Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

The 1st Class fare was now £38:00 and the ‘Standard’ Class £30:00. The ‘London Saver’ advertised as being in “Fast Inter-City Comfort” was also available at £15:00 with a £5:00 supplement for adults travelling between December 20 th and the 24 th . There was a £2:00 discount for Railcard holders and children between 5 and 16 were half fare. Return could be anything up to a month from the day of travel. October There was an Illuminations special on Saturday the 2 nd , at £2:20p and £1:00, identical to the one which had operated in September. The Policy & Resources Committee met when the Town Clerk submitted correspondence from the County Council, together with the details of amendments to the train timetables. It was noted that a deputation from County Hall were to meet with the General Manager of British Railways - London Midland Region on November 16 th , so the views of Hyndburn Council should be sent to them by October 12 th . It was resolved that Hyndburn Council would support LCC in their representations to BR, and the Town Clerk was requested to obtain statistics on the numbers of passengers using the East Lancs Line, if this was at all possible. Notice was given that bookings would close one month before the Bournemouth Weekend was due to operate on Saturday and Sunday, December 4 th and 5 th . The fares inclusive of train travel and accommodation were £36:00 for an adult and £18:00 each for children sharing. The bridge which would take the railway over the new bypass, some three-quarters of a mile east of Huncoat Station was due to be lifted into place. Weighing in at 1,500 tons and costing £750,000, the steel reinforced concrete structure would be moved a short distance from where it was constructed by Fairclough Civil Engineering, by sliding it sideways along tracks which had been laid through the existing railway embankment. During the 52 hours it would take to complete the move to its final position, the line would be closed from midnight on Friday the 29 th , until the following Monday at 04:00. During this time engineers would have to remove about 3,700 cubic metres of earth and replace it with 1,300 cubic metres of stone, before relaying the rails and restoring the signalling cables. When completed the bridge would have a single span 30 metres long and 9½ metres wide. Buses would ferry passengers between Huncoat and Rose Grove via Hapton Station whilst the work was underway. November On Saturday the 6 th , there was a ‘Rambler’ to Shrewsbury with fares at £3:80p and £1:95p. The timings were departing Accrington at 07:21, Rishton 07:28, and calling at Frodsham at 09:04 (19:01), Chester 09:23 (18:47), Wrexham 09:42 (18:28), Ruabon 09:53 (18:19), Chirk 10:00 (18:12), Gobowen 10:07 (18:06), and arriving in Shrewsbury at 10:28 from where it would return at 17:45. It was back for 20:35 and 20:42 respectively. The winter timetable came into operation on the 7 th , which would remain in force through to Spring Bank weekend in 1983. It showed two of the Sunday morning trains from Preston to Colne at 09:10 and 11:25 were to be cut from the service. The Colne to Preston trains at 07:45 and 13:10 were also withdrawn, whilst the 22:40 from Preston would now terminate in Blackburn. The reasons for these cuts were explained by BR’s Divisional Manager Trevor Anderson, by saying that “Lightly used services were one of the reasons why BR’s costs were ‘running away’. It was therefore prudent for us to make these revisions whilst at the same time endeavouring to minimise the inconvenience to our passengers”. Members of Hyndburn Council were also concerned about the reductions to the levels of staffing at Accrington Station, as there were to close the booking hall at 13:00 on Mondays to Saturdays and not open it at all on Sundays. This they felt was just another indication that BR was trying to close down the East Lancs Line. The Town Clerk, Nigel McGregor, had written to BR seeking assurances that this was not their intention and he was given guarantees that these moves were designed to safeguard the future of the line by increasing its profitability, at a time when BR was under severe financial strain. Anyone travelling by train to the Caravan & Camping Show on at Earl’s Court between the 11 th and the 21 st , could claim a discount on entry of £2:00 per adult and £1:00 per child on production of the train tickets. At a meeting of the Land Committee, the Borough Planning Officer reported that there would have to be an exchange of land between British Railways’ Property Board and Hyndburn Borough Council at the former Blackburn Power Station site in Rishton. He stated that each party would be responsible for their individual legal costs incurred as a result of this action, but the Property Board would still be responsible for the fencing off of the line and its maintenance.

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