Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

complication that on the return journey passengers would be conveyed by bus between Blackburn, Rishton and Accrington, due to engineering work on the line. A fortnight later the final Rambler of the year was to Barnsley and Sheffield for walks in the Don Valley. This train would only call at Rishton on the return leg, and the fares were £4:20p and £2:10p for a child. The diesel units used on this train were 53519-53467-53634-59390-53733. 1984 ( It was the closing of their Burnley Office by the Burnley Building Society, subsequent to their merger with the Provincial Building Society to create the newly formed National & Provincial Building Society, which saw a transfer of jobs to the Bradford Office which ultimately saved the line between Hall Royd Junction in Todmorden and Gannow Junction in Burnley from being closed during the 1980s. The process of reclaiming former railway land for conversion to recreational uses was now in full swing. ) January The year began with a special to Hereford on the 21 st , and again the train was made up of nine carriages pulled by 47:453 from Crewe Diesel Sheds. A substantial fall of snow came down on overnight on Friday the 27 th , causing considerable disruption to transport services in the area, so a snowplough was active on the railway lines during the following few days. February On Saturday the 11 th , a Mystery Trip was off from Rishton and Accrington, but not calling at Rishton on the return leg. The fares were £7:90p and £3:95p for a child. The destination turned out to be Leicester and the seven coach train was pulled by 47:489 from Bescot’s (Birmingham) allocation. ( As far as I can ascertain this was the final excursion of this type to be organised by BR, and it brought to an end a longstanding series of Mystery excursions which had operated since April 1970 and had run to about 120 trips .) A full scale alert causing ambulances to rush to Huncoat was sparked off, when the driver of a train thought he had struck a child on the lines close to the railway station. Following a search lasting over an hour during which nothing was found, it was called off. It was thought that the children playing there had jumped clear at the last moment. Commenting, Peter Halsall, Public Relations Officer of BR, explained that the driver had rounded a curve at speed, when he saw two children on the tracks. He had braked immediately, but was beyond the place where he had spotted them before he could bring his train to a halt. He warned that it was not only dangerous to use the lines as a footpath or to take a short cut, but also illegal. He asked parents to warn their offspring that trains cannot stop quickly, and they were risking their lives by trespassing on the lines. He added, that workers on the railway wore brightly coloured clothing in order to make them conspicuous, whereas other were not so obvious and could blend into the background making them difficult to see. Drivers were currently doing the rounds of schools to impress upon youngsters the dangers of playing on the lines. March The Highways & Transportation Committee met when the Town Clerk submitted a copy of Lancashire County Council’s objections to British Railways’ proposal, to close the Settle to Carlisle line to passenger services. He drew attention to the fact that the County Council wanted all districts to support it in these representations. It was resolved to give Hyndburn’s full support to LCC and the Transport Users’ Consultative Committee, in their campaign against this move as a prelude to closing this important route altogether. Martholme Viaduct was granted Grade II Listed Building status on Friday, March the 9 th , which meant it would be saved from demolition despite having been out of use for two decades. On Saturday March 10 th , the special excursion was to Lincoln with 47:501 in charge of the nine carriages. This was an engine allocated to Old Oak Common Sheds in London. April Advanced notice was given of a ‘New Train Service’ which would operate in association with the National Provincial Building Society in May. The timetable of this train was as follows - Monday to Friday Returns Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays Returns Thursday & Friday Preston 07:18 19:04 18:07 Blackburn 07:36 18:41 17:43 Accrington 07:47 18:28 17:30

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