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HS2 lacks a mandate

HS2 lacks popular support….scrap it!

Every opinion poll conducted on the merits of HS2 show a majority of people in the UK as a whole firmly against it. Only in London does it actually have more support than opposition, which says a lot. A 2021 YouGov poll showed support for HS2 across the UK at 25% with 39% against and 11% ‘don’t know’ – the rest were neither for nor against. In London, the only region in support, 30% were in favour and 27% against, showing a large drop from the previous year.In the North of England, support was at 24% and opposition 42%.

Another UK-wide poll, conducted by Statista in 2020, showed UK 26% in favour and 42% in opposition.

A recent survey was undertaken by Redfield and Wilton Strategies and their findings were published in June this year. They tested general awareness of the HS2 project and found that to be high. They went on to comment: “Amidst this considerable awareness of the project, there is substantial opposition to it: a plurality (43%) of Britons aware of HS2 say they oppose it, compared to 29% who support HS2 and 25% who neither support nor oppose it. In April and May 2021 we found a similar 45% of those in the West Midlands metropolitan area who said they were familiar with HS2 were in opposition to the railway project.”

The pollsters also found that people view it as poor value for money: “a majority (56%) of Britons aware of HS2 say that it is a bad investment that does not represent good value for money, whereas a quarter (25%) believe it is a good investment and 18% are unsure. Following such statements, 48% of this sample think that HS2 should be scrapped and 33% think that it should not be scrapped, while 19% do not know. This demonstrates that opposition to HS2 is strong, with a plurality of Britons preferring to see HS2 scrapped than its continued development.

The professional magazine, The Engineer, undertook a poll in November 2020 which found that 77% of its readers wanted HS2 cancelled with only 23% in favour of keeping it.

From my own experience, people who oppose HS2 are not ‘petrol heads’ who want the money poured into new roads, nor Thatcherites who hate public spending. They want the money to go into improving public transport, rail, tram and bus.

All the evidence suggests that HS2 is unpopular and people think it should be scrapped. The sums of money we’re talking about – £100 billion or more – are eye-watering. The case for HS2 before the Pandemic was flimsy, to say the least. Today, it’s non-existent.

Finally, given the amounts of money involved, HS2 highlights the lack of democracy in the UK. In Switzerland, with its excellent transport network, major projects are subject to a popular vote. HS2 cries out for a referendum. I’m 100% sure that people would vote for it to be scrapped and the money put to better use in improving the rail network as a whole.

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Salvo 298 on HS2

The Northern Weekly Salvo

109 Harpers Lane Bolton BL1 6HU email: paul.salveson@myphone.coop www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

No. 298 November 16th 2021                        

Salveson’s half-nakedly political digest of railwayness, tripe and secessionist nonsense from Up North. Sometimes weekly, usually not; definitely Northern.

General gossips

This is a slimmed-down Salvo, which you may welcome. I’ve been shilly-shallying about doing one before the publication of the ‘Integrated Rail Plan’ this Thursday setting out the future of rail investment in the UK, following on from the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail which is really more about how the railways will be run. Arguably they were published back to front but so it goes. I’ll do an extended and illustrated Salvo 299 next week. Promise.

HS2: North is better beawt (or Salvo’s Solutions No. 1)

Or, better without it. It looks like the Whole Industry Strategic Plan, which we are assured will be published on Thursday, will announce the scrapping of the ‘eastern leg’ of HS2, the bit from Birmingham –to Leeds. Cue wails of anguish from Labour MPs and some Tories about the North once again being ‘betrayed’ by this hypocritical government whose talk of ‘levelling up’ is so much nonsense. Oh yeah? As readers may have intuited, I’m no fan of Boris Johnson or the Tories but it has to be said: HS2 would have done nowt for th’North, or ‘nothing for the North’. It was an ill-conceived project that should never have been given such credibility in the first place. My impression, supported by opinion polls, is that it was never popular amongst us simple-minded Northern folk who would much prefer a bus shelter outside the Ainsworth Arms to avoid getting soaked waiting for the 526 bus.

Yes, I’m being daft but it has surprised me that so many people who should know better were taken in by the pro-HS2 hype. It was anything but ‘green’ and would have hurt the North’s economy. Nervous Tory MPs, particularly in so-called ‘Red Wall’ seats, supported it (probably against their instincts) because they wanted to show that investment was going into the North of England. Labour wanted it because they like big public sector-led projects. Yet HS2 would have done the North few favours, sucking investment out of the North and into London and the South-East. It would have drained money out of transport budgets stopping much needed projects, with a far better return, not getting the go ahead.

And if you asked those simple-minded Northern folk what they wanted instead of HS2 the answers were generally pretty sensible: investment in local and regional rail projects, better east-west rail links, improved bus services. Let’s hope we see some of that in Thursday’s announcement: projects that can be delivered within a five to eight year time frame, not in two decades – electrification and upgrade of all three Trans-Pennine routes, rail re-openings , sorting out the Castlefield Corridor to allow more trains to run. And Bradford should not be forgotten: right decision to scrap Northern Powerhouse Rail but a Bradford CrossRail could be delivered at a fraction of the cost, much more quickly with the added bonus of demolishing some of the hideous new shopping centre that’s just been erected.

Salvo’s Solutions No. 2: Community Rail

After nearly thirty years I’ve decided it was time to do a new version of New Futures for Rural Rail, reviewing the success of ‘Community Rail’ and making a few suggestions about where it can go in the future. Look out for a feature in RAIL magazine in a couple of weeks and a longer piece in its sister publication Rail Review about the same time. I’m writing a much longer paper (‘Building on success: future directions for Community Rail’) which will be on my website after publication of the RAIL feature. The summary, still at draft stage, says:

This paper argues that the current restructuring within the railway industry presents a unique opportunity for Community Rail (CR) to up its game and become more ambitious, building on its strengths and becoming more entrepreneurial. It needs to shout its achievements much more loudly, or risk losing vital external support.

Maintaining and developing a close partnership with its existing partners in the industry, particularly the train operating companies, is crucial. Train companies and Network Rail should work with the Community Rail Network and CRPs to build a stronger awareness amongst all railway staff about the value and importance of Community Rail. ’Community Rail’ should become a professional career with appropriate accreditation, in partnership with the further and higher education sector.

Building an equally strong relationship with the new Great British Railways (GBR) is of equal importance. I argue for a GBR Community Unit with a dedicated director at headquarters level and community engagement mangers within the regional divisions, working closely with the TOCs and CRPs who should be incentivised to develop ambitious projects, assisted by a ‘Community Rail Enterprise Challenge’ funded by GBR.

These projects could range from developing integrated bus links, promoting walking and cycling schemes including bike hire, to station and on-train catering and other station activities which bring passenger and wider benefits. Making greater use of railway land e.g. for cultivating edible produce, is a further opportunity.

Community Rail should be resourced to take on issues around mental health, hate crime, anti-social behaviour and loneliness, each of which impact on the railways in different ways.

Local government, including the ‘Combined Authorities’, have a crucial part to play. Community Rail can help address wider policy areas beyond a narrow ‘transport’ focus.

New community rail partnerships should be encouraged through a ‘Community Rail Partnership Growth Fund’ which helps CRPs get off the ground and develop, rather than using existing resources which would have the effect of ‘spreading the jam more thinly’ and penalising existing CRPs.

