Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

Edinburgh was the destination of a ‘Rambler’ excursion which ran on Saturday the 21 st . The fares were £6:60p with children half fare. The one night ‘Mini-Breaks’ to London would continue up to April 30 th , 1982 (with exception of December the 24 th /25 th /26 th /27 th /30 th /31 st , March 6 th , and April 9 th /10 th /11 th ). The fare for the 1st Class package was £33:50p and the ‘standard’ package was £24:00. December A ‘Rambler’ went to Durham on Saturday the 5 th , departing at 08:37, calling at Thirsk at 10:48 (18:19), Northallerton 10:59 (18:08), Darlington 11:14 (17:54) and arriving in Durham at 11:39. The return left at 17:30 and was back for 20:37 with the fares at £4:20p and £2:10p for a child. There was a choice on Saturday the 12 th , of a ‘Christmas Shopper’ special to Sheffield, with timings of 09:20 from Accrington, arriving at Midland Station at 11:11 returning at 17:18 and back for 19:03. The fares were £3:20p and £1:60p for a child. Whilst on the same day there was yet another popular Mystery excursion. ( The 33 Mystery excursions identified in this chapter took the total number operated to over 100.)

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1982 to 1990 THE WIND OF CHANGE 1982 ( It was already obvious, that a disproportionate amount of investment in new trains and infrastructure would be directed to London and the South East. Over half a century after electrification of the local lines and been proposed it was again being suggested, but this was pure speculation and as time would show would not take place This was also the year in which the Serpell Report was published. This was commissioned to examine the finances of British Railways and the manner in which it was funded. If Beeching was the axe-man then Serpell would have been the undertaker, as one of its proposals was to close up to 84% of the network, which if implemented, would have certainly seen the loss of all of the East Lancs Line.) January The year did not start well as there were strikes by Members of ASLEF on Wednesday and Thursday, the 13 th and 14 th , to be repeated on the 20 th and 21 st . The Union said they were because BR had refused to honour a 3% pay increase, which BR said was to be linked to an increase in productivity. On Monday, the 18 th , the rear of a tanker train consisting of seventeen fully loaded wagons of 1,300 tons came off the rails in the Antley district of Accrington. The train was in the process of accelerating away from a signal stop when the last two bogie tanks, each containing 80 tons of black pitch, came off the rails before running on the wooden sleepers, where they ripped up about a hundred yards of track before tipping over and spilling their contents onto the embankment near Pearl Street. The driver, Herbert Scholey, feeling a jerk and increasing drag halted his train, whilst his guard John Wraithmill went to raise the alarm so that drivers of other trains were aware of the situation. Council workers dammed the tar using sandbags to stop it from flowing into Star Street. Fire Brigade Officer, Roger Savage, said they would have to wait for the pitch to cool before trying to remove it, as it was held in a liquid state in the heated tanks. Having been detached, the locomotive and the remaining tankers which had commenced the journey in Ossett, was allowed to continue on to Preston Docks for unloading. Although investigators were examining the permanent way, it was believed the tracks had spread due to the sheer weight of the train. A spokesman for BR said there would be little disruption to services as trains were able to pass slowly in safety on the adjacent line. When the site had been secured, a crane was summoned from Wigan to lift the tankers upright, and normal running resumed on Tuesday. Since this length of line known as the Church Loop was rarely used, it was likely it would not be repaired and lifted altogether, said a spokesman for BR.

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