Two Victorian Excursion Trips - 1876

[Andy873]

I did mention on here about these two trips, but the Burnley newspaper reporting it had only a small short paragraph, but a few days ago quite by accident I came across a more detailed account from the Preston Herald, Wednesday 16 August 1876, Page 5.

The background to these trips is that Col. Hutchinson inspected the Padiham to Rose Grove section on Friday, August 4 and it seems some "special dispensation" had been given to run these day excursions one week later, Friday, August 11 as regular passenger services hadn't yet started.

The Bangor trip - This was organised by the town's Wesleyan school. The report says it started from the new station at an eye rubbing 4am. Nearly 400 had bought tickets, on the way, it states they called at Llandudno where they were delayed a short time due to fog. They arrived at Bangor just before 9am. I wonder if they actually went to Llandudno or simply stopped at Llandudno Junction?

The Morecambe trip - This was organised by the Church school (presumably C of E) and took 700 on the trip, it left at 5:30am. It stopped a while at Lancaster where some seemed to have got off (reason unknown, can't read it all). For the return trip some passengers made the mistake of going to Morecambe station, apparently they should have gone to Poulton Lane station and missed their train, but caught a later one and got home safely. Never knew there was a Poulton Lane station.

For both trips, it's reported that it was a lovely day including the weather, and "there was no smoother ride than that on the Padiham to Rose Grove part".

It's a more detailed article than the Burnley one but it does bring up some points and questions:

Firstly, if the numbers are to be believed, over 1,000 left the station that morning. I wrongly presumed it would have been mainly children (with supervising adults), instead it looks like there was a lot of adults too.

Secondly, could one train pull enough carriages for 700 up a 1.25 mile 1 in 40 bank all the way to Rose Grove? Perhaps there were actually two trains to Morecambe? Both trains (Bangor & Morecambe would have a banking engine).

Thirdly, an article 5 August 1876 mentions / advertises these trips are going to take place so it's logical to presume these trips were organised the month before - July 1876 before Hutchinson's inspection.

And fourthly, I don't think the train ride up to Rose Grove was really any smoother than any other part of the journey? but then you'd probably describe it as such if all you were used to was catching a horse drawn bus, taken on a cart, or even walked it, wouldn't you? As the old adverts said, "let the train take the strain".

These trips might sound bog standard ones, nothing special, but they are because the people who went on them were the first ever members of the public to travel from Padiham to Rose Grove.

Thought some of you might be interested in two Victorian trips as described by contemporary newspapers of the time.

 

[Gloster]

I presume that the problem at Morecambe was that some passengers went to the Midland’s Northumberland Street station, rather than the L&NWR’s Poulton Road one which was a bit further out.

Nothing unusual about early starts like this: such trips were rare, so people would make the effort to get out of their miserable lives for a day. The Lancaster departures was probably to visit the city, rather than the beach. Yes, almost certainly Llandudno Junction: this is a local paper, so unlikley to either know or care much about details from far away.

As far as the ratio of adults to children is concerned, it probably depended on the organisers attitudes. Some trips would be for children and the minimum number of escorting adults, but most would probably tolerate whole families and some might even accept those, often known to them, without children. The line would probably be drawn at large groups of mill lads and lasses who might get well beered-up and indulge in unmentionable behaviour on the return journey.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

For the return trip some passengers made the mistake of going to Morecambe station, apparently they should have gone to Poulton Lane station and missed their train, but caught a later one and got home safely. Never knew there was a Poulton Lane station.

Morecambe Poulton Lane station was operational between late 1870 and mid 1886 (after which date it was replaced by nearby Morecambe Euston Road station). Was used by LNWR trains; Midland Railway trains instead used Morecambe terminus which had initially been shared with LNWR. Wasn't that long before the terminus station had become so busy that LNWR were asked to make their own arrangements. Morecambe Poulton Lane station looks to have been located about two-fifths the way outbound from Morecambe terminus towards Bare Lane station.

 

[Andy873]

I presume that the problem at Morecambe was that some passengers went to the Midland’s Northumberland Street station, rather than the L&NWR’s Poulton Road one which was a bit further out.

Morecambe Poulton Lane station was operational between late 1870 and mid 1886 (after which date it was replaced by nearby Morecambe Euston Road station). Was used by LNWR trains; Midland Railway trains instead used Morecambe terminus which had initially been shared with LNWR. Wasn't that long before the terminus station had become so busy that LNWR were asked to make their own arrangements. Morecambe Poulton Lane station looks to have been located about two-fifths the way outbound from Morecambe terminus towards Bare Lane station.

Thanks for clearing that up about Poulton Lane station, it seems then this was a short lived station.

Nothing unusual about early starts like this: such trips were rare, so people would make the effort to get out of their miserable lives for a day. The Lancaster departures was probably to visit the city, rather than the beach. Yes, almost certainly Llandudno Junction: this is a local paper, so unlikley to either know or care much about details from far away.

