Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

to Douglas. Overnight trains to London and destinations in the West Country, would leave on Friday, the 23 rd . Passengers from Church & Oswaldtwistle for trains which did not pass through or not call there, could travel to Accrington on service trains without extra charge. August Three boys were prosecuted for causing malicious damage to the railway, by placing a bogie wheelset in the permanent way in the yard adjacent to Charter Street. This was struck by a locomotive travelling at 10mph, and it was fortunate that the engine was only travelling slowly but the damage was still assessed at £3. September Early on the morning of Monday, the 6 th , a goods wagon came off the lines close to Huncoat Station. Trains were delayed whilst a breakdown crane was summoned to lift the wagon clear, and single line working was in operation affecting twelve services up until 09:30. October On Sunday, the 10 th , in connection with work to construct a new power station in Huncoat, a 101 year old railway bridge was demolished. This bridge no longer served its purpose due to the laying of new sidings to serve this plant. The work involved drilling 38 holes in the crown and abutments, and 25lbs of gelignite detonated by a cordite fuse from 100 yards distant. The running lines were covered to avoid any damage and 60 tons of rubble was removed before normal services were resumed. The work was carried out by experts from ICI under the direction of Mr G. R. Thurston, the engineer of the Railway Executive. November On Sunday and Monday, the 21 st and 22 nd , train services were delayed by up to half an hour, when the densest fog the area had seen descended. Drivers were operating their trains at caution due to the inability to sight signals. The problems were worst on the line up to Ramsbottom. 1949 ( The post-war and more particularly the post-nationalisation era, saw a huge increase in demand for excursions by rail, very many of which were to the coastal resorts to the west. Although Accrington had substantial facilities for handling coaching stock, it was decided that Colne would be the centre from which many were marshalled. It was also the place where a large proportion commenced and ended the day. Colne had sufficient capacity to hold up to 200 carriages, and at peak holiday times there could be over twenty extra trains which ran through East Lancashire. As many as 20 empty carriages would arrive in lots from various places around the system, to be marshalled by the duty rolling stock inspectors for specials due to set out over the following days.) February The Housing Committee met when the Town Clerk submitted a letter from the Accrington Branch of the National Union of Railwaymen, concerning the Council’s policy for letting property, and requesting that consideration should be given to the letting of houses to railway workers as a priority. It was resolved that no action would be taken, and that the Town Clerk would reply by setting out the Council’s policy for granting tenancies. March At the Annual General Meeting of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway, Church Councillor, John Wilson, caused uproar when he suggested that directors should be made to retire on reaching the age of 70. When the adjourned meeting reconvened, the two directors who were past the suggested age limit, Sir Guy Granet and Mr Lionel Hitchens had both been re-elected by overwhelming majorities. There was uproar when the Chairman, Lord Stamp, announced the results of the vote and tried to close the meeting. The Board then left the room to booing from the shareholders, who held a meeting of their own with Councillor John Wilson in the Chair. April Exceptionally strong winds and heavy downpours were deterring day trippers from booking on excursions by rail over Easter. Half-day trips were on offer to Blackpool or Southport on each of the four days beginning on Good Friday. However, 500 still went to Blackpool, 350 to Southport, plus an additional 200 on an evening excursion to Blackpool. On Saturday a further 400 made the day trip and 300 the evening run to the resort. On Sunday the figures were Blackpool 200 and Southport 130, which were approximately repeated on Easter Monday. May Additional trains were timetabled to operate from Accrington on weekdays to - Fleetwood at 08:46 for the Isle of Man (between June 6 th and September 10 th ), and at 09:48 to Blackpool (June 18 th to September 10 th ). There would be a 12:12 Saturdays only train to Bradford via Hebden Bridge, (starting on Saturday, June 4 th ), and to Bradford via Skipton and Keighley (July 16 th to September 3 rd ). On Sundays there would be a 09:40 to Liverpool (June 15 th to September 18 th ), a 09:15 to Blackpool (June 26 th to September 4 th ), a 13:42 all stations to Todmorden (to run from May 29 th ), a 17:48 to Leeds via Sowerby

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