Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

On the morning of Thursday the 10 th , West Coat Trains had operated The Scarborough Spa Express. This had commenced at the Company’s base in Carnforth and picked up passengers at Lancaster, Preston and at 07:36 Blackburn, before heading through Accrington via Copy Pit and Hebden Bridge to York. It was double-headed by two Class 37s, with 37:706 piloting 37:685, named Lock Arkaig . (It was scheduled that a steam engine would take the train on from York and return). New in May, 1961, as D6716 and allocated to Stratford Sheds (30A) in East London, 37:706 had been renumbered in the TOPS system to 37:016 and had previously carried the names British Steel Shelton and Conidae . 37:685 was new in May, 1961, as D6934 and allocated to Llandore Sheds (87E) in Swansea, it later carried TOPS number 37:234. For about a year at the turn of the Millennium this loco had spent time across the Channel in France. Every fortnight West Coast Railways would be operating a ‘special’ through Accrington, alternating weekly with one going from Blackburn, to Hellifield and beyond on the Ribble Valley Line on alternate Thursdays. There were more empty stock movements on Thursday the 17 th , when 2 x 57:xxx engines came through Accrington with the Northern Belle - Ladies Day excursion, whilst 2 x 47:xxx topped and tailed another running of the ‘Dalesman’. It was reported that the final DMU to be refurbished in Northern’s current programme #158:861, had left Arriva Train Care in Crewe during May. The units that had previously gone through Phase 1 in Phase 2 would be fitted with CCTV, better internal customer information screens in ‘real time’ and wi-fi. They will have performance-based systems to improve availability and operation. The new CAF units, including the 195:xxx and 331:xxx EMUs had collectively clocked up 10, million miles in the 20 months since they had been introduced into service. In the latest effort to promote the reinstatement of the Colne to Skipton missing link, SELRAP has released a video highlighting what would be the benefits if the line was put back in. They include a saving of 1 hour and 26 minutes between Colne and Leeds obviating the necessity to travel to Accrington in order to change trains. Fortunately for residents of Earby, the old station site was protected by Lancashire County Council from any development in the hope that the town would be reconnected at some point. It would be necessary to add another platform in Colne in order to implement a service running at a half hourly frequency, according to Chairman, Peter Bryson. “If the projected development of a Rail Freight Terminal was to be progressed at the former Huncoat Power Station site, it followed that the lines connecting Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley with Todmorden over the Copy Pit route would need upgrading”, according to Chris Heaton-Harris, the Rail Minister in the current government. Grant Shapps had pledged half-a-million pounds to develop this and eight other schemes in the North West. These include one to reintroduce passenger services on the section of the Ribble Valley Line beyond Clitheroe to Hellifield. The route learning, light engine movements have intensified towards the end of the month, with Freightliner’s 66:553 being deployed on Tuesday, the 29 th , whilst Colas Rail’s 70:809 was the locomotive on the VTG tanks for the second week running. July ‘ BEECHING’S LEGACY ’ in the form of D1645 the ‘heritage’ liveried Class 47 was a welcome returnee on Thursday the 1 st . It was on another of those turns where a Class 90 was being taken from Crewe to Leeds Balm Road. On this occasion the locomotive on tow was 90:041 in full Freightliner livery. Also during the early hours, the track maintenance train topped and tailed by a pair of yellow Class 37s passed through. This has become a more frequent visitor of late. On Sunday the 4 th , the Leeds - Balm Road to Crewe - Basford Hall light engine movement took Freightliner’s 90:041 back along with ‘ named ’ 66:594 behind 66:531. It appears that one possible explanation for the route learning light engine movements, was the congestion caused by extra passenger trains now using both Victoria and Oxford Road stations via the Ordsall Link. This has made paths for freight less available and so there could be more using the East Lancs Line to avoid this bottleneck. Unusually, the VTG tanker train which usually starts and returns to Linsey Oil Refinery near Scunthorpe, is now scheduled to from and to a signal box near Billingham-on-Tees. By the beginning of July all of Northern’s 195:xxx diesel multiple units had been reintroduced into service, having been fitted with ‘spreader plates’ on the ‘T’ sections of the yaw damper brackets, to distribute the load over a greater area over the power bogies.

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