Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

D1652 and allocated to Cardiff Canton Sheds. It had previously carried TOPs numbers 47:068 and 47:632. As before, steam would take the train on to Scarborough from York. Perhaps encouraged by the fact that in 2020 the Department of Transport moved the opening of the Colne to Skipton Line to the ‘development’ stage from the ‘decision to initiate’ category, SELRAP are to meet again in Skipton on September the 13 th , to discuss future plans. This will be the 20th anniversary of the formation of this action group. In the morning of Wednesday the 15 th , running some 35 minutes early, a Freightliner Class 66 number 419, passed through Accrington on a Crewe, Basford Hall, to Blackburn engineering train. It had come via the roundabout route through Manchester and then via Copy Pit. On Thursday the 16 th , it was ‘same again’ as it passed through, this time some ten minutes late. The wagons contained new ballast, whilst those immediately behind the engine were stacked with treated wooden sleepers already fitted with chairs and clips and giving off a distinct odour. On the 20 th , the Track Treatment Train paid another visit to the East Lancs Line as far as Gannow Junction and return, whist the locomotive on the VTG tanker train was 70:808. In a ploy to emphasize that only 10% of government investment in railways is being targeted at the north, SELRAP had sent spirit levels to several Members of Parliament to highlight this ongoing disparity. They claimed that there was a “gross bias” towards the south when it came to spending. They have also voiced a deep frustration at the lack of a decision to allow construction to commence on the Colne to Skipton section. On Saturday the 25 th , another of West Coast Railways Pullman services passed through Accrington. It had originated in York and come south to Blackburn, before reversing to travel up the Ribble Valley route to Hellifield and then on to Carlisle. It came through during the morning topped-and tailed by 57:316 with 57:313 on the rear. During the afternoon, running some 40 minutes late, it returned having changed around in Blackburn to go back to York. Carriages, including the staff sleeping car were all in the maroon and cream Pullman livery. October Engineering work had dominated the final few days of the month. Starting on Saturday the 23 rd and Sunday the 24 th , buses/coaches were replacing trains between Blackburn and Hebden Bridge. On the trains, Colne to Preston services were unaffected, but the Blackpool North to York trains were terminating and turning back at Rose Grove. There was no Blackburn to Manchester Victoria services as passengers were being directed to change at Hebden Bridge, along with people for Halifax, Bradford, Leeds and York. The weekend of Saturday and Sunday the 30 th and the 31 st saw a similar pattern of arrangements. Most was the normal rolling stock, with the exception of two-car 158:905 on the Blackpool to Rose Grove shuttle. It was however on the freight side that things had dramatically changed. On Sunday there were no less than seven scheduled movements between Stansfield Hall Junction and Crewe Basford Hall. On Monday a further four would run, on Tuesday three, continuing on Wednesday with two more and ending on Thursday with just one. These had a mix of timings from the early hours through to the early evening, on one occasion passing through Accrington some 221 minutes early, whilst others were up to 45 minutes behind the booked timing. Most were hauled by Freightliner Class 66s, with a few exceptions. One of these was GBR’s 66:777, and on two occasions by Colas Rail’s class 56’s all hired in by Freightliner. The contents of these trains were old wooden sleepers and used ballast lifted during the course of an upgrade to the permanent way, the ballast no doubt to be washed and recycled into other schemes. Other Freightliner locos included 66:599, 66:594 and 66:414. The Colas Rail’s 56’s had not been seen for quite some time on the VTG tanker train, which of recent times had been exclusively in the hands of Class 70s, number 813, on Tuesday the 26 th . Those noted were 56:049 double-headed with 56:116 and 56:302 on its own. Such was my disquiet at the recent announcements of funding for the North West, I had been moved to write the following letter to the Member of Parliament for Hyndburn and Haslingden, Sarah Britcliffe. Some years ago at a meeting of Travelwatch UK - North West in Lancaster, I suggested that the mythical line dividing the south from the north often referred to as the Watford Gap, was now being redrawn in Lancashire just north of Ramsbottom and just south

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