Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

the engine sheds was by sending someone to walk along the permanent way. He stated that on some days up to eight messengers had to take this walk between the station and the sheds but this was the first occasion that an accident of this nature had happened. The Coroner asked, “Was the boy deaf?” to which Mr Crossley replied, that he did not know as he had been taken on whilst he was away on holiday. He had only been on this job for eight weeks, and like all the others Phillips had been warned about the dangers it entailed. In recording a verdict of ‘Accidental Death’, Mr Robinson said the L & Y should find a safer means of conveying messages between these two buildings, but in this instance it was too late. The L & Y sent its sincerest condolences to the mother of the deceased. A large crowd of people congregated on the platform of Accrington Station to witness Mr Bright along with Mr & Mrs Childers pass through by train, on their way from Gawthorpe Hall to Manchester. Alderman Smith, the Mayor, along with Alderman Rhodes and John P. Harley were able to meet with this distinguished party, and the throng shouted their appreciation for what Mr Childers had accomplished for the Country and the Liberal Party in his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Mr Gladstone’s Government. The crowd called out for Mr Bright to appear, and he obliged by coming to the door of his compartment to make a short speech, saying he had come to Accrington as a boy and was pleased to renew his acquaintance with the town in the hope that once again they would return the Liberal candidate to the House. Their train departed to loud cheers. 1884 ( In 1884 a line proposed by the Accrington Local Board, would have served the Enfield stone quarries, with a station in Clayton-le-Moors close to the position of the Albion public house. There would have been a junction at Portfield Bar with a single branch line going off the Sabden, whilst the through line would have continued on to Wiswell to join the Clitheroe lines just after passing behind Barrow Calico Printing Works. The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway showed no interest in this project, but showed much more interest in a very similar project from the Burnley direction. This first was suggested in 1886, with the line branching off the North Lancs Avoiding Line at Cock Pit, near to Martholme Viaduct. The Railway Company actually signed up to work this line for 52·5% of the gross revenue whist supplying all the engines and rolling stock. Construction did not take place, even though the Burnley, Clitheroe & Sabden Railway statutes were still in place. ) January The Secretary of the Midland Railway communicated in a letter to the promoters of the new line through East Lancashire, that its directors had decided not to construct a new line, but they were in talks with the L & Y on the prospect that they might extend statutory powers to operate over the metals of their railway. March Mr Grainger, having spent three and a half years as the Goods Agent at Accrington Station, during which time he had given excellent service to the businesses of the town, was to be transferred to Oldham to take up a similar post. During his time at Accrington there had not been a single claim made against the L & Y, and a list was being opened for subscriptions towards a presentation to him. There was a fortunate escape for passengers on the Manchester to Accrington express on Tuesday, the 25 th , when at 5pm as the double headed train was passing through Haslingden Station a luggage truck rolled off the platform edge and was hit at speed. Even though the bogie of the lead engine was lifted up by the impact, thankfully both stayed on the rails. June The Whitsuntide weekend saw a total of 2,817 tickets issued at Accrington Railway Station including company excursions to the IOM, Scotland and Ireland, whilst on Sunday 991 people passed through. On Whit Monday 500 went on the Wesleyan trip to Keswick, whilst excursions organised by Altham’s took 300 to Blackpool, a similar number to Liverpool and 150 to Bangor. The Co-operative Society also ran an excursion to Blackpool whilst Belle View and Skipton were other popular destinations out of the 2,655 tickets issued. August There was a great deal of opposition voiced about the L & Y’s announcement, that for journeys under twelve miles in distance return tickets would only be valid for a period of 48 hours, when previously they had been valid for six days. In a reply to the Chamber of Trade the Secretary of the Company stated, that this had been adopted as a universal policy across all of the nation’s railways. Mr Castle, the Clerk in charge of the ticket office at Accrington Station, provided statistics about the number of tickets issued during the Accrington Fair. On Thursday out of a total of 1,978, 505 were to

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