Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

power throughout the week. However, by chance I noted Freightliner 66:514 heading a rake of wagons west on the morning of Thursday the 19 th . I suspect that this was in conjunction with the ongoing engineering work on the Preston to Bolton or the Preston to Blackpool North lines. Only a day after I had photographed the double-headed Class 56s on the VTG tankers, I happened to be able to photograph it again speeding up out of Accrington, this time with Colas Rail’s 56:078 at the head of a brace of locomotives piloting 56:113. May On Wednesday the 9 th , the seventeenth day of industrial action by members of the RMT, the majority of train services were cancelled. This was in the long-running dispute over driver-only operated trains. Other strikes were due to be called, this time during the first week of the ‘summer’ timetable if once again talks to end the series of stoppages was not to be resolved. ‘Rail Support Services’ were again being provided by road transport. A spokeswoman for Arriva Northern Rail was adamant that the dispute was due to a lack of co-operation by the Union, but the Company has had its back to the wall recently due to an unprecedented number of train cancellations, due to not having sufficient drivers trained up on the Blackpool Section. In fact there were already calls for Arriva to be stripped of the franchise, only just over a year since they won it and before any of their planned improvements could be implemented. Freight had not been affected and on Tuesday the 8 th , 60:056 was in charge of the VTG tanker train, whilst on the following day the locomotive was 60:086, both in Colas Rail’s livery. The next day the locomotive in charge was 60:087. Most of the active Class 60 engines were now operating for Colas. On Sunday the 20 th , during the afternoon, a West Coast ‘mainline’ electric Bo-Bo was seen travelling west through Accrington being hauled dead by a West Coast Class 37:516. Obviously this was a positioning movement for the locomotive, which had, or was about to be, scheduled for a special train or a display. It was one of the operational Class 86:xxxs, number 259, formerly E3137 and then 86:045. It had carried several names and these were ‘ Peter Pan ’, between 10/1979 and 10/1995, ‘ Greater Manchester – The Life & Soul of Britain ’ between 10/1995 and 02/2002 and latterly ‘ Lee Ross ’ to date. It carries the electric blue livery with white roof cab domes. The 37 was formerly D6786 and then 37:086 and is named ‘ Loch Laidon ’. Due to the delay in opening the electrified lines to Blackpool, and the many cancellations to services by Arriva Rail North caused by a backlog in driver training, the new timetables due to come into force at midnight on Saturday the 19 th , had not been available. It was rumoured that the proofs had not been released to the printers in time. However, when they did eventually appear, supposedly by the end of the month, they would show substantial changes to the previous services and this had once again brought the operator into criticism from several quarters. The ratings for this operator were some of the most shocking as far as performance was concerned, with only 32% of trains operating to schedule, 35% outside of the expected running times, with 33% cancelled and not operating at all. Those services running were subject to serious overcrowding and passengers were to say the very least disgruntled to the point of anger. Again there had been calls for the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, to intervene and even to suspend the franchise as a result of this situation. Another excuse offered by the operator was the protracted opening of the electrified line between Bolton and Preston, which we were now told would not be completed until the end of this year. ( The line was handed back by the engineers on November the 4 th . ) To compound the inconvenience to passengers, on Thursday the 24 th , the RMT held another one- day stoppage in support of their opposition to driver only operated trains. As a result there were ‘Rail Support Services’ operating on the East Lancs Line. Arriva was now utilising agency staff as their co ordinators, and I had to feel some sympathy for the beleaguered fellow who was doing his best to keep things moving on Eagle Street. Passengers who should have been on the 07:30 train to Todmorden were still waiting at 09:30, and by 10:00 he had organised a taxi to take them on their way. Other services were running late but at least were turning up. The great problem was that only two days later, there would be a similar strike, and he was to his credit advising those who had chosen to travel of this fact. Saturday the 26 th was the start of the Spring Bank Weekend, which was possibly why the RMT had chosen it for the second 24-hour stoppage, to gain maximum impact. This was a day when rail support services were co-ordinating transport between Blackburn and Colne as well as Todmorden. The two co-ordinators were not equipped with the usual running boards which were normally issued to people who were overseeing the transfer of passengers onto coaches, and were not all that clued up as to

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