Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

January With no train services on New Year’s Day, the first week of the 2023 would see further industrial action by both the RMT and ASLEF in an escalation of their continuing disputes. The stand-off between the unions and their employers, supported by the non-intervention of the government shows no signs as yet of a resolution. Monday the 2 nd , despite being designated as a Bank Holiday, saw the normal frequency of train services. The first day of strike action was on Tuesday the 3 rd , continuing on Wednesday the 4 th . With ASLEF out on Thursday the 5 th , the NUR had two more days of no trains on Friday the 6 th and Saturday the 7 th , meaning that the first week in the New Year was virtually train-less. On Sunday the 15 th , there was another movement of a loco-hauled train when Colas Rail’s 70:814 brought a short train of stock from Doncaster - Roberts Road to Carlisle North Yard through Accrington. The vehicle immediately behind the engine was the remains of a burnt-out, long-wheelbase, log transporting wagon, with the others looking in a poor state of repair. As it passed over the Viaduct it crossed with a DMU consisting of 150:225 and 150:125 going east on the Preston to Colne service. The VTG tanks had only run on one occasion previously in the New Year, on the previous Thursday behind another Class 70. During the evening of Saturday the 21 st , the empty stock of the West Coast Railways ‘Cumbrian Mountain’ special returned from Manchester through Accrington, hauled by 47:802 and 47:804. It had been on a Manchester to Carlisle and return excursion hauled by preserved and turned out Black 5 #44932. Between January 1952 and February 1957 this locomotive was allocated to 24A Accrington, so as it ran via Blackburn and the Ribble Valley Route, it was probably covering ground where it previously worked some seventy years previously. With two strikes scheduled for later in the week, the VTG tanker train ran on Monday the 30 th , behind Colas Rail’s 70:805 with twelve double bogie tank wagons in tow. February Following a week blighted by strikes the VTG tanker train operated again on Monday the 6 th , behind Colas Rail’s 70:807 with eleven bogie tank wagons in tow. This service has regularly been running ahead of booked time recently, and on Thursday the 9 th , the same loco was through fully 23 minutes early. Just after midnight on Friday the 10 th , after the passenger services had ended, the track measuring train ran from east to west through Accrington, returning several hours later. For the past two weeks Colas Rail’s VTG tanker train has run on Mondays and Thursdays only, and has run earlier than the booked schedule. On Thursday the 16 th it was through Accrington at 10:25 a full 21 minutes before it was due behind 70:808 with twelve in tow. February 4th Week A pattern for the running of the Colas Rail’s VTG tanker train between Preston Docks and Lindsey Oil Terminal near Scunthorpe appears now established. If it operates on Mondays it will run again on Thursdays. It also appears to be consistently coming east ahead of the booked schedule, for on Thursdays the 23 rd it arrived at Accrington Railway Station at 10:30 with 9 bogie tanks wagons in tow behind 70:813. At approximately 22:35 in the evening of Friday the 24 th , 60103 Flying Scotsman passed through Accrington en route to the East Lancs Railway from Edinburgh via Carlisle. It was ‘in steam’ with one support carriage in tow. Possibly the most famous steam locomotive in the world, it is touring the country to celebrate its 100th centenary. Built to a design by Nigel Gresley, the Chief engineer of the London & North Eastern Railway, it emerged from Doncaster Locomotive Works in 1923 as LNER #4472. This A1 4-6-2 Pacific was the first one to reach an authenticated 100 miles per hour, although an unconfirmed report always maintained that this speed was first reached by Great Western Railway’s 4-4-0 City of Truro #3440 several years before. It will spend time operating on this heritage railway before continuing on a nationwide tour. A virtually the same time a Balfour-Beatty ‘Stone-Blower’ unit passed through in the opposite direction en route from Guide Bridge to Preston. For three consecutive weekends Preston Station was closed for engineering work to be carried out, which meant all services were operating to and from Blackburn to York Colne and Manchester, with rail replacement road vehicles bridging the gaps further west. On the final two days of the month Monday and Tuesday, Colas Rail’s 70:807 was back in charge of a rake of 12 double bogie tank wagons, which was a break from the recently established pattern. This could mean that with the winter receding, the demand was on the increase for the product. On most weekdays the number of passenger trains passing through Accrington is now regularly in the mid-nineties.

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