If you would like the draft of the full paper emailing to you, let me know. It will be posted on my website in a couple of weeks.

Christmas is coming so buy my books (please)

My new biography of Lancashire writer, railway lover, cyclist and philosopher Allen Clarke (aka ‘Teddy Ashton’) is now available. Salvo subscribers can get Lancashire’s Romantic Radical for £15 instead of normal price of £18.99. I’ve some copies of my Moorlands, Memories and Reflections for £15 (reduced from £21) as well as my novel set in Horwich Loco Works (The Works) for £5. More esoteric but interesting is With Walt Whitman in Bolton: spirituality, sex and socialism in a Northern Mill Town. Also £5,not that much sex in it to be honest but it has compensations. See www.lancashireloominary.co.uk Prices are plus £3 post and packing (free if local to Bolton)

OK I’ll leave it at that for now but look out for a more normal illustrated Salvo299 next week

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Building on success: future directions for Community Rail

BUILDING ON SUCCESS:

future directions for  ‘Community Rail’

Prof. Paul Salveson

Chair, South-East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership, Co-ordinator Rail Reform Group, Visiting Professor Universities of Huddersfield and Bolton, founder member of Community Rail Network  (all in a personal capacity!)

Preface

This paper is aimed at a range of people active in the rail and transport industry as well as in the wider public sector – local government, combined authorities – and the ‘third sector’. I’m grateful to many friends and colleagues for their input to the paper, though I bear responsibility for what’s in it. I was involved in setting up the movement that became ‘Community Rail’ in the early 1990s, through a report called New Futures for Rural Rail. We launched it at the National Railway Museum in 1992. This paper is my own personal revision of ‘New Futures’, throwing up ideas and suggestions for Community Rail that can go forward over the next ten years.

Today, with over 70 community rail partnerships and hundreds of station groups, ‘community rail’ is no longer a purely ‘rural’ initiative, it includes inner urban areas as much as rural branch lines. It is active across a wide range of activities which back then we’d have thought way beyond the scope of what railways should be about. Mental health, loneliness, hate crime, addressing climate change, and lots more.

What they add up to is making rail more people-friendly and encouraging more people to use the train and value their local station as a community hub. That feeds back into the really big one of the Climate Emergency.

Who was it who once said ‘Think Global – Act Local’?

I see this paper as very much ‘work in progress’ and welcome feedback.

Paul.salveson@myphone.coop

Thanks!

Paul Salveson, Bolton, November 2021

 Summary

  1. A unique opportunity
  2. Are we getting short of steam?
  3. Will TOCs still have a role in Community Rail?
  4. The continuing importance of Local Government
  5. Community Rail has grown – but there’s still work to do
  6. Station friends, partnerships and business adoption
  7. The new railway architecture
  8. Great British Railways and ‘Community Rail’
  9. What should a Community rail partnership be about?
  10. Catalysts for change
  11. Inter-City Community Rail?
  12. Maximising Social Value
  13. Developing ‘Community Rail Enterprise’
  14. Back to the land
  15. Arts-led rail regeneration
  16. Away from ‘big is best’ mentality in procurement
  17. Building awareness in the industry
  18. Professionalising Community Rail
  19. Rail re-openings
  20. Where next?

BUILDING ON SUCCESS: future directions for ‘Community Rail’

 “Community rail groups already play an important role in supporting a thriving rail network across the country, including through strengthening initiatives with local understanding, improving rail’s social impact and engaging partners such as schools and local businesses. Together, the regional divisions and community rail groups will be able to work more closely with each other, helping to maximise recovery from the pandemic by reinvigorating rail travel for leisure and tourism, particularly in our protected landscapes. They can also advise on how to improve active travel connections to stations, supporting connectivity in rural areas and working together to improve facilities at stations and on trains.” – Great British Railways: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, 2021   s. 13 p.45

Summary

This paper argues that the current restructuring within the railway industry presents a unique opportunity for Community Rail (CR) to up its game and become more ambitious, building on its strengths and becoming more entrepreneurial. It needs to shout its achievements much more loudly, or risk losing vital external support.

Maintaining and developing a close partnership with its existing partners in the industry, particularly the train operating companies, is crucial. Train companies and Network Rail should work with the Community Rail Network and CRPs to build a stronger awareness amongst all railway staff about the value and importance of Community Rail. ’Community Rail’ should become a professional career with appropriate accreditation, in partnership with the further and higher education sector.

Building an equally strong relationship with the new Great British Railways (GBR) is of equal importance. I argue for a GBR Community Unit with a dedicated director at headquarters level and community engagement mangers within the regional divisions, working closely with the TOCs and CRPs who should be incentivised to develop ambitious projects, assisted by a ‘Community Rail Enterprise Challenge’ funded by GBR.

These projects could range from developing integrated bus links, promoting walking and cycling schemes including bike hire, to station and on-train catering and other station activities which bring passenger and wider benefits. Making greater use of railway land e.g. for cultivating edible produce, is a further opportunity.

Community Rail should be resourced to take on issues around mental health, hate crime, anti-social behaviour and loneliness, each of which impact on the railways in different ways.

Local government, including the ‘Combined Authorities’, have a crucial part to play. Community Rail can help address wider policy areas beyond a narrow ‘transport’ focus.

New community rail partnerships should be encouraged through a ‘Community Rail Partnership Growth Fund’ which helps CRPs get off the ground and develop, rather than using existing resources which would have the effect of ‘spreading the jam more thinly’ and penalising existing CRPs. 

  1. A unique opportunity

The railway industry is going through some major changes, following on from the Williams-Shapps report. Nothing will stay the same.

‘Community Rail’ (CR) and ‘community rail partnerships’ (CRPs) get very positive mention, even with some suggestions that they could potentially take on the running of some local lines (going back to the early days of community rail and ‘microfranchising’). That’s too big a leap for now, but while the industry is going through big changes, not least with the formation of Great British Railways and post-Covid recovery challenges, serious thought should be given to building on the success of Community Rail in the next ten years, rather than assuming it just carries on ‘as normal’. All the encouragement that could be possibly asked for is in the white paper. It’s too good an opportunity to miss.

Rufus Boyd, Programme Director (Passenger and Freight Services) at GBR’s Transition Team told me: “It is a challenging time for the rail industry and high on the agenda post-Covid is the need to demonstrate value for money.  Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) have proved themselves time and again as making a difference to customers at a price the railway can afford. I hope that CRPs continue to build on the success that they’ve so far demonstrated as we move towards building a railway that puts customers and its communities at its heart.”

It’s all about building on success, not a drastic change of direction. CRPs need to be more ambitious. One TOC manager bemoaned the modest scale of some CRP’s ambitions, proposing projects costing in the ‘low thousands’ when they should be developing initiatives substantially greater that can demonstrate value (not purely monetary but that’s important) and make a real difference.

So, my view – having been involved in Community Rail since its inception – is that now is the time to demonstrate that it can do much more – contributing towards attracting passengers back to rail and bringing innovation to local rail services which contribute towards reducing costs. And, of course, the big challenge is ensuring that rail plays the fullest possible part in addressing climate change – which takes us back to filling those trains.

