Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

Street. It was resolved a notice should be served on the L & Y requiring them to install a proper flushing WC for the use of their employees, and to put an end to this problem. 1895 April On Tuesday, the 9 th , Mary Rigby, a 69 year old widow, was hit by an express train whilst attempting to cross the lines at a level crossing at Meadow Top. The train was the 13:40 express from Wakefield which was due in Accrington at 14:32 but was running some 15 minutes late. On board was Mr Henry Robinson who was a District Inspector for the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. The train was running at a good pace when it approached the crossing, and the driver having heard a loud shriek, then applied his brakes, stopping the train over the first arch of the viaduct. Robinson got down and went back to the scene where he discovered the body of the deceased. It had been thrown several yards from the crossing by the impact. He established that death had been instantaneous. The inquest was held on Thursday, the 18 th , in the Courtroom of Accrington Town Hall. The Foreman of the Jury was Mr E. Welsh. In his evidence the driver of the engine, Mr James Swindlehurst of Blackburn, stated he was at the controls of his locomotive between Burnley and Accrington, and he could clearly see the crossing from 40 to 50 yards away and had sounded the whistle in the usual manner when approaching a crossing. There was a long bend and two overbridges on the approaches, and the speed of the train was between 30 and 35 miles per hour. He had not observed anyone on the crossing and was unaware of what had occurred until he heard the scream. John Rawcliffe, also from Blackburn, was the fireman on the footplate and had noticed a woman who appeared to be in a hurry, so he had blown the whistle repeatedly, and assumed that she had managed to get out of the path of the oncoming train. When questioned by the Jury, Swindlehurst said he knew he was behind schedule but was not speeding to catch up time, and would have had to slow anyway before going on to the viaduct which had a strict speed restriction of 10 miles per hour. In his evidence Inspector Robinson, of Portland Street in Accrington, stated he had heard the repeated sounding of the engine’s whistle, and had seen something rolling to the side of the track but was unsure just what it was. The train had stopped some 50 yards further on, and he had got down and gone back to see what it was. He found the body slumped against the boundary wall of the lines, and saw she had a very severe head injury, which it was later found to have been from the impact of the engine’s buffer. He also added that the Railway Authority did not consider the crossing at Meadow Top to be excessively dangerous, although he knew that there had been a previous fatality there. The Coroner pointed out there had been several accidents at this location, and that at a previous inquest the jury had recommended that it be replaced by a bridge at the earliest possible time. This tragedy had also sparked off much controversy in the town as to the provision of either a footbridge or a subway in order to do away with this level crossing. Two of the previous cases had involved children playing in the vicinity of the crossing, and in none of these incidents had the victims been passengers on trains. A nearby resident Mr Pollard stated he was aware of just how dangerous this crossing was, and suggested a bell should be installed which would ring to warn of any approaching trains. The Jury, in returning a verdict of accidental death, absolved the enginemen of any blame whilst again stating that they were of the opinion that if the L & Y had carried out the recommendations of the previous inquest jury, then this fatality would have been avoided. May The Chairman of the General Works Committee drew its attention to the fatal accident which had recently occurred at the level crossing at Meadow Top. It was resolved the Town Clerk should write to the L & Y pointing out the ‘desirability’ of replacing the crossing in question with a footbridge. June The L & Y wrote to the General Works Committee, informing them of their intention to fix brackets to the girder of the railway bridge over Paxton Street, in order to enhance the safety of their workmen whilst walking along the railway lines. This would have the effect of widening the bridge by 16 inches on either side. They wanted to know if the Corporation would object to this, but it was resolved not to agree to this request. In July a letter from the L & Y was received in reply, expressing their willingness to replace the level crossing at Meadow Top with a footbridge of iron girder construction provided the Corporation were prepared to contribute one-half of the cost. Following lengthy discussions, the Borough Surveyor was authorised to formulate a scheme for making a subway under the railway to connect Horn Street with Owen Street. Also in accordance with the instructions given to him at the previous meeting, the Borough Surveyor had looked into the possibility of establishing a subway between Horn Street and Owen Street. He had concluded that this was not possible. It was therefore resolved the Town Clerk

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