Yes for many, early starts were the norm, a cotton mill worker for example could work from 7am to 7pm, long hours, but compared to other work it was better pay as long as the mills were working.

As far as the ratio of adults to children is concerned, it probably depended on the organisers attitudes. Some trips would be for children and the minimum number of escorting adults, but most would probably tolerate whole families and some might even accept those, often known to them, without children. The line would probably be drawn at large groups of mill lads and lasses who might get well beered-up and indulge in unmentionable behaviour on the return journey.

I'm guessing any profit made on these trips would probably go back into the schools fund. Regarding behaviour, you'd certainly would want to avoid young adults of mixed sex who had a few too many! I think we all remember those football specials of the 1970's and how many carriages were wrecked.

Going back to the trips - As these were the first ever excursions from the new station, I decided to look up how they made the trips previously. Logically I looked up the year before, 1875. It seems that year these school related trips went to Bangor and Scarborough, and if you thought 4am was early, the one to Bangor left at 3am. They left not from Rose Grove as I thought, but from Hapton station. To get there on time (and have time to spare) they probably left Padiham about 2am.

Hapton station was a relatively new station on the East Lancs line, it opened in 1860.

One Burnley newspaper reporting on the opening of Padiham station said about Hapton that "it was a wretchedly small place and there had long been anxiety over the opening of the Padiham section". It seems these early starts for these excursions were the norm from all over the place, I found a similar one from Halifax. You could imagine an hour into the journeys, carriages full of snoring passengers.

What's your best guess with the trip to Morecambe? 700 people - one train or two? You have to climb a 1 in 40 for 1.25 miles to Rose Grove.

The section from Padiham to Rose Grove was of course run on Absolute block principals, so if there were two trains, perhaps departing 10 or 15 minutes between them? or one very long train? The norm for excursions around here became 10 or 11 carriages, but it doesn't sound enough for 700 people?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The norm for excursions around here became 10 or 11 carriages, but it doesn't sound enough for 700 people?

Might be if folk weren't quite as big as many are nowadays, or indeed if some were children. Were all the stations called at, however, long enough for 10-11 carriage trains, or was there some workaround practice adopted to get everyone onboard?

 

[Rescars]

One of the most detailed records of this type of excursion in the mid-Victorian era relate (for the saddest of reasons) to the events which took place near Armagh on 12th June 1889. In this instance about 940 passengers (140 more than planned) locked into 15 carriages and the brake vans.

 

[Gloster]

Another one, although from an earlier era and so involving smaller coaches, was the accident at Burnley in 1852. The train involved had thirty-five carriages containing around eight hundred passengers and a second train had forty-five carriages and around a thousand passengers. In both cases the majority of the passengers were children.

 

[Andy873]

Were all the stations called at, however, long enough for 10-11 carriage trains, or was there some workaround practice adopted to get everyone onboard?

No. The platforms at Padiham could accommodate 9 carriages, and Hapton even less, so they would have to draw forward to get everyone onboard.

One of the most detailed records of this type of excursion in the mid-Victorian era relate (for the saddest of reasons) to the events which took place near Armagh on 12th June 1889. In this instance about 940 passengers (140 more than planned) locked into 15 carriages and the brake vans.

This one was a sad incident. These reports do however give us details about the composition of such an excursion train and the numbers of people involved.

Another one, although from an earlier era and so involving smaller coaches, was the accident at Burnley in 1852. The train involved had thirty-five carriages containing around eight hundred passengers and a second train had forty-five carriages and around a thousand passengers. In both cases the majority of the passengers were children.

That really is a long train, didn't know they might be anywhere as long as that.

Going back to the two excursions from 1876, as these were organised by schools, I presume these trains were chartered? Also, knowing these trains ran the year before I can only conclude these were pre-arranged trips and it looks like the OK was given to simply switch the starting station to Padiham instead of Hapton? The only difference being was up to Rose Grove, a run round for the engine (in the case of the Morecambe trip), and off they go.

I asked about the length of the Morecambe train because I wondered if such a train could make it up the bank. We know some trains (not specifically here) sometimes didn't make it, but I read not too long ago about one that failed to climb Padiham bank in 1889. It was full of Burnley holiday makers returning from the seaside... It managed to crawl up about a third of the way then stopped. An attempt was made to restart the journey but once again stopped. This time the train slipped a little way back right over a catch point and partly derailed the brake van. The passengers got out of the carriages, laughing and joking about it, unfortunately they had spilled out onto the other track. An onlooker knew a fast goods was about to come down soon and jumped over the railway wall and shouted at them to get back in. No sooner had the last person done so the express came speeding past. That stopped the laughing!

 

[Rescars]

Another overloaded train stalling on a bank in 1889. How fortunate that everyone escaped from this incident so lightly.

You may find some further interesting background in the reports on the Round Oak accident in 1858.