This paper argues for a wider role for CR, embedded firmly alongside the new structure which will be led by Great British Railways (GBR). It should retain and expand its independence, dynamism and creativity. I’m talking reform and creative evolution, not revolution. Let’s use the ‘four pillars’ enshrined in the Government’s Community Rail Development Strategy, and take each of them further. Just to remind you, they are:

  • Providing a voice for the community
  • Promoting sustainable and healthy travel (including ‘the extra mile’)
  • Bringing communities together and supporting diversity and inclusion
  • Supporting social and economic development

 

In the light of post-Covid challenges, I’d be inclined to go back to one of the early objectives of Community Rail and add a fifth – ‘growing ridership and reducing costs’. Reducing costs? Yes, not through cuts but through better ways of delivering local projects and provision of services – through more agile, locally-based agencies.

Each of the pillars can reinforce each other, like any well-constructed building. Lots has been achieved already and the focus of this paper is perhaps more on the fourth pillar, social and economic development (and perhaps the suggested ‘fifth amendment’), but all are relevant and complementary.

  1. Are we getting short of steam?

There is a view amongst some that ‘community rail’ itself is not punching its weight. One senior industry source told me: “At the moment I feel CR lacks energy and dynamism…….it must diversify to survive. It needs to represent a broader church of interest and interests…spread its wings into hard urban areas… It must engage with bodies that represent the under-privileged and help them with basic skills, possibly those that lead to proper employment in the railway. It must better support children’s education and make a contribution to making the railway safer for everyone to use; women, the disabled and those with mental health or learning issues. CR can help us, along with station adopters, to wage war on crime and vandalism on the railway.”

I showed this quote to a good friend with long experience in CR – his response was unprintable! The unpalatable fact is that it’s good to be challenged, even when we may not agree with what’s being said.

Many CRPs are already active in these ‘hard urban areas’. But, whether you think that statement is fair or unfair, if that is someone’s perception (and someone with considerable influence) it needs to be listened to carefully. What it illustrates is that CRPs are quite poor at trumpeting their own successes. In such a media-savvy age that is a real weakness that needs addressing more strongly. Even local schemes, if they’re innovative and exciting, could get national exposure but too often CRPs neglect the all-important press release.

CR is already active in many ‘hard urban areas’ and the work of Community Rail Lancashire in education is outstanding. Similarly, the work of CRPs such as The Bentham Line and Cumbria around mental health issues is amazing and well recognised through numerous awards. South East Lancashire CRP has done pioneering work around ‘hate crime’ and certainly works in ‘hard’ urban areas. But it’s patchy – and anyone in CR would say they could do so much more with the right level of resources and long-term stability.

This paper suggests that the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR) offers real opportunities for Community Rail in the UK, particularly in England. I’m very much aware of the different approaches in Scotland and to an extent in Wales.

Northern Ireland remains isolated from CR despite attempts to change that. That said, I hope some of the suggestions in this paper will have a relevance to the devolved nations.

 

  1. Will train operators still have a role in Community Rail?

The train operating companies (TOCs) will be responsible for delivering the new post-franchising ‘Passenger Service Contracts’. Up to now, the TOCs have had a key role in working with community rail groups. Will that continue? It should. Within the PSCs the train operator should be expected to work positively with the relevant community rail organisations and station friends groups, with that co-operation clearly specified in the PSC. As one TOC manager, with years of experience in supporting community rail, said “The future scope of the TOC role is still to be finalised, but I think there needs to be some local responsibility and autonomy within the framework set by GBR, as GBR is never going to be in touch with local markets and community needs in the way a local TOC can be – so there’s some work to be done there to get that right, I reckon.”

He’s absolutely right. Will CR funding still be channelled through the TOC? It makes sense, to ensure a close structural link between TOC and CRP, and if an operator wished to support a particular initiative or project this should be encouraged. An interesting challenge is how to gauge the level of funding. Should CRPs be ‘paid by results’? Maybe it should be a combination of existing funding and support for an agreed action plan that meets the demands of the ‘pillars’ and encourages new development. It’s important that CRPs seek to broaden their funding base and not assume rail funding will continue forever at the same level. Lots of things CRPs do is of value way beyond the rail industry, and there are funding streams out there which we don’t tap into, e.g. in community arts, heritage lottery and numerous social funds.

The relationship between the CRP and TOC could, and should, expand. The TOCs will still be major employers and there is considerable scope for community rail partnerships working with TOCs on recruitment and training issues, helping them to recruit a diverse workforce, as well on the ‘classic’ community rail issues.

They should, in conjunction with the TOC, build links with the unions in the company. Hundreds of union members are involved positively in CR projects but the unions per se have little if any involvement, which is a pity.

Many TOCs have come to realise that CRPs are important conduits for passenger issues, feeding in informed and knowledgeable views that help shape a positive passenger experience and stimulate service improvements. And CRPs do important work in the community which help reduce trespass and vandalism, issues on everyone’s agenda, complementing the work of British Transport Police.

  1. The importance of local government and the Combined Authorities

Traditionally, local government has been a major sponsor of community rail and still hosts some CRPs; an average of about 20% of CRP funding comes from local authorities. However, the impact of cuts has forced some CRPs to re-think this reliance and become not-for-profit companies that are more dependent on funding through the railway industry, mostly via franchise contracts and their replacements in National Rail Contracts. This has saved many CRPs from disaster but at the same time creates a risk of over-reliance on a single source of funding.

Which comes back to the need to widen Community Rail’s funding base. Many CRPs value a local authority input even when they don’t supply any core funding but sometimes pots of money available via local authorities don’t get noticed.  Local government is the way in to a huge range of community services including housing, ‘place’, education, economic regeneration as well as remaining transport functions. In some ways, it’s the ‘non-transport’ areas which are the most important and where Community Rail could contribute more.

There needs to be stronger relationships with elected members, as well as council officers. At the end of the day it’s the members who make decisions on funding and unless the ground has been well prepared, the importance of a CRP will go unrecognised. Inviting elected members to events that demonstrate what the CRP is doing is easy to do, if the will is there. That should be re-inforced by regular press releases to the local media but also national media if it’s an interesting project that might just speak an editor’s interest.

There are specific issues in the ‘combined authorities’ – the former PTE areas in the North and Midlands. Strangely, a few have shied away from engagement with community rail, perhaps still seeing it as a ‘rural’ thing. Even some of the positive ones, such as Transport for Greater Manchester, are not able to provide core funding for CRPs – but do support individual projects. I think the combined authorities are missing a trick and the CRPs themselves need to up their game and ‘play the political game’ with the city region mayors, who wield increasing power and influence.

A predominantly urban CRP will have different issues and priorities to address than say a CRP along a rural line in East Anglia or Cornwall. Issues around diversity and inclusion, challenging hate crime, trespass and vandalism may well have a greater impact in urban areas, though even rural areas are sadly not immune to them.

A community-based approach can help bolster local line identities within a combined authority area such as Merseytravel, West and South Yorkshire, West Midlands or Greater Manchester, with scope for community art work at local stations which have been proved to reduce vandalism and create a more welcoming atmosphere. The Tyne and Wear Metro led the field on this but many more have followed. The Urban Transport Group, which does what it the label says, could help promote community rail initiatives  amongst its members and share good practice.

  1. Community Rail has grown in strength – but there’s still work to do

‘Community Rail’ (CR) has achieved a lot with very little since its formation in the mid-90s. There are now 74 CRPs across the UK, nearly all employing paid staff (at least south of the Scottish border) though this is often just one person, sometimes working part-time. Today’s community rail movement is in a far stronger position than it was 20 years ago.

