Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

July Advanced notice was given of a special excursion to a new destination, Hereford, on Monday, July 18 th . The basic fare would be 24/-, but for an extra 6/- there would be a coach tour through the Wye Valley, and packed lunches would also be available at 5/- each if booked the day beforehand. Sunday, the 3 rd , saw the rail/steamer excursion to Llandudno via Liverpool, which would be repeated on every Saturday through to September 3 rd , and every Monday to September 5 th . Millom or Lakeside were the alternatives on this first Sunday of the month. Doncaster was the destination of the special on Sunday, the 10 th . On July 9 th , ‘Black 5’ #45345 of Mold Junction Sheds (6B) passed through Accrington with the 9-coach empty stock off a returning excursion from the North Wales Coast to Ramsbottom. Its destination was Horwich. Over the holiday period from Friday, 15 th to the 30 th , the overnight and special holiday trains would operate, with booking in advance recommended as tickets were regulated on a first-come first- served basis. The list of overnight destinations would again include Brighton, stations from Bristol to Torquay, Paignton, Plymouth and Newquay, to Great Yarmouth, to Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth, to Portsmouth for the IOW, as well as London and Glasgow. On Saturday the trains were for Filey, Skegness, all-stations from Prestatyn to Penychain. Cheap period returns were also on offer between the 15 th and 30 th of July, to Blackpool at 7/6d, but were not available for any break of journey. On Sunday July 17 th , the motive power for the excursion from Accrington to Blackpool Central was 43033, an Ivatt 4-6-0 an unusual type for the area. It had been freshly out-shopped from Horwich Works on a short time before, but was allocated to 17A Derby sheds. In the House of Commons, MP Harry Hynd was telling the Government they had a “moral responsibility to honour and meet their obligations when it came to the superannuated pensions of retired railwaymen”. This was very appropriate, as he himself had qualified for his railway pension on that very day! He said that too many retired workers who had contributed throughout their working lives into the pension scheme expecting to be able to live comfortably, due to the spiralling cost of living now found themselves struggling. In reply the Minister of Transport, John Hay, having congratulated Mr Hynd on reaching 65, stated the finances of the British Transport Commission were under examination, by a Special Advisory Group under the Chairmanship of Sir Ivan Stedeford. This report would have to take into consideration the various claims against the resources of the railways including those from retired employees. Several diesel railcar excursions were planned during the month. On the 17 th , one visited Keswick leaving town at 11:10 returning at 8pm, going out via Grange and homeward via Penrith for a fare of 15/6d. Departing Accrington at 09:34 another circular tour would go out via Matlock Bath to Buxton where it would leave at 19:55, the fare 12/-, the alternative to these being a repeat excursion to Workington. On the 24 th , the special was to Bridlington with 7 hours stay, then to Filey with a 3 hour stay for 14/6d, whilst York or Lakeside were the other destinations. This year the cost of the 6 day Runabout Ticket was 30/-. Another ‘Black 5’ #44668 worked through town on an excursion from Bacup to Blackpool on the 24 th , having worked tender first to Ramsbottom where it ran around its train. This was a Carlisle Kingmoor (12A) allocated engine, which returned from the resort at 17:10. Due to a strike by railway workers at Heysham, sailings to Belfast had been suspended for several days as a result of which Altham’s Travel Agency had been inundated by people requiring information, even though crossings had been resumed for the second week of the holidays. Unfortunately, passengers who had booked for the first week could not be transferred, as the allocation for the second week had already been taken up. Despite the poor weather trips to the coast had remained popular, and period bookings were slightly up on the previous year. August There was an unusual occurrence on Saturday the 6 th , when 92059 came through town at the head of a summer extra train returning holidaymakers from Blackpool to South Yorkshire. These large 2-10-0 engines were built primarily to operate heavy, fast freights, but at busy times were pressed into passenger service where they acquitted themselves well. This particular locomotive was at the time allocated to Toton Sheds in the East Midlands. Towards the end of steam others would appear on the East Lancs Line but usually on goods workings, many in a run-down condition.

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