Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

Company

1871

1872

Gains £19,855

London & North Western Railway £554,103 £573,95 8

Lancs & Yorks Railway

£221,678 £229,70 3

£8,025

An advertisement was placed in the Accrington Times offering ex-railway horses for sale along with a quantity of carts. Interested parties should then apply to the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company. May Church Railway Station was the venue for a gathering of a large number of people on May the 10 th , when a train brought John Boothman back from Preston where he had been serving seven days ‘hard labour’ at the gaol, after being found guilty of tampering with voting papers following a local election. He was perceived as something of a champion of the people, so received an enthusiastic reception as he alighted from a Lancashire & Yorkshire train. He was taken onward in a wagonette to the market grounds, whilst a band played When Johnny Comes Marching Home. A verdict of accidental death was recorded at an inquest on 27 year old Jeremiah Haydock, a ‘Shuntsman’ at Accrington Station. At half past midnight on Sunday the 14 th , he was working on the lines when he was struck by the buffer of a passing locomotive. John Heap, the Fireman on the engine, stated at the inquest held at the Crown Hotel on Blackburn Road before the Coroner Mr Hargreaves, “I work on the engine which assists trains up the Baxenden incline, and we were crossing from one line to another when I saw the buffer, which sticks out some six inches from the beam, hit the deceased in the head. I had not time to sound the whistle and he fell under the last wagon. The Driver, Ralph Beelston of Paxton Street, stated “I did not see him as I was on the other side of the footplate, but stopped within about twenty yards”. One of the Brakesmen said, “I called out to him, Jerry it is coming, but to no avail”. The Foreman Porter at Accrington Station recalled how it was left to him to recover the body, and saw the right arm and shoulder were broken and the right side of the chest crushed. He added, “I accept that although this work can be dangerous, it is not so if the workmen pay proper attention”. June On the 3 rd , an excursion train was returning to Radcliffe Bridge from Liverpool, when it was put onto the wrong line at Accrington Railway Station, as an express was approaching. The Driver of this express recognising the situation immediately shut off steam and put his locomotive into reverse, and had he not done so the collision would have been more severe than it actually was. There were an estimated 500 passengers on the excursion at the time, and a young Bury lad was the most badly hurt. Dr Wilson was called to meet the train at Ramsbottom, where it was diagnosed he had broken several ribs. Other passengers were shocked and hurt but still able to continue home. On the 22 nd , a special outing by train was organised by the Good Templars, to visit Grange-over Sands and Barrow-in-Furness. The trip commenced in Colne and loaded at all stations to Cherry Tree, and it was 8 minutes late in Accrington departing at 7:48am. It halted in Lancaster for 5 minutes enough time for the distribution of drinks, before continuing on to Carnforth arriving at 9:50am, where the refreshment room was besieged by thirsty passengers. After a good run around Morecambe Bay it disgorged its passengers for lunch in Grange. At 1:10pm the trip continued on to Furness Abbey, where the party left to go on to Barrow, on either on the Isle of Man mail train or by means of a local service. In Barrow a visit was made to the Haematite, Iron & Steel Works of Messrs Schneider & Hannay, where they observed Bessemer Furnaces melt the steel which was rolled and pounded into rails for the railways. The return departed Barrow at 7:50pm arriving back in Colne at 11:20, having been held ‘without explanation’ on Accrington’s viaduct for a full ten minutes. October Complaints were being made about the footpaths beneath the railway bridges at Tottleworth and Lidgett on the North Lancs Avoiding Line, and there was an ongoing dispute between the L & Y and the local boards of Rishton and Great Harwood as to who was responsible for their upkeep. November The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway were making some alterations to the timetables of the train services for Accrington as follows - 1. The 08:41 Blackburn to Accrington would not stop at Rishton or Church and Oswaldtwistle.

2. There would be a new stopping train departing Blackburn at 08:35 for Accrington. 3. There would be an additional train from Accrington to Colne on Saturdays at 14:30.

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