When the railway arrived in Accrington in 1848, the area was little more than a Village.
However, By the 1930’s Accrington was the location of a main LMS depot, with extensive sidings and a coaling stage. Unfortunately, all that remains today is a single line to Blackburn or Burnley and a small station building.
Accrington’s lost line once ran to Bury via Helmshore and was axed in 1966. The line was built by the East Lancashire Railway.
00 gauge, Corner pub, ready-made.
A traditional corner pub, ready to plant. There is a matching row and post office in this range
The original ELR 1848-1859
The original East Lancashire Railway was formed in 1848 by several smaller companies.
The ELR always seemed to be a state of Feud with other companies and by 1859 the ELR had been amalgamated into the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.
Accrington station
In the image above the Baxenden line is seen in the centre of the image just before closure. The building on the left was part of Howard and Bullough’s once-extensive textile machinery factory. The frontage survives as the Globe Business Centre.
00 scale, Small Brick factory, Low relief, on Cobbled base, ready made.
Unique ready made buildings for your layout or diorama
Sadly, By the 1960s many of the ELR lines had closed, these included the direct line to Manchester from Accrington, mentioned here, and the Great Harwood loop line. However large stretches of these lines can still be walked today.
The Accrington to Stubbins line
The Accrington to Stubbins section of Line was built from 1845 onwards and opened in 1848. The grade was steep climbing at 1 in 78 for five miles. There was a nine-arch stone viaduct at Lumb and another viaduct near Helmshore. The Summit of the line at Baxenden was the highest point on the ELR at the time and the descent into Accrington was steep at 1 in 38.
Exploring the Accrington to Stubbins line
Most of the line from Accrington to Baxenden has been converted into a cycleway. Interestingly, just inside the grounds of Hollands Pies can be seen the remnants of Baxenden station platform.
Unfortunately, the reservoir marks the end of the walkable section in the image above. The rest of the line towards Helmshore is now the route of the Edenfield bypass. However, there is another walkable section from Helmshore towards Stubbins. On the cycleway map below open sections are marked in solid green.
The old Accrington line parallels the modern East Lancashire Railway’s heritage line to Rawtenstall. This was rebuilt in the 1980s.
Illuminated, 00 scale Single Road engine shed, Lit, Ready Made Building.
Light up your layout
