Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

the Company and his own personal safety. He had discovered that during 1874 there had been 1,124 lives lost on the railways and over 5,000 people injured in railway accidents. During the evening a presentation was made to the goods guard William Gibson of £20 who had been injured in the Rose Grove accident. October In the afternoon of Sunday the 7 th , about 150 railwaymen met at Crawshaw’s Public Hall to march in procession to St John’s Church in Accrington, where the late Robinson Gibson had been a trustee, to attend a memorial service held in honour of their friend and colleague. December On Christmas Eve, the 9:20am express from Accrington to Salford was approaching Helmshore at speed before making its first stop in Haslingden, when the third carriage left the rails. The driver detecting that something was amiss stopped his train as soon as was possible. It was found that the rear axle of this carriage had snapped off in the boss of the wheel, but fortunately the chain couplings had held fast and had kept the carriage upright on the rails despite travelling for over half a mile on the sleepers. Had the driver not acted so quickly, it was likely that this carriage would have gone down a steep embankment, with the possibility of serious injuries to the passengers, even fatalities. During the evening of Boxing Day a Salford to Colne train, having run through onto the viaduct, was reversing back onto the platform when the rear carriage derailed on the crossing points, hitting the parapet and dislodging several of the heavy coping stones. These fell down into the yard where the stables were located, fortunately on this occasion no animals or people were hurt. During the month several passengers were prosecuted for attempting to defraud the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway by travelling without valid tickets. Two labourers from Accrington, Henry Heys and Reginald Rickets both had purchased tickets to Accrington but had stayed on the train to Huncoat without paying the excess fare. Another prosecution was brought against Rupert Lambert on evidence offered by a Commercial Traveller, Harold Moscrop from Bolton. He stated on departing out of Burnley Barracks Station he heard the accused claim he owed an excess fare from Accrington, when in fact he had boarded the train in along with Mr Moscrop in Blackburn.

CHAPTER 3 1876 The firm of Stevens & Co. were responsible for the construction of signal boxes on the L & Y system, and Accrington South Box was one of their creations which opened during this year. April On the 7 th , the trial was held at Preston Quarter Sessions of two Helmshore men, who it was alleged, had stolen goods to the value of over £100 from the L & Y. It was stated that trains ascending the steep incline between Haslingden Station and Helmshore often slowed to a walking pace which would enable people to jump on and off with relative ease, as had been the case with the 11:40pm goods from Ramsbottom. The L & Y’s Inspector of Railway Police acting on a tip off had gone to a house at Top o’th-Brow in Helmshore belonging to Richard Webster and then to the house of James Quinton, also in

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