Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

foreman ganger Taylor, of Spencer Street, Accrington, to bring his crew to examine the tracks whilst single line working was put into operation. This delayed the Preston to Colne train by sixty minutes. Over the Easter weekend on Good Friday, there were specials to Ilkley, Millom, Llandudno and one to Hull for Stanley’s game leaving town at 10:32 returning at 17:30 from Paragon Station, for 12/- return. ( Stanley lost 2 - 1 .) On Easter Sunday the choices were Coventry, Grassington, Windermere or York and on Monday, Belle View. Councillor William Sproul, who was retiring after 37 years on the railway, 28 of which he had spent as a signalman, had described Accrington Station as a “disgrace through lack of repairs”. The only changes that had been made for many years had been the building of the North Signal Box on the down line which replaced the one on the up line. In 1942 he was the instigator of a move to have all the Class ‘G’ Signal Boxes abolished and had worked at boxes in Accrington for the past ten years, but had previously worked at Baxenden and Huncoat, as well as Wilpshire and Rose Grove. At one time he had championed the constructing of an underpass from Paxton Street to Eagle Street, in order to do away with the overbridge, but this idea had been turned down. A leading trade unionist in the NUR and member of the Labour Party, he had championed the shorter working week, increased rates of pay for night and Sunday working, and holidays with pay for all grades in the railway industry. “There is always room for improvement at railway stations, even though platforms are nothing like as crowded as they used to be. The days of the steam locomotive are gradually coming to an end, and diesel engines are the way forward and the means by which the trains will attract a lot of traffic back onto the rails”, he added. May There were repeat specials to Doncaster and Barrow on Sunday, the 5 th , and on the 12 th , to Chesterfield again. There were organised rambles from selected stations on the trip leaving at 09:54 to Garsdale at 8/-, calling at Ribblesdale 6/-, Ribblehead 6/6d and Dent 7/9d. Millom and Leicester were revisited on the 19 th , whilst one week later it was the turn of Coventry or Chesterfield. A list of tickets and fares for timetabled trains and trips was published for the summer period as follows - Day Return Fares Passengers may alight on the outward journey at any intermediate station, on surrender of the outward half of the ticket, and may return from any intermediate station. Tickets can be obtained in advance at these stations and official Railway Agents Offices. > ----------------------------------- from --------------------------------- < TO ACCRINGTON CHURC H HUNCOAT RISHTON Accrington - -/3d -/6d -/8d Bamber Bridge 2/7d 2/7d 2/11d 2/3d Blackburn 1/2d 1/- 1/6d -/10d Brierfield 1/10d 2/- 1/6d 2/1d Burnley Barracks 1/3d 1/6d 1/- 1/8d Burnley Central 1/4d 1/6d 1/1d 1/8d Burnley Manchester Road 1/3d 1/6d 1/1d 1/8d Bury Bolton Street 2/2d - - - Cherry Tree 1/8d 1/6d 1/10d 1/2d Church & Oswaldtwistle -/3d - -/9d -/6d Clifton Junction 3/- - - - Colne 2/3d 2/5d 2/- 2/8d Earby 2/11d 3/1d 2/9d 3/5d Foulridge 2/6d 2/10d 2/3d 2/11d Hapton -/11d -/11d -/6d 1/4d Haslingden -/10d - - - Helmshore 1/3d - - - Hoghton 2/2d 2/1d 2/5d 1/9d Huncoat -/6d -/9d - 1/1d Manchester Victoria via Darwen 5/10d 5/3d 5/3d 5/-

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