Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

12524 12821 12822 12825

Aspinall L & Y Aspinall L & Y Aspinall L & Y Aspinall L & Y

Horwich Works Horwich Works Horwich Works Horwich Works

July 1909 Dec. 1917 Jan. 1918 Mar. 1918

0 – 6 – 0 tender 0 – 8 – 0 tender 0 – 8 – 0 tender 0 – 8 – 0 tender

3F 6F 6F 6F

February 1951 May 1948 August 1949 September 1948 May 1948

Aug. 1954 Mar. 1949 Oct. 1950 Mar. 1950

12831

Aspinall L & Y

Horwich Works

July 1918

0 – 8 – 0 tender

6F

Feb. 1951

THE BRITISH RAILWAYS ERA ( This was the age of the train as a vehicle for leisure as it had never been before, as the car had not yet become a universal means of transport. Holidaymakers, day trippers, football fans and walkers would all look to the railways as a means to spending their time and money in the pursuit of enjoyment in the post-war euphoria, despite some continuing austerity. The number of destinations available was enormous, as line and station closures were a thing of the future. The period under review in this chapter, would only be blighted by a national stoppage by the Unions, along with a gradual decline in the standards due to a continuing lack of investment.) 1948 March On Tuesday, the 2 nd , a sixty-three year old platelayer from the National Coal Board, was killed by a train as he was walking along the lines from Church Station towards Accrington. At the inquest William Nield, of Roe Greave Road, stated that he was with Thomas Henry Wilson, of St. Pauls Street in Oswaldtwistle, and they were intending to catch the 07:32 to Rose Grove. A porter had informed them that this train was running very late, and so they had decided to walk to Accrington to board a train coming through from Manchester. Mr Nield had gone first leaving the deceased trailing behind and did not know what had happened until the news reached Accrington Station. An electrician working for the BR, said as the train passed by he saw a man spin around the nearside of the locomotive. Thomas Barlow, the driver of the engine, said it was travelling at about 25mph, but did not see the man until he was thrown to one side, so concluded he must have been walking between the rails. In recording a verdict of accidental death, Deputy Coroner, Mr Rowland said, “This was totally the fault of the deceased that this needless death had occurred”. Workmen from the Water Board were called to a crane siding in the goods yard off Scaitcliffe Street, when a burst water main sent water cascading out of the yard and into the road. At Easter most of the excursion trains were for local resorts, and passenger numbers were up on previous years. May British Railways announced ‘sailing tickets’ would be required for journeys connecting Holyhead and Kingstown, Heysham and Belfast, and Stranraer and Larne, during the period June 11 th , to September 11 th . These tickets would be issued without charge at stations when train tickets were purchased for these routes. The reintroduction of cheap excursion tickets was the main reason for the 20% increase in demand for the trains over the Whitsuntide weekend, with over 1,000 visiting Blackpool, Morecambe or Southport. July Despite an increase in fares of 3/3d in the pound (16∙25%), advanced bookings at the office which had opened the previous Friday before the holidays, were up on previous years. The Isle of Man was the most popular destination ahead of Torquay, then Bournemouth with Eastbourne and Teignmouth also attracting heavy bookings. The poor weather was given as the reason for a fall in bookings to the Lake District and more surprisingly Blackpool, but Scarborough again proved popular. Stationmaster Unsworth was keen to emphasise that a ‘considerable’ amount of luggage went astray each year due to the lack of clear labelling, and was encouraging passengers to fill in labels giving accurate details. Cheap day return tickets would be available between Monday, July 26 th , and Friday, July 30 th , to any destination with a radius of 60 miles from Accrington. In addition to normal service trains there would be excursion trains on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, to Blackpool, then to Poulton and Fleetwood on the Saturday. On Saturday, the 24 th , special trains would depart for Prestatyn and the North Wales Coast, Lancaster for the Lake District, Morecambe, Scarborough and Fleetwood for the boat

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