Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

incorporated a walkway along the western side 10 feet below the level of the lines. This structure of wooden trestles was constructed on 15 stone buttresses themselves supported on a bed of timbers. When almost completed the viaduct narrowly escaped being destroyed by fire when a workmen lit some wood shavings in a hut near to the trestles and these rapidly grew into an inferno. Fortunately the direction of the wind directed the flames away from the structure and due to the rapid response by other workers and bystanders the flames were quickly doused leaving it undamaged. ( What happened to the carpenter responsible is not recorded !) Until double track was installed the single line across the viaduct provided a restricted access to traffic. One of the bridges which had to be constructed was over the main road between Accrington and Blackburn, and due to its very close proximity to the chemical works of that name, was always referred to as Blythe’s Bridge. It was just beyond this crossing that the first railway station in Church was opened on June 19 th 1848. As a result of repeated entreaties from the Church Local Board, in 1867 the L & Y advertised for tenders for the rebuilding of the Church Railway Station buildings and it was decided that a new station would be constructed some 300 yards further east. Next was a short viaduct over Tinker Brook and the Coach Road, which was of brick construction of seven spans at a height of forty feet. There were always going to be objectors to the building of the railway and one such was James Simpson, of Foxhill Bank Hall in Oswaldtwistle. He was an influential person at the time. ( In 1847, his son became the first President of the Vegetarian Society. ) He strongly objected to the plain brickwork in the arches of the viaduct across his Coach Road, so to soften the impact he had it modified with a balustraded stone arch, with niches on either side and at either end. ( This structure was renovated during 1993 .) On the immediate approach to Church Station was another bridge this time over Worth Lane ( later to become Market Street ), with a separate spur into the goods yard on the north side of the running lines. In 1850 a row of terraced houses was constructed close by for the families of railway employees, aptly named Railway Terrace. Even this new structure the Local Board criticised as “being totally inadequate”, as passengers had to climb down a distance of 48 inches from the carriages in order to reach the platforms. In 1895 more improvements were made to the facilities in Church including an extension to the infrastructure and a new subway and bridge. Following re-occurring complaints about the low level of the platforms which had been the cause of several accidents, these too were raised. On July 1 st , 1895, the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway renamed the station Church & Oswaldtwistle. Immediately after Church Railway Station the lines bisected the two large lodges at Alleytroyds on a wooden viaduct of 25 spans of 20 feet each, also later filled in to form an embankment. These lodges provided water for Steiner’s Print Works at Foxhill Bank, and the boundary between Church and Accrington ran through them. The L & Y gained permission to fill this viaduct in through an Act of Parliament in 1889, and dumping commenced on March 20 th , 1891, the contract having been signed on June 12 th , 1890. Two more bridges carried the lines east, with an eleven feet seven inches high one over Lonsdale Street, and after passing over the underpass connecting Grant Street with Crossland Street another much lower bridge over Scaitcliffe Street. By far the largest obstacle in terms of construction was the viaduct which began immediately at the end of the station platform in Accrington. In the shape of an elongated ‘S’ it has two curves each of 40 chains radius (880 yards), and is supported on 19 arches mounted on stone pillars. The original plan was for a 21 arch structure, but a sort section between Bull Bridge and Whalley Road was laid as a short stretch of embankment. At its highest the viaduct is 60 feet above the road. Its construction involved the demolition of Milnshaw House, which stood on the banks of the River Hyndburn between Croft Street and Argyll Street. One of the pillars was in such close proximity to a mill and its dam, that it was thought necessary to halt production whilst its construction was underway. The East Lancashire Railway paid the owner, a Mr Hepple, a substantial amount in compensation for this inconvenience, so much in fact that he was able to construct three shops facing what is now the Market Hall on Blackburn Road that was then known as Piccadilly. On December 10 th , 1846, it was noted that four of the pillars, two on either side of the bed of the River Hyndburn, had begun to subside and the contractor, Mr John Brogden, was instructed by the

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