Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

August At a meeting of the Development Services Committee it was resolved, that the following developments would be carried out for the purposes of Regulation 4, (Paragraph 5) of the Town & Country Planning Act - General Regulations 1976 - 1. Reclamation of the site of the former Spring Tip and disused railway line in Rishton, for the formation of a playing field, with car park and access. 2. Reclamation of the site of the dismantled railway line at Lower Cunliffe in Rishton, for use as a public open space. 3. Reclamation of the site of the dismantled railway between the former Lee Bridge in Tottleworth and the former Lidget Bridge in Rishton, for use as a public open space. 4. A change of use for the former railway sidings on Charter Street, in Accrington, for the short-term recreational use as an events park, including a space for car parking. September On Saturday the 30 th , Middlesbrough was the destination of a special excursion, this time with a Class 40 number 181 from Crewe Sheds on the nine coach train. October On Saturday the 13 th , 45:137 was at the head of the ten carriage excursion to Oxford. A Toton engine, it carried the name of the ‘Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (TA)’. November On Saturday the 3 rd , 47:490 was at the head of the special excursion to Salisbury, with ten carriages in tow, another Crewe shedded engine. However the return was behind 47:032. The Full Council met when in pursuant to a minute from the Development Services Committee it was resolved - “ That this Authority is determined to proceed in securing the site of the disused railway land at Tottleworth in Rishton and to undertake itself, or otherwise, to secure the reclamation of this land in pursuance of Sections 89 and 103 of the National Parks & Countryside Act 1949, as amended by Section 3 of the Derelict Land Act 1982 ”. It was further resolved to make a Compulsory Purchase Order to secure the acquisition of this site, and the Town Clerk was authorised to submit this Order to the Secretary of State for the Environment for approval, whilst the Borough Solicitor was authorised to make all legal representations and steps prescribed within the Law, in connection with this move. Similar moves were also authorised in connection with the acquisition of the land at Lower Cunliffe in Rishton. A ten coach special ran on Saturday the 10 th , this time to Stafford with 47:438 of Crewe on the front, whilst the loco for the return journey was 47:408. It seemed like better news for the East Lancs Line as Lostock Hall Station was reopened, but Mr Derrick Harrison from Support The East Lancashire Line Association (STELLA), pointed out that the singling of the line east of Gannow Junction would henceforth mean the end of excursion trains travelling beyond Rose Grove. The General Manager of British Railways - London Midland Region, Malcolm Southgate, had told a meeting of LCC’s Highways & Transportation Committee held in September, which included Councillor George Slynn, they were proposing to introduce some of the new Class 142 diesel multiple units onto the East Lancs Line. Based on the body of the Leyland National bus, they were due to come into service during early 1986. December At the very end of the year it was announced that Huncoat Power Station was to close, which meant the complex of sidings associated with the handling of fuel would become redundant. Eventually some of the area they covered would be on the line of the M65 Motorway. ( There was a rather over-ambitious plan to construct a ‘theme park’ on the site of the power station. Called Zeri World that would create a “Venice of the North”, which it was claimed would boost rail travel on the East Lancs Line to previously unprecedented levels. This of course was a pipe-dream of the businessman Eddie Quiligotti, who ran a tile manufacturing business in Stockport. However, when the land was put up for sale in 1991, he refused to pay the asking price, so Zeri World never cast off its moorings. Demolition of the main buildings would not take place until much later. ) 1985 ( The concept of trains being used for recreational excursions was now becoming an issue, with BR trying to thwart any other than those where the operator was prepared to take all the financial risks and also do most of the associated organising. Throughout the post-war period the railways had been the major outlet for those seeking a break from their work-a-day existences, but it was now becoming obvious that the hierarchy of BR were trying to discourage any extensions to this type of release from the

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