Alongside CRPs there are hundreds of station adoption groups/station friends, many doing amazing work with no paid staff. CR is no longer a ‘would you mind?’ extra for operators. It is a contractual obligation. How well they get behind, promote and support CR counts towards their performance and thus the fees they can earn.

Community Rail is supported by the Community Rail Network which has grown in strength and influence and provides a range of services to its membership. It is a highly effective network, supported by Government and industry funding, light years away from the early days when we were very much finding our way. If I was completely honest I’d say that I regret that some of the ‘fun’ – but valuable – activities have been lost, not least the so-called ‘jollies’ to experience different regional railways around Europe, from which so much was learned and so many enduring friendships formed. One thing I’ve learned in 50 years of campaigning and community action is the importance of ‘the social’ and building networks based on trust.

Community rail partnerships are independent, but closely allied to, the railway industry and that’s the right position. Most of the things they do are with the agreement of TOCs or Network Rail. This independence can be an advantage, bringing new ideas and energy to rail. But it can also be like banging your head against a wall, with CRPs not taken seriously by rail managers in some parts of the business, franchise obligations or not. It’s fine having a ‘community manager’ but if their colleagues in other areas don’t know what you do, there can be problems. This is explored in a later section (‘Building Awareness in the Industry’).

One area that could be explored further is the potential for CRPs to collaborate or even combine with neighbouring partnerships to create stronger entities, without losing their grassroots base. Many CRPs (e.g. South East Lancs CRP and CR Lancashire) already work together and the former Sussex CRP has expanded to include a large swathe of the South-east and is now the South-east England CRP.

An alternative, perhaps preferable approach to mergers, could be for CRPs to share some ‘back office’ functions, e.g. finance and general administration, as well as some joint initiatives.

Could the Community Rail Network develop its own ‘regional divisions’ which work with GBR but also provide some administrative support to CRPs?

The proposed ‘Community Rail Enterprises’ (CREs – see below) could be based on community interest companies formed with ownership covering more than one CRP.

  1. Station friends, partnerships and business adoption

“There are real opportunities for the railways to do more to support local economic growth, such as encouraging and supporting small independent retailers on the rail estate. This could extend more widely, with greater emphasis on place and social value. Priorities will differ across the network: in rural areas, community rail partnerships can provide social connections to tackle loneliness, whilst easy connections to our national landscapes can improve health and wellbeing. Reusing existing rail buildings for services such as training, community hubs and education, as Network Rail has already done in Bolton, could reduce costs for the voluntary sector and improve services for local residents.”

  • Great British Railways: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, 2021   15 p.44

The role of station friends/station partnerships should remain largely voluntary (as with rail user groups), working with CRPs, GBR and train companies and acting as a link into local communities, though some could do more at their stations e.g. cafes and art galleries.  It has to be said that depending on voluntary effort is not the panacea that some think. Nice if you can get it but the reality often is that it’s easier where you have a pool of retired professionals with time on their hands. As a general rule, the more deprived the area, the fewer these potential volunteers are to be found and more intensive efforts are needed to engage with communities and build local capacity and confidence. Working with local voluntary sector coordinating bodies (the ‘CVS’ network) is a useful ‘way in’. South East Lancashire CRP has a close relationship with Bolton CVS which manages its staff budget but also provides wider links to the area’s very diverse communities.

This is not at all to give up on volunteering in a railway context but to widen the pool of volunteers, combined with realism on how much can be achieved just with volunteers. This should involve working more closely with local voluntary sector co-ordinating bodies and offering volunteers something in return for their input. Traditionally, this has meant provision of some travel facilities, which can be a powerful inducement (and contrary to the fears of some rail managers, is seldom abused). But for younger people there could be scope for opening up training and employment opportunities on the railway.

Some station groups have potential to develop much more as social enterprises, particularly at some of the bigger locations, e.g. Kilmarnock and Bolton, with charitable organisations or CICs employing staff as well as using volunteers. Could some stations be ‘adopted’ by a local business/es to promote their services in return for provided some services at the station? Brighouse station is a good example of ‘group adoption’ by local businesses which included florists – the impact is massive.

Irlam is probably the outstanding example of ‘business adoption’, with the station building run by the Hamilton Davies Trust with a flourishing cafe and meeting space, enhanced by superb artwork and memorabilia. However, there are many more and the work of ScotRail in community and business adoption of stations over many years is outstanding, with excellent examples in both rural and inner city areas of Glasgow.

Another potentially fruitful area for CRPs to work with station groups is developing station travel plans and accessibility audits. Again, this is something that should be a ‘paid for’ project, probably via GBR in the future, but involving the relevant local authority. Community Rail Network has been proactive in supporting community-led travel planning ad has produced a helpful toolkit guide.

  1. The new railway architecture

The establishment of ‘Great British Railways’ (GBR) is a major development in UK rail; it will change how railways are managed dramatically. It will administer ‘passenger service contracts’ in which the actual train service delivery is provided by private companies to a clear contract. Unlike the current system, there will be little room for manoeuvre (or creativity) by the train operating companies. The clearly stated model for this is TfL/London Overground. Yet the TfL rail and contracting model doesn’t readily lend itself easily to CR and we don’t want to see mass centralisation or corporatisation of Community Rail. At the same time, the establishment of GBR will be an opportunity to bring CR into the heart of the railway, spreading the positive experience of some parts of Network Rail (e.g. in the North-West) to the country as a whole.

GBR will have wide powers. The DfT press release said “A new public body, Great British Railways (GBR), will integrate the railways, owning the infrastructure, collecting fare revenue, running and planning the network, and setting most fares and timetables.” It went on to say that “Local communities will work closely with GBR on designing services with local leaders given greater control over local ticketing, timetables and stations. The new model will encourage innovative bidders, such as community rail partnerships who want to bid for the GBR contract to operate their local branch lines.”

Many CRPs are already working with the industry on service planning issues and this needs to be embedded in the new structure; as for bidding for contracts to operate local branch lines, that’s an interesting challenge but one which CRPs as currently structured would, in most cases, be ill-equipped to respond to at the moment. But it does point to a more pro-active and operational role for CRPs. How do we get there? And is it realistic?

  1. GBR and ‘Community Rail’

If GBR is to be focused on passengers and communities – and their needs – shouldn’t some of what CRPs now do form part of GBR’s core programme, from Day One? There is scope for CRPs to have long-term agreements with GBR to develop specific services, e.g. in work with schools, mental health, refugees or ‘employability’ which help give long-term stability to CRPs.

We know there will be regional divisions of GBR and surely it makes sense for these to have strong roots in the communities they cover? The regional divisions of GBR should each have a ‘community unit’ that works closely with its community partners, with a small team at HQ level supported by a director with specific responsibility for ‘Community Integration’, working closely with Community Rail Network.

GBR should have regional boards which oversee the work of the organisation as a whole and include community representatives, including at least one CRP representative.

It’s important that the suggested dedicated community teams within GBR at the regional level are incentivised to ‘reach out’ and work with CRPs, CRN and a wide range of community organisations. Their role should be to help things happen, not act as a barrier.

