Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

change the way railways were operated and maintained. Many of these changes passed the East Lancashire Line by, and what changes there were came slowly.) 1996 January On Friday, the 19 th , a train travelling at speed from Blackpool North to Scarborough, hit a pile of concrete which had been placed on the lines about 200 yards to the west of Accrington Station. There were about fifty passengers on the Class 158 DMU at the time, and the unit suffered a damaged front guard rail which was designed to protect the wheels. The obstruction was made up of a pile of the lids which are made to cover the troughs in which the signalling cables are housed. The train was taken back to Blackburn where it was taken out of service and the passengers were transferred to a later train. On the following day close to this location and using the same type of slabs, another train this time travelling from York to Blackpool North, was also attacked in this way. Unfortunately, the CCTV close circuit surveillance cameras which cover the station’s platforms could not pick up any images further down the line. However, the police did have a description of a person seen lurking around at the times in which these incidents had occurred. April When the Blackpool to Colne train failed due to a fault with the brakes just short of Huncoat Station on the 9 th , paramedics had to be called to remove two children a boy and a girl who had been taken ill on the stranded train. Traffic was held up for over an hour at Huncoat level crossing, until engineers were able to rectify the fault and by this time other trains were also running an hour late. May MP Greg Pope had expressed his disgust at the Government’s plans to privatise the railways. Figures released by the Labour Party, suggested that this policy would cost every taxpayer £89:76p, which would be a direct result of a £2·5 billion sum by the end of the first year, and this equated to £1 billion more than cutting 1 penny of the Income Tax rate announced in the Chancellor’s October budget. The Government was also prepared to write off the £900 million debt prior to Railtrack’s privatisation. June The DofTS submitted a report outlining the East Lancs Railside Revival Programme, its progress to date, and its proposals for 1996/97. It was resolved to continue to support this programme and to authorise the implementation of Phase 6, which included the West Accrington Recreational Corridor, which would utilise part of the land covered by the former BR carriage sidings and the locomotive coaling tower. It was decided that members would make a site visit to this area in the near future. Also on the 4 th , at a meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee, the Chief Executive informed members of the proposed sale of the railway franchise to Cross Country Trains Ltd, and the possible implications for the Borough. It was resolved to note his report and to support the response of the North West Region’s Transport Association. July A train driver, Nigel Barker, described the moment last October, when a 53-year-old woman stepped in front of his train as he was travelling at between 65 and 70 miles per hour on the line approaching Church & Oswaldtwistle Station and had immediately applied the emergency brake. He related that she had her back to the approaching train and was walking in the centre of the rails. “She did not even bother to look around, so I never even saw her face”, he added. She was killed instantly when she was hurled some 70 yards down the embankment. The jury heard that she had attempted to take her own life previously and then returned an ‘open’ verdict. August A dispute as to who was responsible for the maintenance of the underpass connecting Crossland Street with Grant Street had rumbled on for over two years. Continual flooding had caused Railtrack to seal off the entrances when Hyndburn Council had complained it was in a dangerous state. But people used to using the underpass had resorted to breaking down the fences and crossing the lines on foot, despite the fact that there was a £1,000 fine for trespassing on the railway. The Council were insisting that since it ran under the land owned by the railway, Railtrack were the ones responsible for all the necessary repairs. October A man was fined £100 with £70 costs for trespassing on the railway near Grimshaw Street. November The Forestry Commission was to join forces with Hyndburn Council to plant trees and shrubs along the trackbed of the disused railway between Great Harwood and Whitebirk. At a cost of £7,000 two acres would be planted with Alder, Ash, Oak, Hazel and Cherry to enhance the line which was popular with walkers, horse riders and cyclists. A private contractor would be hired to do this work. In the chronicles of railways in East Lancashire, Saturday the 11 th , was a red letter day as it marked the twenty-fifth running of the St James Day Tripper.

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