Accrington Train station

As a newcomer - can I put in my tuppence-worth on the confusing photo?

The reason why it's causing problems is that it appears to be a most unusual movement - and as one who spent a lot of time at Accrington station in the Fifties and Sixties I can't say I've ever seen the like.

Firstly which hand of the picture is correct. The clue is in the number on the smokebox; and also the platform number. Assuming the train is going forward - ie towards the camera - it's turning to the right - as viewed from its direction of travel.

And that's where the problem is - because it's 'wrong line' - ie facing in the opposite direction to that anticipated. Trains in UK normally run on the left, but this one's on the right. It's standing in the Blackburn - Church - Burnley platform, taking water from the water column that was adjacent to the footbridge, but facing towards Blackburn. There was no water column on the normal platform for Burnley to Blackburn - platform 5 - so it must have reversed on the crossover that about a quarter of the way across the viaduct. Very unusual.

I'm trying to think where the next water column was heading towards Blackburn - probably just before Church station, so they must have run things very low and got desperate.

For completeness: the platforms at Accrington were numbered 1 - 6 from the 'town' side - which is where the booking office used to be.

Plat 1 - bay platform for the Haslingden and Manchester trains.
Plat 2 - thro' platform for Burnley - Haslingden & Manchester trains - also used for parcels trains.
Plat 3 - thro' platform for Manchester & Haslingden - Burnley trains
Plat 4 - bay platform for Blackburn trains
Plat 5 - thro' platform for Burnley - Blackburn trains
Plat 6 - thro' platform for Blackburn - Burnley trains.


I used to catch the 0758 from plat 4 to Blackburn to go to school.
In the 10 mins up to and including that train leaving, all 6 platforms saw departures - and occasionally a parcels train as well.

Your correspondents are correct about the triangular layout at Accrington, which could be used for reversals. But in practice by the late Fifties/early Sixties, there was very little use of the South - west (Baxenden - Blackburn) side of the triangle by longer-distance traffic - though there was a lot of shunting into the goods yard which was in front of Howard & Bullough's


Rgds

45378
 
45378 said:
Rgds

45378
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Hi 45378, welcome to the site, is it o.k. if we just refer to you by your first name, 4 in future rather than your full name? We don't stand on ceremony here and it makes for easier typing.

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?p=289074

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Wynonie Harris said:
I reckon 45378 was a Black 5.

Right, I'll get me anorak. :o
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If memory serves you are correct but only 5 of the black 5's were given names and that wasn't one of them.

Don't forget your hi vis jacket you left it on the platform last time.
 
Less said:
If memory serves you are correct but only 5 of the black 5's were given names and that wasn't one of them.

Don't forget your hi vis jacket you left it on the platform last time.
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Seem to remember that there were about three Black 5s working out of Accy sheds, but none of 'em were namers amd none of 'em were 45378.

PS - if you see the stationmaster before me, could you tell him that if he finds a duffle bag with a tartan thermos flask, some half-eated corned beef butties and an Ian Allan combined volume, it's mine? ;)
 
https://railcar.co.uk/images/153
Here's an image guaranteed to produce a warm glow of nostalgia for every boy of the Hornby-Dublo generation.
Taken on Friday 6th May 1960 by D H Dyson, it shows two young schoolboys standing in the Accrington steam maintenance shed, awestruck at the sight before them.
In those long gone days before PlayStation, the only interest for many boys was... a real station!
Back then, every trainspotter clutching his Ian Allen book of locomotives lived in hope of spotting a 'namer'.
Alas, in our industrial backwater dominated by grimy 'black-fives', this proved almost as rare as a win on the Littlewoods Pools.
Imagine the surprise & joy for these two boys when, as the saying goes; 'You wait ages for a bus then two arrive together.
For standing before them are two VIP visitors. The mighty 46100 'Royal Scot' & it's stablemate 46112 'Sherwood Forester'. Both being prepared to work a Blackburn to London football special for the FA Cup Final between Blackburn Rovers & Wolverhampton Wanderers the following day.
Lurking in the background like a cuckoo in the nest, rests a class 113 DMU which all too soon would sound the death-knell for the days of steam & trainspotting.
I wonder who these young lads were & how they managed to gain access to an area of such potential danger?
Elf'n'safety would be apoplectic with rage today - heads would definitely roll!
PS. Wolves beat Rovers 3-0 in the final.
Image by kind permission of railcar.co.uk
 
Lord Stiffupperlip said:
I wonder who these young lads were & how they managed to gain access to an area of such potential danger?
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Not had you pegged as a "Spotter" yer Wurshipfullness! :eek: As to the whys & wherefores I would suggest (as was my case) large amounts of "Oktoberfest Bier".


After visiting the "Oktoberfest" kicking out time came round & I shambled along after the crowds heading home, I knew I had to get on the S-Bahn & head generally eastwards, problem being Alcohol & locational awareness were competeing, I found "An S-Bahn" & tried to buy a ticket from a somewhat bemused Germing Chappy in "coveys".


He noticed the accent & Beer induced inane grin, he then politely pointed me away to the station & out of his rather large Rail maintainence workshop. :D
 
Atarah said:
Hi, I am sure someone once told me that Accrington Station ws quite unique, in that it had a "turntable" - where the trains could be turned around. Could this not account for some of the trains appearing to be in the "wrong direction" - they may have been re-routed? What do you think?
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They had a 'triangle' that could reverse locomotives - as it did 'Oliver Cromwell' and 'Flying Scotsman' in 1968. The pulled onto the viaduct from the Preston direction. Reversed onto the Baxenden line until opposite Howard and Bullough and then pulled forward through the final 'arm' of the triangle onto the Preston line. I'm not sure if there was actually a turntable in the loco sheds but someone on here probably will.
 
Atarah said:
Hi, the younger end of the members of Accringtonweb will just not believe this view of how Accrington Station once was. If you look to the right of the photograph, at the little building you can see, you will realise that this same building is still there - the ticket office. And ... see the bridge over the track, its actually got windows in, thats where we did "our courting" ;)
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Was allowed to frequent the station, then, including the parcels office and even the signal box. We rarely used the footbridge, the walkway over the Baxenden and Preston lines was much quicker and more convenient. You could hear any train - diesel or steam coming from any direction - Baxenden, Burnley or Preston -and the station was really buzzing and busy. Now it's almost as dead as Church and Oswaldtwistle or Rishton except that through trains to and from Yorkshire stop. What an idiot was Beeching. Shutting the Bury line was the work of a cretin.
 
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