Across the rail industry, community engagement should be treated as a skill to be learned just like any other, with training programmes (suitably accredited) that equip the managers of today and tomorrow with the knowledge and skill to be fully effective in this important field. GBR could work with Community Rail Network and the higher education sector to encourage ‘community engagement’ modules within Transport Studies courses – and ‘Community Development and Transport’ within community development courses (see below section ‘Professionalising Community Rail’).

  1. What should a ‘community rail partnership’ be about?

Williams – Shapps gives strong encouragement to CRPs as we’ve seen above. Section 13 is headed “Community rail partnerships will be empowered to strengthen rail’s social and economic impact”. But there is more in the white paper which may not mention ‘community rail’ specifically but opens up some exciting opportunities:

“New, locally-led innovation schemes will unlock smarter working and support growth. To achieve real change, there needs to be renewed emphasis on locally-led innovation and new ways of working. Those who work on the railways should be able to suggest and lead innovation in their workplaces or local network. Great British Railways will support this, through greater adoption of design sprints and competitions to identify and solve challenges at pace locally and regionally. Targeted partnerships between Great British Railways, its partners and other transport authorities, investors and start-ups will enable collaboration between the public and private sectors to push innovative solutions forward. Best practice will be shared across the sector.”

  • Great British Railways: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, 2021 s. 49, p.83

Community Rail must rise to these challenges presented by Williams – Shapps. It’s a once in a generation opportunity and the CR movement must think big.

It isn’t about a single, unified approach but one in which ‘a hundreds flowers bloom’. Existing CRPs are enormously varied in terms of composition and activities, reflecting the very different geography of their areas of operation and the interests of the CRP partners. The ‘accreditation’ process has brought a baseline of good practice to CRPs and should continue in its present form but, arguably, be a bit more demanding and questioning. Re-accreditation should not be an almost automatic process. At the same time, there should be more sharing of good practice now we are at least partly out of lockdown.

The annual Community Rail Awards is a great occasion to meet up and hear about great projects, but the only other annual event is the DfT-sponsored Community Rail conference each March. Train operators are often obliged to organise their own conference from community rail groups in their area but the CRPs themselves, with support from the Community Rail Network, could do more to develop regional collaboration.

The activities which CRPs are involved in are hugely varied and, assuming a core emphasis on assuring local accountability, good governance and ensuring that all sections of the community are reached out to, should be able to reflect local needs and priorities.

Some act as grassroots-based advocates to promote rail travel, stressing rail’s contribution to the health and sustainability agendas. Others are involved in tourism promotion, while some bring considerable expertise to service planning issues. As highlighted above, some engage in pioneering work around mental health and work with schools. In a small number of cases, some are involved in ‘commercial’ activities, others sponsor local feeder bus services (e.g. SE Lancs CRP). There is a growing agenda to be part of the wider sustainability agenda which is great and this could be developed into particular strands of work (e.g. ‘greening your station’). The best contribution CRPs can make to a greener Britain is getting more people using trains that are already there, getting them to and from the station by sustainable means. At the same time, CRPs need to be part of wider local initiatives around sustainability, demonstrating that rail is part of the solution.

CRPs are not lobbying groups but many have developed expertise and trust in honing services to local needs. One senior CRP manager said “I’d say too that the best thing a CRP can do to help the community is to work to ensure the train service is as relevant and useful as possible to that community (and is well used and stays that way) and that where there is sufficient unmet local need, the service expands to meet it where possible.” That will involve the future CRP working closely with the GBR divisions but also ensuring that the ‘TOC of the future’, working to a Passenger Service Contract, is aware and engaged with its CRPs and uses their local knowledge and expertise, as argued above.

In some cases, partnerships can play a direct role in developing new technology that improves the viability of rural lines. Hi-Trans in the North of Scotland is leading the way with alternative sources to traditional diesel for some of the more remote lines which will never justify conventional electrification. Vivarail’s battery and hydrogen powered trains could help revolutionise some branch lines and a partnership with a CRP or rail-based social enterprise could be immensely effective.

Getting people back onto rail, post-Covid, whatever sort of train, is the key challenge we face. CR has a vital role to play in nurturing that rail market and act as a bridge between ‘communities’ and ‘the railway’ without being fringe lobbyists. It’s about making good things happen.

  1. Catalysts for change

If we see CRPs as bodies that enable things to happen – community development agencies along railway corridors, rather than being too narrowly focused on the railway in isolation – it helps structure how we see CR developing. It may sound heretical but you don’t need strong community interest before forming a CRP. It’s the job of the CRP to create it. There was no community demand for a community rail partnership on the Penistone Line back in 1993, but we went ahead and set up the Penistone Line Partnership and the community engagement came along after. On many more urban routes there is little existing community engagement, even through station friends groups. A CRP can be about making community engagement happen, starting off small, working with the existing community organisations in their area. There should be a role for the future GBR regional divisions to work with Community Rail Network and local agencies to identify potential new CRPs and assist with funding new developments, as argued elsewhere in this paper.

Funding is an issue for most CRPs. They are dependent on Government funding, which is inevitably short term. Few generate significant revenue from activities. In the past, it has been suggested that CRPs should escape from the cycle of government funding and look to generating revenue-earning activities. Perhaps now is the time to revisit that. However, some important and necessary activities will never be ‘commercial’ and never should be. I’d argue this is where GBR should step in.

The CRPs could at least in part function as GBR’s delivery arm for certain ‘deliverables’. For example, if the regional divisions of GBR wanted to develop work with primary schools, rather than try to build up the expertise themselves, they should buy the actual deliverable from one or more CRP in their division, who already have the expertise. Potentially individual CRPs could develop strengths in certain areas e.g. education, mental health, arts and other fields, alongside more general community engagement work.

  1. InterCity Community Rail

CR needs to cover more of the rail network. It’s moved on since the days when it was mainly about rural branch lines. As the ‘industry source’ commented, it needs to be (and already is) working in gritty urban areas. It’s also active on Inter-City routes and could do more. All the TOCs providing InterCity services have incentives in their contracts to support community rail and this is an exciting growth area. Open access Grand Central, once described by its late MD Tom Clift as ‘a long distance community railway’ has a great record of community engagement. On routes like the West Coast Main Line there are stations like Oxenholme, Wigan North Western, Preston and Penrith with a strong community ‘feel’ and highly committed staff who like working with the community, supported by Avanti West Coast. Train operators such as Cross Country (which has no stations to manage but supports a range of CR projects), LNER, Great Western and East Midlands are all proactive on Community Rail projects.

Larger stations on main line routes could develop as community hubs, using vacant space for community shops, art galleries and more. There’s too much an emphasis on the ‘corporate’ chains providing cafe facilities and not enough encouragement to good quality, locally-based cafes at larger stations.

All rail franchises or contracts have support for Community Rail embedded within them, thanks to the support of DfT, and the devolved administrations for Wales and Scotland. In the new GBR settlement that must not only continue, but expand.

That means in many places new CRPs being formed, with new money available for them to develop. As things stand it is difficult, to put it mildly, to set up a new CRP even if it has strong support – because the current CRP budget is allocated to existing partnerships. That creates an impossible situation where potentially, existing CRPs are penalised if new CRPs are established. There must be dedicated funds for new CRPs – a ‘Community Rail New Growth Fund’ or the like, quite separate from existing CRPs. Funding would be conditional on meeting clear criteria, based on the existing accreditation process.

