Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

January The General Purposes Committee of Accrington Council decreed, that if it was announced that any of the stations listed as ‘under review’ by Barbara Castle were to close they would raise objections on the grounds that unless bus services were integrated, there would be no ‘direct’ links between the communities which would be most affected. It was resolved that if BR gave notice of their intentions to close the three local stations, Accrington Council would mount a campaign before the bus services were integrated. Alderman Wallwork stated, “I realise that British Railways has to do something to redress their considerable losses, but the effect on communities has to be considered. We have just got the first commitment for a firm to build a new factory on the Huncoat Industrial Estate and the only other industries there are the brickworks and the colliery. There is only the railway forming a direct link across the area from east to west, and until there comes a time when all forms of transport are fully integrated into a regional and national network, communities will be severely hampered and any more closures should be abandoned until this has been achieved”. He suggested that the Mayor Councillor Marsh and the Town Clerk should try to arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister who was visiting Burnley on the 8 th . Councillor Marsh pointed out that the news of these closures had not come from the British Railways Board, but through the press and until these reports were confirmed, he did not know what might be achieved. Mr T. Yates, the Town Clerk, told the meeting that if notice from BR did materialise, he would have to have the full backing of the Council in making objections to any closures, and this was unanimously agreed. On Wednesday the 10 th , whilst carrying out shunting duties, an engine came off the rails at the Aspen Colliery sidings in Oswaldtwistle at 15:45. It blocked both lines but the line to Colne was cleared by 16:48 although the Blackburn line stayed closed until 20:00. All the trains using the up line to Preston had to run ‘wrong line’ between Church & Oswaldtwistle and Rishton stations, which caused delays to several peak-time services. A gang of ten men and a crane were involved in the recovery. Four days later another derailment occurred, when wagons containing ballast came off the rails whilst passing over the junction of the Harwood Loop line with the Colne line at Whitebirk. Workmen were working on the lines at the time doing routine maintenance but no-one was hurt. However, ballast was scattered all across the running lines, and during the blockage buses were ferrying passengers between Blackburn and Accrington after trains were cancelled. At a meeting of Rishton Council held in late January, a warning was voiced by Chairman D. J. McNeill, not to sit back and wait for plans to be unveiled for the closing of the town’s station. This came after a letter had been received from the Divisional Manager of BR, that stated no firm decisions had yet been made about the fate of some stations on the Preston to Colne line, but when these had been resolved the councils would be informed of the results. It was suggested not to wait, but to write to Mrs Castle, the Minister of Transport, and the local MP Arthur Davidson not only to inform them of the situation but also to warn them that stiff opposition would be mounted to resist any moves to close Rishton Station. Following 50 years of service on the railways Mr K. Hill, of Wordsworth Road, in Accrington retired. Starting on the railways in the immediate period after the Great War, in 1921 he became a fireman and gained promotion to driver during 1934. Sad to see the demise of steam, he however welcomed the diesel age and was the first driver to take one of the new DMUs in service out of Accrington. He felt that nationalisation signalled the beginning of the end for the railways and that closing a station was justified if it was uneconomic. He spent the latter years of his working life instructing drivers on the maintenance of diesel engines in the ‘improvement’ classes. February Miss Chrissy Rogan JP, told members of the Church Council that even at this early stage they should support Rishton Council in moves to block any proposals to close their railway station. She felt that this might be the precursor to BR shutting Church & Oswaldtwistle’s own station. Councillor Dowthwaite was in full agreement as he said, “Our station provides an essential service to the public”. With the closing of Huncoat Pit, which saw 300 years of coal mining in the district end, the conveyance of coal from it to Huncoat Power Station also came to an end, and this was marked by the operation of a ‘special’ last train on Friday the 9 th . Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding in the way the points had been set, this train which was to convey the Colliery’s Manager and the Superintendent of the Power Station, derailed over a crossing. Heavy jacks were brought in, and there was an hour’s delay whilst some colliery workers lifted the trucks back onto the tracks. Arthur Lord, the driver of the engine

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