Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

summer trains would depart daily for Southport at 9:34am and at 11:30am for Morecambe. There would also be an additional return train from Blackpool to Accrington departing from Central Station at 5:55pm. April The General Purposes Committee met again when they were presented with a letter from Haslingden Corporation supporting them in submitting a proposal to the LMS for an improvement to the services on the Accrington to Manchester line, and for the electrification of the line beyond Bury to Accrington. A report on the meeting which had taken place between representatives of the Corporation and Chamber of Trade with the Railway Company was also submitted. It was resolved to reply to the Town Clerk of Haslingden indicating that Accrington had already made moves on these matters. Restrictions were imposed on the numbers of tickets sold to the Fylde Coast resorts at Easter, despite the fact that nine extra trains would operate on Thursday and Saturday. A Sunday timetable would operate on Good Friday, with a normal timetable in operation on Easter Monday. Stationmaster Unsworth had urged people to book early to guarantee a seat, as latecomers might end up being disappointed. The Thursday ‘specials’ would depart Accrington at 9:50 and 10:05 in the morning, and at 12:13, 1:47, 2:37, 4:20, 5:00, 7:40 & 8:08 in the afternoon and evening. There would also be through trains going to Southport at 5:09pm and Fleetwood at 5:55pm. It was felt that scheduled trains would cope with those heading for Morecambe. For those travelling to Blackpool on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, on the 8:30am and the 1pm they would have to change in Preston. On Saturday the ‘specials’ were timed to depart Accrington at 7:25, 8:25, 8:48, 9:39 and 9:50 in the morning, and at 12:13, 12:58, 1:47, 2:37 5:01 and 8:10 in the afternoon and evening. The through train to Euston would leave Accrington at 8:08 on Thursday and Saturday, but those using this service on Good Friday, would have to catch the 8:25am and make a change in Manchester. Passengers for the Isle of Man were warned that there would be no connection in Liverpool to the 10:45 sailing on Good Friday, and would have to leave Accrington on Thursday, in order to make the boat. On Easter Monday, the service trains to Blackpool would depart at 7:25am and 10:05am and then at 12:13pm, 1:47pm and 2:37pm. There were also two cancellations to scheduled trains on the Monday, the 6am to Colne and the 6:40am to Preston. It was later announced that over 2,000 people had gone by train to Blackpool at the beginning of the holiday, and Morecambe had attracted about 500, with the resorts sharing a similar number of patrons on each day of the break. May Meeting again the Town Clerk reported he would be meeting with representatives from neighbouring authorities in Colne on the 13 th , to discuss possible improvements to the services through East Lancashire operated by the LMS It was resolved that Alderman Lord would attend as representative of Accrington Corporation. June The General Purposes Committee had placed before them, the reports from the several conferences held in Colne to discuss possible improvements to the railway services operated by the LMS through the area. “A combination of bad weather and a clash with the Victory Day celebrations made Whitsuntide one of the quietest on record,” commented an LMS official. Those going to the coast numbered in the hundreds rather than the thousands which had got away at Easter. About a 100 people had boarded the London train on Friday. July It was better news for people going away at the start of the town’s holidays. This year they would be told the time of the train on which they could return from Blackpool as they booked their period returns in Accrington, rather than having to queue at the resort’s station to be allocated a seat. These times were as follows for those departing Saturday to Saturday, leaving at 7am they would come back one week later on the 9:30am, the 7:50am at 3:50pm and the 10:20am at 10:35am all from Central Station. Those leaving Accrington on the 2:07pm to Blackpool North would come back from there at 10:35am. On Thursday, a ‘special’ train would depart Haslingden at 7:13pm and Accrington at 7:27pm, to connect at Heysham for the night sailing to Belfast. Another ‘special’ would depart Accrington at 9:24pm, (Haslingden at 9:34) for Devon, via Crewe, Shrewsbury, Hereford, the Severn Tunnel and Bristol calling at all the principal stations enroute through the county to Paignton. A 10:38pm train from Accrington (Haslingden 10:54), would go via London to the south coast, with connections to the continental ferries as quite a few people had obtained visas to travel abroad. The overnight boat train to the IOM would also depart Accrington at 10:23pm.

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