  1. Maximising Social Value

The importance of the strongly social elements e.g. work on mental health, hate crime, work with schools, refugees and more, needs greater recognition and support. This work should be sponsored by the regional divisions of GBR and delivered by the CRPs and local community partners.

This ‘social’ programme e.g. work with schools and mental health, work with NEETs etc. while sponsored and paid for by GBR, should be supported by the relevant public sector body e.g. LEA, NHS, local council and delivered, on a clear contractual basis, by the community rail partnership, or a consortium of them, possibly in conjunction with an external third sector partner or partners. SE Lancs CRP’s work with refugees is being developed in partnership with the local City of Sanctuary, for example. Engaging in this sort of work would be impossible without close involvement of the relevant organisations.

It’s clear that ‘Social Value’ is becoming increasingly important in Government policy, in all areas, not just transport. One experienced CRP chair told me “The future train operating company contracts will be looking for a strong pay back to the Treasury for the financial support given and an important part of this will be the monetary value of the social aspects of activity by both the TOC and Community Rail. The earlier  exercises in valuing Community Rail will need to be much more sophisticated to record , quantify and therefore demonstrate that this is not just a ‘good thing’ but of real value to the Exchequer, the economy and to the population. Having this as a monetary value will be an essential plank for the future survival and development of Community Rail.”

Some community activists will object to putting a cash value on their activity. But the world has moved on from the 1990s when we did stuff because we knew it was right. If Community Rail is to retain the support of Government it will need to demonstrate very clearly the benefits it brings, rather than just assuming that “it’s bloody obvious”. It might be to us, it won’t be to the Treasury.

A lot can be learnt from engaging and being a part of the wider ‘third sector’ which is highly developed in the UK with a huge resource of knowledge and expertise in lots of areas relevant to community rail. Some CRPs and station partnerships are active members of their local ‘CVS’ (Council for Voluntary Service, or similar co-ordinating body for the local third sector) but a lot aren’t. They should be. It would help CRPs develop their local knowledge, build awareness of key policy issues and develop contacts. For the ‘third sector’ it would give them a way in to transport issues which are often seen as important but difficult to engage with.

  1. Developing ‘Community Rail Enterprises’

Community Rail should be enabled, where it wants to and where there’s the potential, to become more entrepreneurial, developing activities that bring in revenue – ranging from running bike hire, cafes and bars, tourist promotions, bus services, educational services, some local stations and even (cf Williams-Shapps) local rail services, in time. There’s no shortage of examples already, highlighted in CRN’s The Socially Enterprising Railway https://communityrail.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ACoRP-Social-Enterprising-Railway-Tooklit-1218.pdf

Developing long-term income streams from revenue-generating activities (which add value to the railway and enhance passenger experience) or from specific deliverables that are paid for by a commissioning body, is a sensible route to take, and Community Rail Network has been encouraging this through training and advice.

Some CRPs are already structured as social enterprises, often as ‘community interest companies’ or charitable incorporated organisations. They could do much more. Within existing CRPs, there are a number of activities that could be developed as standalone businesses, if the right investment was made. This isn’t the sort of thing that GBR could or should do, but it ought to be supportive and helpful.

Some CRPs already get involved in managing property (in partnership with TOCs and Network Rail), undertake business activities such as consultancy, training, etc. Part of the problem is that they’re stretched too far with grossly insufficient resources.

I’m suggesting that more CRPs develop into social enterprises – businesses, with social objectives. Let’s call them ‘Community Rail Enterprises’ (CREs). Alternatively, CRPs could act as an enabler for such bodies, doing the initial development work then floating the social enterprise off to be self-sustaining but keeping close links with the CRP.

The CRP’s role would be to identify and develop rail-based commercial activities which bring tangible benefits to local communities, as well as supporting the railway. While the Williams-Shapps suggestion of CRPs bidding for contracts for their local lines smacks me as naive, there could be scope for CRPs – or enterprises which they help create – teaming up with larger businesses which may already have TOC status, to operate local services and possibly take on some peripheral (non-safety-critical) services which really enhance the rail offer.

An obvious ‘quick win’ is tourism, with a CRP working with an operator to provide additional services such as ‘The Staycation Express’ on the Settle-Carlisle and Vintage Trains (a community benefit society) on The Shakespeare Line. The Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Co. is a good example of the sort of enterprise I’m talking about. A potentially attractive area is developing feeder bus services. The example of Dalesbus, where a CIC identifies a network of bus routes which help promote sustainable tourism and contract services to local bus operators, is interesting. It avoids the high overheads of running the service directly and leaves the company free to promote the service and work with local businesses.

Most successful businesses, social or not, usually start off small but need some capital. If the Government wants to see CR develop and take on the sort of things that Williams-Shapps suggests, it needs up-front investment.

My suggestion is for three or four pilot schemes  across the country where there is some investment (let’s not call it funding) into creating or developing a ‘community enterprise’. This should cover a range of things including:

  • Appropriate level of staffing
  • Getting a suitable form of governance and board members – CIC model
  • Business partners/investors
  • Writing a business plan
  • Some contribution towards implementation of projects

We should be looking at three or four year horizons. Some will fail, which is OK. Others will bloom. Getting CRPs out of the treadmill of short-term funding and conflicting demands and expectations is necessary and timely. It could be the next ‘great leap forward’ for Community Rail.

Given the Secretary of State’s enthusiasm for competitions (e.g. location of GBR HQ) why not a Government-sponsored competition for ‘The Community Rail Enterprise Challenge’ with substantial funds for three or four pilot projects around England.

The Community Rail Network (CRN) could build on its very useful work on social enterprise with more business advice and support.

  1. Back to the land

Community Rail has hardly tapped the huge potential of doing more with surplus railway land. The railway is a massive land owner; the 4th or 5th biggest in the country. We must make a greater contribution to improving the environment, its habitat for all species and to biodiversity. Europe and Britain have lost nearly 30% of its bee population. As one industry leader said “If the bees all die, we die. It’s as simple as that. We have massive tracts of land that barely see human feet on them. Why aren’t we seeding and flowering these tracts to attract bees and butterflies. Who knows, regional or local brands of railway honey?”

SE Lancashire CRP is already developing a ‘Railway BeeHives’ project at Wigan. Network Rail has made important steps on biodiversity, and the Community Rail movement is developing a range of outstanding local projects. Greater Anglia is working with Norfolk Wildlife Trusts to promote biodiversity schemes through their station adoption programme.

Can we do more useful things with the railway’s land assets? Most railway land is in Network Rail hands so presumably will transfer to GBR; anyone who has tried dealing with the industry on land issues will know how difficult it is. The issue needs addressing, possibly by identifying surplus land which should for various reasons remain in railway ownership but which could be developed as wildlife havens, or – where public access is possible – as ‘railway parks’ or community allotments. One senior figure in local government said “I think there’s massive potential in using the vast amount of ‘nowt nor summat’ railway land holdings for gardens and parks. The big railway has finally realised it needs a sustainability strategy so I would have thought it would be very receptive. There’s also interplay with wider biodiversity / climate resilience aims of the big railway.”

This could best be done through a strategic lead by Network Rail/GBR with suitable parcels of land placed in a land bank for community use, leased to a community organisation (which could be local, regional or even national). Could there be scope for some land to be transferred to community land trusts to develop affordable housing, or community growing areas?

