhi si s btoi md ye wh ae s hraedc ogvoenree du nb dy et rh et hpeo wl i chee. eCl sh aarnndl ehyahda bd ewe no rckuetdc fl oe ar nt hi en rhaai ll wf tahyr os iungche thhi es ds ti so cmh aa cr hg e. Lf raot emr the army in 1918, and was described as being in good health with sound eyesight and hearing. At the Inquest held on Monday, the 26 th , was presided over by Mr D. N. Hazelwood, the LMS Railway was represented by Mr Pickering from its solicitors department, whilst Mr Isaac Brassington appeared on behalf of the National Union of Railwaymen. Martha Charnley, the widow, said her husband had been a Platelayer at Church Station between 1908 and 1911 and had then emigrated to Australia, but had returned to enlist in the army in 1914. He had lost three fingers and the thumb whilst serving, and afterwards had gone to work as a Lamp-man at Church. She said he was as far as she knew his disability apart, he was in good health. The Station Master at Church Station, Charles Edwin Turner, said it was Charnley’s duty to tend to the lamps on the signals in the section between the Aspen Valley and the exchange sidings in Church. He had reported for duty at 8am on that day and was carrying out his duties as normal on what was a ‘bright’ day. “At about a quarter to ten I was told he had been killed.” Rose, the engine driver, stated, “I was returning light engine to the sheds tender first, when I saw Charnley walking on the outside of the inlet road. I sounded my whistle but he did not look around, then suddenly he turned in front of the engine to go across the lines. When I stopped I got down from the footplate and discovered him face down”. He again confirmed he had sounded the whistle but said, “Due to the slight incline I was coasting down so there was no noise from the loco itself”. The Foreman of the Jury, Mr Bradshaw, asked if the sounding of whistles was designed as a warning to workers on the railway. The Coroner said, “There is no doubt that the engine’s whistle was sounded, as a shunter working close by had also heard it.” Bradshaw said, “I was trying to establish the point that if whistles were sounded with regularity, would there be a tendency for workers to ignore them?” The Coroner said, “This was one of those cases where they would never know for sure if the deceased had heard the warning whistle, if he had chosen to ignore it, or in the moment made a fatal error

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