Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

On the 17 th , a trip working arrived in Accrington behind #40106 fresh from overhaul at Horwich Works. At this time it was allocated to the Wrexham Shed (6E). The Grand National was run at Aintree on Saturday, the 21 st , and a special excursion was run from Accrington at 11:30, Church & Oswaldtwistle at 11:34 and Rishton at 11:39. First Class accommodation was available at 11/5d, but the standard return fare (not including admission), was 7/-. Light refreshments were available and advanced booking was advised. Workington was again the destination on the 22 nd , whilst on Good Friday there were choices to Ilkley, Llangollen or Millom. On Easter Sunday the excursions went to Coventry, Grassington, York and a diesel circular to Morecambe via Ingleton. Another promotion advertised was one which could save up to 4/- in the pound. This was for ‘Mid-week’ tickets that would be available between May 5 th and the 29 th of October, to places in England over 100 miles distant, and May 5 th and September 24 th to destinations in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. BR were also advertising its ‘Express Goods Services’, with a collection before 17:10, dispatch at 21:53 and delivery in London at 08:10 the following morning. April On Saturday, the 4 th , Burnley were at Wolverhampton Wanderers and fans could go by train for 15/- , and by departing overnight on Friday, the 11 th , at 23:55 fans could go to Wembley for the England - Scotland match, returning from Euston at 23:34 for a return fare of 43/-. Tickets had to be booked in advance. On Sunday, the 5 th , Millom was the destination and on the 12 th Llandudno or Otley, on the 19 th it was Workington or Ashbourne including organised rambles. On the 26 th , the choices were Chesterfield, Workington again and the diesel excursion to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. On this occasion with a change in Stockton-upon-Tees and Middlesbrough in both directions, travellers could explore West Hartlepool for 15/3d, Redcar at 15/6d, Saltburn 16/-, Sunderland 17/6d or go all the way to Newcastle for 18/-. Another new innovation was the “See Britain By Rail” - Railrover Ticket. This gave seven days unlimited 2nd Class travel for £22 – 10s – 0d, or on London Midland Region only for £9 2nd Class or £13 1st Class. These were available at all local stations but with 48 hours’ notice. Also on offer was reduced rate 8 or 15 day return tickets to the West Country, which were valid outward on Friday nights between June 20 th and August 15 th , returning on Saturdays. May The overnight train to London for the Notts Forest v Luton Town Cup Final, departed Accrington at 00:11, returning from Euston at 01:02 on Sunday the 3 rd for a fare of 43/- return. Other excursions on the 3 rd were to Barrow, Doncaster, Morecambe and Ingleton, and a special to Fleetwood leaving town at 10:05 returning at 18:40 for 5/3d. On Whit Sunday people had the choice of Coventry, Llandudno or a diesel railcar excursion to Scarborough, departing Accrington at 10:15 returning at 21:40 for 15/-, whilst on Monday, the choices were Morecambe, New Brighton or York. Sunday, the 24 th , was a busy day with excursions to Hull, Ilkley and Workington and a special to Penrith via Skipton and Clapham to Ingleton at 7/-, Kirkby Lonsdale 7/6d, Sedburgh 8/6d, Tebay 10/3d and Penrith 13/3d. Light refreshments were available on the train that departed Church at 10:05, Accrington at 10:10 with organised walks from Ingleton and Sedburgh. Departing one minute later was the Amateur Photographers outing to Conway for 15/-, Bangor & Menai Bridge for 17/-. There were prizes to the value of £35 for photographs taken on this trip. Booking was strictly limited and a photographic bureau would also be on board to offer advice. Booking in advance was also the case on the special to the Kyles of Bute, which ran on Saturday, the 30 th , with a fare of 55/9d. The route would take in Gourock, Tighnabruaich, Rothsay and Wemyss. The train started early at 05:50 to return at approximately 01:00 on Sunday morning. June At a meeting of the Highways Committee, the Town Clerk submitted correspondence from the British Transport Commission stating that, “In view of the public at large having acquired a public right of way over the railway bridge connecting Arago Street with Belgarth Road, the Commission had been informed that they had no legal obligation to continue to maintain the bridge itself or the roadway over it. The BTC would however continue to maintain the bridge itself for the safety of the railway which passed beneath it, but not the roadway”. It thereby posted twelve months’ notice of its intentions to terminate an agreement whereby it paid an annual sum of £1 – 8s – 0d to the Corporation for the upkeep of the roadway over the said bridge, and this would come into force from May 1 st , 1960. The Town Clerk then submitted a letter from Howard & Bullough Ltd, in which they highlighted the difficulties caused by the low railway bridge at the junctions of Scaitcliffe Street, Ormerod Street and

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