The example of the ‘Incredible Edible’ movement which started in Todmorden and features herb gardens on the station platforms, is really exciting. Encouragement should be given to use railway land, whether at stations or elsewhere, as space to grow stuff which can then be consumed locally. Bolton station’s ‘Platform Planters’ produced vegetables that were donated to a local co-operative cafe. Why not have station shops and cafes that sell produce that’s partly grown on the station itself?

  1. Arts-led rail regeneration

Rail has a pretty good record in ‘public art’. There are some great examples of art work at stations such as, as well as art galleries at stations including Aberdour, Kinghorn, Bolton, Pollokshaws West, Wigan (both stations), Nuneaton and many more. There are lots of reasons for encouraging public art at stations and along the railway corridor. The obvious benefit is that it makes stations nicer places to be. They are more welcoming, people-friendly and that in turn helps reduce anti-social behaviour. If people find stations more welcoming and less threatening, it stands to reason that they are more likely to use them.

The actual process of creating art at stations in itself is important. If done well, community rail art can involve hard-to-reach groups, children in inner-urban schools with limited horizons, and people who are social excluded. Lots of railway employees are talented artists, in many different media. We need to involve them much, much more. The exhibition of Railway Workers’ Art at the Platform Gallery on Bolton station was a good start, there’s scope for a lot more. Encouraging railway staff ticks many of the industry boxes about supporting employees and staff satisfaction.

It needs doing well. Just throwing up a few pictures or a subway mural is fine but an arts-based approach needs to address the whole station environment rather than just being an add-on. We need to make our stations exciting and interesting places which showcase local talent. Take a look at the subway mural at Wigan North Western if you want a good example of how art can transform a rather dull 1970s station. But we’ve only just started!

There’s a lot of good work already happening. It would be good for artists and community rail groups involved in art work to link up more, perhaps through a Community Rail Network ‘sub-network’ of Community Rail Art. Some great examples are already showcased at the Community Rail Awards, with two categories directly arts-related and others which are in part.

  1. Away from the ‘big is best’ mentality in procurement

Why should retail at larger stations be totally dominated by the big chains which have little if any commitment to locally sourced food and whose staff have no say in how the business is run? Community rail partnerships could work with the rail industry to establish retail facilities on stations – small, medium and large – which are exemplars of what the ‘circular economy’ looks like. Grown at or near the station, cooked on the premises and sold to rail passengers and local people who use the station as a destination in itself, with attractive station cafes which could also double as local art galleries and bookshops.

The same goes for locally-brewed beer, with ‘artisan’ breweries springing up at stations offering good quality beer in a pleasant environment. The record of success here, particularly at larger stations, is better than with coffee shops and other retail. As argued above, there is scope for much greater diversity in provision of catering at larger stations. How many large stations do you see a local social enterprise providing good quality snacks and coffee? Hardly any – they tend to be allowed to set up shop at stations where there’s no ‘commercial’ interest from the corporate giants. One of the biggest challenges for community rail is to get the industry procurement managers to take community business seriously instead of seeing them as irrelevant and unprofessional. Too often procurement managers take the easy route and contract with a large chain rather than seeking out good quality local businesses that may offer a better service at similar costs.

One aspect of this is cost. When I’ve mentioned social enterprises running cafes at busy stations the response from some TOCs has been cautious, assuming the potential tenant would want a ‘peppercorn’ rent. It doesn’t have to be so. Well-established social enterprises in many towns and cities pay full commercial rents and make money. If there is commercial potential at a busy station, why not offer it to a social enterprise that has a good record for quality and service, on a commercial basis? Or, in cases where the market potential is marginal, agree a tapered rent starting off low and growing as – and if – the business grows. This is what Northern did, with success, at Skipton with the Settle-Carlisle Development Company’s cafe, taking over from a failed private business. That required an ‘open book’ approach and a relationship of trust with the train operator.

That model could work with other TOCs or Network Rail – or GBR in the future – which could be brokered by the CRP. And let’s remember, at some smaller stations talk of a ‘commercial’ rent should be treated with care. A ‘commercial rent’ at some stations could be in hundreds, or less. It’s far better to have an appropriate business trading at a station than a boarded up building that will never be let because the rent expected is unrealistic and doesn’t reflect local market rents.

  1. Building awareness in the industry

Thirty years on from the establishment of the first CRP (actually in Devon and Cornwall), the lack of awareness of what ‘Community Rail’ is amongst some in the rail industry continues to surprise me. It’s far too important to be left just to a ‘stakeholder manager’ or similar and should be embedded across the entire industry. So, how?

The future contracts for train operators need to incorporate some clear requirements for the operator (and this should also apply to GBR and former Network Rail staff) to develop awareness of Community Rail at all levels. This should include regular briefings to management teams but also publicity about CR activities in staff publications and social media. CRP officers should be invited to occasional staff briefings about activities they are involved in.

Every ‘new starter’ should have a half-day session on ‘Community Rail – what it means to you’ as part of their induction, which could include inviting a CRP officer to take part in the session. During my time at Grand Central (not, of course, a franchised TOC), part of my job was to spend a day with ‘new starters’ – mostly Bradford-based staff for the new London service. Drives, train managers and customer service assistants. Many of them became enthusiasts for community rail and fed in positive ideas.

In turn, rail managers and front-line staff should be encouraged to attend some CRP meetings and offer insights into their work; this could also include depot visits and other activities which help cement relationships between CR and the industry.

  1. Professionalising ‘Community Rail’

It would be interesting to know how many people are employed in ‘community rail’ across the country, including CRPs and rail employees. Given there are over 70 CRPs and about 20 train operators, a conservative estimate would be 100 full-time equivalent jobs.

The professional backgrounds of these people will be enormously varied, with some coming from community development roles, marketing, or railway operating backgrounds. What they will all have in common is a lack of any formal qualifications for doing ‘community rail’. If you come into the job from a railway operations or engineering background, you probably won’t know a lot about community development. If you’re a former community worker, the intricacies of the railway industry will be beyond you.

By and large, people ‘get by’. Yet the industry needs to recognise that being a ‘community manager’ requires real skills, every bit as demanding as being a timetable planner, signalling engineer or train crew manager.

It’s about time we professionalised Community Rail. Not by excluding talented people either in the industry or in outside ‘community-related’ jobs, but offering opportunities to develop skills which better equip them to do community-related jobs, either as CRP or rail industry employees. This could be done through a mix of on and off the job training, working with a number of higher education bodies in different parts of the country, with a shared core curriculum which includes:

  • What the railway industry does, its history, and how it is structured
  • How rail is part of the wider sustainability challenge
  • The communities served by rail and their diverse needs
  • Methods of community engagement
  • Community Rail overview – including funding and governance
  • Media relations

This should be suitably accredited. At school-leaving level, each rail business – and CRP – should have an apprenticeship scheme. Some TOCs, such as Northern, already have a good record here, not only offering apprentices the opportunity to engage with CRPs but also an ‘Early Careers Programme’ which has a community dimension. At a higher level, there should be encouragement to post-graduate qualifications up to and including PhD level on important aspects of Community Rail. There are opportunities to include ‘Community Rail’ within some degree courses, particularly but not exclusively in Transport Studies.

  1. Rail re-openings

Community rail has traditionally fought shy of getting involved in rail re-openings, for good reason. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s the practical possibility of re-opening a local railway, at least in England, was very small. Getting involved in complex and probably pointless campaigns would have sapped strength and resources which was better spent in supporting and developing what was already there, and had survived Beeching.

