RAILWAYS IN BLACKBURN

The 1840s saw a massive growth in the railway map of Britain, particularly in the industrial areas like Lancashire. But many lines were built by individual and independent companies who sometimes engaged in fierce competition.

The first line into Blackburn was that from Preston, which opened on 30th May 1846. For two years, Blackburn was the end of the line. The Daisyfield (now Blackburn) Tunnel, was not ready until the spring of 1848, after which trains could continue to Accrington, then to Burnley and Colne (February 1849). The tunnel itself, where Jason suddenly finds himself, is 435 yards long, and has a slight curve, running close to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Less than a quarter of a mile beyond the tunnel, at Daisyfield Junction, the line to Clitheroe branches off. This was built by the Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe & West Yorkshire Railway, with the intention of joining the Midland Railway’s Skipton to Carlisle line at Long Preston. After a delay caused by the collapse of two arches of the spectacular viaduct at Whalley, the line opened as far as Chatburn in June 1850.

The first Blackburn station was built at Stonybutts - where the present station stands. So great was the rivalry between companies, however, that when the line from Bolton opened in 1848, the East Lancashire Railway Co. refused to allow trains from Bolton and Manchester to use its station. So, the ‘Blackburn Railway’ built a separate station off Great Bolton Street, to the south-west of Darwen Street bridge. The building has been demolished, but the entrance can still be seen from Great Bolton Street, facing the Townsmoor retail area.

One reason for the bad feeling between the companies was that the East Lancashire Railway had been constructing its line between Accrington and Bury, which opened in August 1848. This way from Blackburn to Manchester was longer both in terms of time and distance. Part of the ELR route still exists, of course, as the preserved line between Rawtenstall and Bury.

On the day that the line to Clitheroe opened in 1850, the ELR blocked the road through its station with idle trucks and other debris. Eventually, in the late 1850s, both companies became part of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. The Bolton Road station closed in 1859 and, as Jason finds out, by the autumn of 1862, was being used as storage space for potatoes and other produce.

Train Departures from Blackburn, October 1862.

Times are presented in the usual modern way, using the 24-hour clock. In the Victorian age, the railways used a 12-hour clock: the 15.05 train to Preston was listed as 3.05 p.m. The word ‘mixed’ indicates that the train was made up of both goods wagons and passenger carriages; otherwise, they were passenger trains, except those marked ‘par.’, which had a parcels van. 

To Preston & Liverpool: Mon. - Sat: 08.10, mixed traffic; 09.15 (1st & 2nd); 10.15, 12.20; 15.05; 17.15; 18.00; 18.35; 20.50, par. (to Preston only). Sundays: 08.25; 13.50; 15.35; 19.40. All trains carried coaches to Southport except the 17.15 and 20.50 on weekdays and the 13.50 on Sundays. The 18.35 took mixed traffic to Southport, though the Liverpool section was for passengers only. 

To Accrington, Haslingden, Bury, Bacup and Manchester: Mon – Sat.: 07.05. par.; 08.30; 08.40; 09.35; 11.35; 14.23; 16.40; 17.50; 20.10, par.; 21.40 (Sat. only, and to Accrington only). Sundays: 07.40; 10.10, to Accrington only; 14.50; 18.55. All Sunday trains were ‘mixed’. 

To Burnley, Colne, Skipton, Bradford & Leeds: 07.05, par.; 09.35; 11.35 (to Colne only); 14.23; 16.40; 17.50; 20.10 (to Colne only). Sundays: 07.40 (to Colne only); 14.50; 18.55 (to Colne only). All Sunday trains were ‘mixed’. 

To Darwen, Bolton & Manchester: 06.45, par.; 09.00; 11.15; 14.05; 17.15; 20.20, mixed; 21.15 (Sat only, and to Darwen only). Sundays: 09.05; 13.50; 18.05; 22.00 (to Darwen only). All Sunday trains were ‘mixed’. 

To Whalley & Clitheroe: 07.10, mixed; 09.40; 12.25; 15.50; 18.37. Sundays: 07.20; 09.25; 15.35; 20.10. All Sunday trains were mixed traffic.