Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

CHAPTER 4 1881 January The 3rd Annual Tea Party of the servants of the Locomotive Department of the L & Y in Accrington, was held in the Town Hall in the evening of Saturday, the 15 th , with Councillor Holgate presiding. Around 200 employees and their families were entertained by songs. ‘Blind’ John Ingham sang ‘Hurrah for Christmas’, followed by ‘Oh! Fred’ from Mr J. Ellison, ‘Sergeant Sharp’ from Mr R. Ingham, ‘The Spade’ from John Booth, ‘The Old Mud Cabin On The Hill’ from Joe Bell and ‘Preston Gaol’ from James Maudsley. Mr & Mrs Robert Ingham duetted on ‘Mrs Brown’s Mistake’, whilst Mr J. T. Storey gave a comedy recitation entitled ‘The Moonlight Flitting’. Music for dancing was provided by Mr John Ingham, David Hindle, William James, and all the way from Bury, John Booth. An address was given by Councillor Holgate, who himself had been an employee of the railway for 12 years. He said he hoped the public would be more tolerant towards those who made their living on the railway, some from as long as ten to sixteen hours each day. He stated that the ‘block system’ of train control was a God-send to all of them, as it made the working environment a much safer place despite its large costs. He added that £717million had been invested in the railway of Great Britain to the end of 1879 on 17,696 miles of track that 563,000,000 passenger journeys had been made, and the earnings for the year amounted to

58