Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

I have received a reply to my letter to Sarah Britcliffe. It states that she agrees that transport infrastructure is “an important part of levelling up”. The most significant statement in her reply is that the funding for the next stage of the bid to reinstate the Colne to Skipton line had been approved by the Department for Transport, and has been passed to the Treasury for final approval. She has pledged to continue lobbying Ministers on behalf of SELRAP to support this cause. However, this did not deal with the subject of the disparity between what is being made available to the Greater Manchester and Merseyside Metropolitan areas, which was the thrust of my correspondence. The two of the Class 90s which passed through Accrington on Monday last 007 & 047, returned from Balm Road on Wednesday morning to go back to Basford Hall. This time the locomotive towing them was Freightliner 66:553. December Business leaders had again discussed the possibility of establishing freight handling facilities at the former Huncoat Power Station site. It was a project first discussed during Graham Jones’ tenure as the local MP, and has been on the cards ever since. There seems to be a consensus of opinion that this would benefit the area both by giving local firms access to a wider market especially in Europe, whilst creating job opportunities. On Saturday the 18 th Locomotive Services Ltd operated an excursion which commenced its journey in Rugby. From there it was hauled to Crewe by a Class 90 in ‘ Intercity ’ livery with 47:614 on the rear. In Crewe the 90 was replaced by Royal Scot #46100, to continue along the West Coast Mainline to Farington Junction and Lostock Junction. From there it would proceed via the East Lancs Line to Gannow and then via Copy Pit, Todmorden, Rochdale and through the Greater Manchester conurbation back to Crewe, where the steam engine would come off to allow the train to return south under the wires. However, delays had begun before reaching Farington where it was held for almost an hour. It was obvious that something was amiss. It was clear that the famous steam locomotive, first introduced in 1927 and rebuilt in 1943, had failed en route. (It turned out to be a malfunction of the injectors to feed sufficient water into the boiler.) Later the train moved past Farington to Preston Station, where after another delay it finally departed south via the Farington Curve and finally regained its booked path. The result of this was that instead of passing through Accrington Station at 14:47, it was almost 16:00 when it appeared, even though the driver of 47:614 had managed to pull back a little time. The Class 47 was new in June 1964 as D1733 and first allocated to Cardiff Canton Sheds. It later was renumbered to 47:141 and also carried 47:853 before receiving the previous TOPS identity. It is now the property of Locomotive Services based in Crewe. It also had carried the name ‘ Rail Express ’ for a period earlier in this century, and was fitted with snow shields as it passed through. The cheapest seats on this special were £190 standard up to £325 per person for the full dining experience. West Coast Railways operated another of their excursions on Tuesday the 21 st , the shortest day of the year. This involved the movement of the empty Pullman stock from Steamtown Carnforth to Huddersfield where this ‘special’ was to begin. It passed through Accrington mid-morning topped by regular 47:601 ‘ Windsor Castle ’ and tailed by 47:314, the former D1795. This loco was new in January 1965 to Tinsley Sheds in Sheffield. During the 1990s it carried the name ‘ Transmark ’. Both locos were in the operator’s livery with #601 in the Pullman version. On the trains the only day when there would be no Northern services at all, would be Christmas Day. On Sunday - Boxing Day and on New Year’s Day and Sunday the 1 st of January there would be a “reduced service”. It wasn’t possible to summarise what had happened this year, without making reference to the pandemic which had ravaged its way in waves across the nation. There was something of a recovery during the summer but all transport has been adversely affected by the varying restrictions placed upon us. To sum it up, 2021 was the year of the train or more accurately the locomotive. Whilst there has been very little of note to record on the buses, for various reasons there has probably been more locomotive movements on the East Lancs Line than for many years. The main cause for this had been the extensive amounts of work on the east side of the Greater Manchester conurbation, due to the upgrading of sections of the route across the Pennines. These trains were often topped and tailed by class 66s. With the decision by Freightliner to withdraw their operation of electric traction, there were movements of engines between Crewe and Leeds, where they have a maintenance facility. The Class 90’s needing diesel locos to take them there and back, bringing even more Class 66s through the town.

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