Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

were being turned out every week from their works at Newton Heath. These carriages were four feet longer than the previous stock with more headroom, and fitted with Westinghouse brakes throughout. The seats were upholstered in superior moquette in the 1st and 2nd Class compartments, and there were compartments for the non-smoking passengers. The fitting of a continuous drawbar was also a new innovation, and one of these sets had been operated in service between Manchester and Bacup in order to prove their suitability. They were painted in a livery of two shades of brown with gold lining, and were primarily for use on the Company’s Scots expresses, so were compatible with the Midland Railway’s stock. November It was announced that Mr Henry H. Goodier, the District Superintendent of Passenger Traffic in the East Lancs Division, had resigned his appointment after 38 years’ service on the railway. He was to take over as landlord of the Hargreaves Arms Hotel on Manchester Road from Mr Sefton, but would stay in post until his successor had settled in. December On Tuesday, the 17 th , Alderman Cunliffe along with a group of the town’s businessmen, represented Accrington at a meeting with the Directors of the L & Y trying to secure a reduction in the prices charged for the carriage of goods during very difficult trading times, in light of the fact the Company had paid out a quite healthy dividend. The Chairman, Mr Thomas Barnes, said this subject would be given serious consideration at the next meeting of the Board, but they would have to understand that they also had the shareholders to consider. He commended them for the clear and concise manner in which they had presented their case. On Wednesday, the 18 th , an inquest was held before Mr C. H. Beck, the Deputy Coroner at the Royal Hotel on Blackburn Road, into the death of William Ainsworth a fireman on the L & Y. The driver on the footplate of the engine in question, Lewis Howarth stated, “We were coming down from Haslingden to Accrington at about 3am on Sunday last, and when we reached Baxenden Station the deceased went around the side of my locomotive in order to oil and grease it, which is best achieved when it is in motion. It was very foggy and freezing cold at the time and I was only travelling at about 4 or 5 miles an hour. By Baxenden Colliery I stopped because he had not returned, so I decided to walk back along the line then I found him lying quite dead, and noticed he had been bleeding from a wound on his temple”. A Juror asked if this was a normal duty for a fireman and if there were sufficient handholds and footways around the locomotive, ( which were all confirmed ), also was true that Ainsworth had been working for fourteen hours when the accident to him had occurred? The Coroner dismissed the insinuation that the time that Ainsworth had been on duty had anything to do with his demise, as it had been shown that he had only been on the footplate for about eight. The son of the deceased said his father was sixty-nine years of age and had worked on the railway for over thirty years, confirming that his demotion from the position of driver had been because on one occasion his locomotive had been allowed to run out of control. John Hoyle, who was Shed Master at Accrington, said it had been his task to recover the body, and had noticed extensive injuries to the back of his head. The Jury returned a verdict of accidental death. 1879 January On Thursday, the 2 nd , the 6:15pm train from Manchester having run through by a quarter of a mile onto the viaduct, was in the process of backing up onto the platform when the rear carriage derailed sending coping stones down into Crawshaw’s stables yard. It displaced coping stones for a distance of twelve yards some thirty feet down chipping masonry from the gable end of the building below. At the time the train was only moving slowly and if it had been moving at any speed the carriage itself might well have fallen off the viaduct as well. The horses in the stables had just been washed down, fed and watered, but were startled by the crashing and kicked about inside their stalls until they were calmed. Fortunately there were no people in the yard at the time. On the 11 th , Adam Dugdale Esq, acting for the L & Y, sent the following correspondence to the Mayor of Blackburn who had led the deputation of East Lancs councillors to a meeting at Hunts Bank that included representatives from Accrington. ( A synopsis ) - Sirs, following on our meeting on December 17 th, last. My Directors have given careful consideration to the views expressed about a reduction in the rates we charge for the carriage

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