Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

would take them through the Animal Kingdom with free time at the Abbey at the all-in price of £2:50p and £1:75p. Return was from Bletchley at 18:11 and back in Preston for 20:55. There were extra trains to Blackpool on Good Friday and Easter Sunday and to Southport on Good Friday. ( All the special excursions over the Easter period were fully booked, which is not surprising since the recent Mystery Trips had visited Salisbury (for Stonehenge), Whitley Bay, Perth, Brighton, Windsor and Stirling. ) May BR was promoting a range of tickets and these included 17-Day Returns, Long-stay Economy Returns and Season Tickets. They were also promoting tickets from Accrington on any train/any day to Blackburn for 22p, Blackpool 90p, Bolton 60p, Burnley 25p, Colne 41p, Darwen 27p, Kirkham 75p, Manchester 84p, Nelson 37p and Preston 58p, with children 3 to 14 half fare. Between May 6 th and the 25 th , there was also a ‘Twosome’ ticket where two adults could ride for the price of one to Blackburn, Preston and Manchester from Accrington, Church & Oswaldtwistle, Huncoat and Rishton. A special day return was available at £1:50p/75p from Accrington to Carlisle on Saturday the 11 th , for a Railway Exhibition at Citadel Station and the open day at Kingmoor Traction Maintenance Depot. Exhibits would include electric diesel and steam locomotives and the Electrification Exhibition Train. There must have been some shenanigans about the under 14s travelling unaccompanied on excursions, for it was specified that on the Mystery Trip scheduled for Saturday the 18 th , children must be accompanied by an adult. Fares were £2:15p and £1:35p. The following day there was a Ramblers’ Excursion to Edale, departing town at 08:50 (Rishton 08:55), returning at 18:10 with an arrival back in Accrington at 20:08. There was a choice of easy, moderate or strenuous walks from Edale included in the 80p/40p fares. Another Mystery Trip ran on Saturday the 25 th , with the same ticket prices. Over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, there would be two day trips to Blackpool on Saturday the 25 th , (90p/50p) and Monday the 27 th , (69p/33p), and a half-day excursion on Sunday the 26 th , (50p/25p), whilst Southport was not forgotten as it too was visited on the Sunday (55p/28p). The ‘special’ to Gourock on Monday, May 27 th , included a cruise visiting Dunoon, Largs, Rothsay and Tighnabruaich, for the all-in price of £3:95p/£3:05p. For those wishing to stay nearer to home the alternative was a trip to York leaving Accrington at 10:37, arriving at 12:12, returning at 18:30 and home for 20:10, for £1:30p and 65p for a child. June Barrow-in-Furness, Millom and Ravenglass were the destinations on Saturday the 1 st , with light refreshments available on board. On the 9 th , there was a ‘Sunday Saver’ to London at £2:10p and half fare for a child. At 23:42 on the evening of Friday the 14 th , a special departed from Accrington to go overnight to Aviemore, arriving there at 08:00 for a day in the Highlands. The fare of £6:45p for adults and £5:15p for a child would include a coach tour of the Cairngorms, a ride on the lower section of the chairlift, unlimited use of the ice rink and the artificial ski slope. The return train would depart at 22:00 on Saturday to arrive back in Accrington at 05:41 on Sunday morning. Even more ambitious was the day trip to Paris on Friday the 21 st . Passengers could take a service train to Preston to connect with a London service after 09:30, and after crossing from Euston a departure from London’s Victoria Station at 22:02. This would arrive at Newhaven Harbour at 23:16 for the 23:45 sailing to Dieppe where it would dock at 03:30. A train for Paris, St. Lazare, would depart at 04:02 arriving in the French Capital at 06:25. This would allow a very full day before returning at 00:30 on Sunday morning to Dieppe at 03:40 for the 05:30 crossing docking at Newhaven at 09:15 which allowed half an hour to change onto the 09:45 for Victoria in at 11:00. Return from London was by any train. The fares were for adults £12:55p, juveniles 12 to 14 £7:50p, and under 12s £6:25p. Specials operated to Blackpool on the 16 th , 23 rd and again on the 30 th , whilst a Mystery Mixture ran on Saturday the 29 th . The arrangements at their destination would be revealed to passengers on the journey, and the fares of £3:80p for an adult and £3 for a child, suggested they were going even further than the railhead. July There was a special to Blackpool on Sunday the 7 th , and trips to the resort on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the 8 th to the 12 th , and again on the 15 th to the 19 th , to Southport on Mondays the 8 th and 15 th , and Morecambe on the 10 th . On July the 14 th , there was a repeat of the trip to Chester and the resorts along the North Wales Coast, another Mystery Trip on Tuesday the 16 th , and Edinburgh was revisited on Thursday the 18 th . For adults paying £2:15p and children £1:35p on arrival on

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