Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

After a relatively quiet month when other towns were having the benefit of any spare trains, the Accrington district holidays would be well catered for. These began on Sunday the 20 th , with a special to Barmouth, departing at 08:06 and calling at Aberdovey at 12:48, Towyn 12:55, Fairbourne 13:15 and arriving in Barmouth at 13:22. Passengers wishing to ride on the Talyllyn Railway should alight at Towyn and at Fairbourne for its narrow gauge line. The fares were £2:30p/£1:40p respectively and the return departed Barmouth at 18:25, and the stations in reverse order at 18:33, 18:55 and 19:02 back in Accrington at 23:40. On the following day there was another Mystery Mixture, with an additional item added at the destination included in the £3:50p/£2:40p fares. It departed Accrington at 07:32, Rishton 07:40, arriving at 12:18, returning at 17:55 and back in Rishton at 22:46, Accrington at 22:52. On Tuesday the 22 nd , the destination was Dumbarton, with a coach tour to Balloch, then a steamer cruise on Loch Lomond to Inversnaid, fares were £4:95p and £3:85p respectively. Times were Accrington 07:32, Rishton 07:40, Dumbarton arrive mid-day, return at 18:45 and back at 22:35 and 22:52 respectively. There were two choices on Thursday the 24 th , London and the Windsor tour again or to Scarborough. The train for the Yorkshire resort departed at 08:32 from Rishton, Accrington at 08:39, arriving at the destination at 11:30. The return departed at 18:13 and was home for 20:55 in Accrington and 21:01 in Rishton. The fares were £2:50p and £1:25p for a child. The inaugural meeting of the North West Region’s Liberal Party, was held in their Water Street offices. It was resolved at this conference to call for BR to halt the cuts to services with immediate effect, to improve the station environments along the East Lancs Line, to reopen the section between Colne and Skipton and to introduce passenger services between Rose Grove and Todmorden. There were also calls for a ‘radical’ improvement in the quality of the rolling stock used on all services. The excursions continued with Chester and North Wales (as before) on Sunday the 13 th , which would be repeated two weeks later on the 27 th . The fares were £3:90p/£1:80p on the special to Weston super-Mare on Monday the 28 th , departing at 07:37, (Rishton at 07:45), the train arrived in Weston-super Mare at 12:45, returning at 18:25 and arriving back at 23:17 and 23:24 respectively. Glasgow and an optional tour of the Trossachs were the options on Wednesday the 30 th , with the Glasgow fare set at £3:25p/£1:90, and the full package including luncheon at £6/£4:25p. A repeat of the London and Windsor special rounded the month off on Thursday the 31 st . Those staying closer to home were well catered for, with day and half-day specials to Blackpool on Sunday the 20 th , and trips every weekday from Monday the 21 st , through to Friday, August 1 st , for £1:02p for adults and 51p for children. Southport was the destination on Monday the 21 st , Thursday the 24 th and Tuesday the 29 th , at the same fares. Even more generous were the 88p and 44p return fares on the excursions to Morecambe on the 22 nd and 28 th , departing town at 10:23 arriving at 11:40, and returning at 19:40 back for 20:50. August Blackpool was again visited on Sundays the 3 rd , 10 th , 17 th and 24 th . London with the optional coach tour to Windsor ran again on Monday the 8 th , and there was a visit scheduled to Aberystwyth for a ride on the Vale of Rheidol on Sunday the 10 th . ( However, passengers who had booked before this excursion was cancelled were entitled to a full refund .) There was a Mystery Trip departing on Saturday the 16 th , the fares of £3:20p for an adult and £2 for a child, reflecting the fact that it would be returning overnight. Every Wednesday up until September 24 th , there were day excursions under the banner of ‘Discover Lovely Lakeland’, which entailed rail travel via Penrith, coach and steamer trips to Bowness and Windermere, for the all-inclusive fare of £2:95p and £1:50p. On the Bank Holiday Monday the 25 th , there were several choices available to York, another Mystery Trip and Blackpool or Southport, whilst the Ladies’ Day tickets to London for £7:50p would be available right up until September the 25 th . September ‘London Savers’ would be available every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from the 1 st to the 25 th , at £5 per adult £2:50p per child, with a return on the same day. There was a Ramblers’ Excursion to Morecambe on Sunday the 7 th , with organised walks from Giggleswick, Clapham and Bentham. A Mystery excursion that had been advertised in BR’s ‘Explore Britain’ programme to run on Saturday the 13 th , was cancelled and this was also the fate which befell the trip to Bletchley on Thursday

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