That caution need not apply in the 2020s, now there is broad support for re-openings with Government encouragement. Community rail partnerships are well placed to support and perhaps in certain cases lead on re-openings, particularly new stations along routes they cover. CRPs could act as a stimulus for more ambitious line re-openings, without being the lead body – which might be best done through a purpose-made organisation involving local authorities, the CRP and other agencies.

SENRUG – The South-east Northumberland Rail Users Group – has aspirations to become a CRP and promote both existing services and support the re-opening of ’The Northumberland Line’ from Newcastle to Ashington and to Morpeth.

  1. Where next?

Community Rail has a great future. It has emerged from the worst of the Covid-19 period intact but, lack everyone, feeling bruised. Jools Townsend, Chief Executive of the Community Rail Network said “I think we can hold our heads very high about the way the movement has come through a very difficult year and a half, supporting communities and their resilience in a range of ways, responding to local needs. I also would highlight the ways that community rail has come together and pushed forward with promotional and engagement activities as we have emerged from pandemic restrictions – including a strong focus on supporting leisure travel opportunities and positioning rail travel as a big part of the solution to the climate emergency. A lot of what we and our members have done in recent months has been new and different, responding to what’s going on out there at a local and global level.”

Community Rail is embedded in many communities and there is strong support for it within the rail industry and Government – and, as this paper has argued perhaps to excess, a sense that it could do much more if it had the right tools. It must relentlessly trumpet its successes and ensure that it isn’t just preaching to the converted. Why not a Treasury day out to visit some community rail lines and demonstrate at first-hand what has been achieved?

A good friend in a train company made a key point in response to an earlier draft of this paper: “We have to make sure we achieve the twin aims of protecting all that’s best about Community Rail, whilst also evolving into new but relevant added value areas. The the clue is in the title – community rail. If it doesn’t involve both those elements, then it’s probably not the right thing for Community Rail to be doing, could be a dilution of resources and may be duplicating what others do. We also need to be pragmatic and realistic – whilst still being ambitious and aspirational – about the resources that might get allocated to Community Rail. We might not always be lucky enough to have the passionate advocates we have today at the heart of decision-making!”

This paper represents a small contribution to the process of growing Community Rail – a healthy and vibrant movement which began with no resources and a lot of scepticism, in the kitchen of a terraced house in Huddersfield thirty years ago. Thanks to all who have contributed to its creation.

Key recommendations:

  1. Great British Railways should have ‘Community Rail’ in its DNA, with a ‘Community Unit’ at HQ level and dedicated resource in each of the regional divisions
  2. Train operators should be incentivised to support community rail and station adoption groups through the Passenger Service Contracts. They should continue to act as channels for funding CRPs but also be encouraged to go beyond the ‘core’ funding proposition for schemes with identified benefits
  3. The ‘four pillars’ in the Government’s Community Rail Development Strategy should be reviewed to ensure that sustainability is at the heart of the strategy. A fifth pillar, ‘to increase passenger numbers and contribute to reducing costs’ should be added
  4. Community rail partnerships should be encouraged to pull in wider sources of funding, both from other funders possibly external to rail but also from generating their own income streams in relevant areas which enhance the passenger experience
  5. There should be a new, dedicated ‘Community Rail Growth Fund’ administered by Community Rail Network on behalf of GBR to support new community rail partnerships where there is proven support locally
  6. Railway employers should be incentivised (and in some cases required) to ensure that Community Rail features in all aspects of the business, with all staff given the opportunity to be fully engaged, from induction throughout their railway careers
  7. The rail unions should be engaged much more in community rail activities, particularly in areas of mutual concern e.g. diversity and inclusion, combating hate crime, trespass and vandalism.
  8. Local government and combined authorities should be more engaged with Community Rail, recognising the contribution that CRPs in particular can make to a wider sustainability agenda.
  9. There should be a clear programme of training and development for all staff involved, or potentially involved, in community rail – from apprenticeships through to accredited further and higher education courses and PhD levels.
  10. There must be a sea-change in thinking amongst procurement managers to ensure that SMEs and social enterprises get the opportunity to bid for commercial contracts, as well ‘non-commercial’ station lets and right along the supply chain
  11. Consideration should be given to unused railway land being identified for community use, with the creation of allotments, ‘pocket parks’ or other facilities.
  12. Stations – small, medium and large – should be seen as community hubs which promote the communities they serve, offering locally-made produce, artwork and meeting space and information on local employment opportunities.
  13. There should be a ‘Community Rail Arts Network’ supported by Community Rail Network which shares best practice amongst artists, CRPs and station groups.

A ‘Community Rail Enterprise Challenge’ should be launched and managed by DfT (or GBR in the future) with substantial funding for innovative ‘commercial’ schemes which help to grow rail patronage and improve the passenger experience

Categories
NEWS

Northern Weekly Salvo 297

The Northern Weekly Salvo

Incorporating  Slaithwaite Review of Books, Weekly Notices, Sectional Appendices, Tunnel Gazers’ Gazette and Northern Umbrella,etc. Descendant of Teddy Ashton’s Northern Weekly and Th’Bowtun Loominary

Published at 109 Harpers Lane Bolton BL1 6HU email: paul.salveson@myphone.coop

Publications website: www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

No. 297 October 5th   2021                   

Salveson’s half-nakedly political digest of railwayness, tripe and secessionist nonsense from Up North. Sometimes weekly, usually not; definitely Northern. Read by the highest and lowest officers of state, Whitmanites, weirdos, misfits, steam punks, trespassers, yes women, no men, gay Swedenborgians, cat-spotters, discerning sybarites, bi-guys, non-aligned social democrats, mis-aligned pie-eaters, tripe dressers, nail artists, self-managing VIMTO drinkers, truculent Northerners, grumpy Norwegians, absurd Marxists, sleepy Hungarians, members of the clergy and the toiling masses, generally. All views expressed are my own and usually nobody else’s. Official journal of the Station Cat Improvement Network, Pacer Dining Club, Station Buffet Acceleration Council and the Campaign for a North with a capital ‘N’.

“We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.” – Jo Cox, maiden speech in House of Commons, June 3rd 2015.

General gossips

Grumpy old man writes: We’re in the thick of party conference season, with the Tories ‘up North’ in Manchester while Labour flew south to Brighton. There was the traditional lobby of the Tories though I have to say I don’t really get the politics. ‘Lobbying’ suggests trying to persuade your target audience of something, whereas with the Tories in Manchester the aim seemed to have been to tell them what a load of xxxxxxx they all are. On the other hand, if I was a Tory I’d welcome a bit of noisy sabre-rattling from the Left as it shows the outside world what reasonable people they are, besieged by an aggressive rabble. So why do it? Maybe the one thing it achieves for the Left is creating a sense of camaraderie and mutual support. Personally, I think it’s a pointless exercise that’s probably counter-productive.

Meanwhile, the Labour Conference sounded a dull and disappointing affair. The motion for proportional representation was thrown out despite 80% of the constituency delegates voting for it. Labour’s opportunity to put itself at the head of a democratic reform movement

One of my favourite politicians – Harry Pollitt, born Droylsden, served his time at Beyer Peacock and went on to become General Secretary of the Communist Party. Could recite Laycock’s ‘Bonny Brid’ off the top of his head. Gradely chap.

has been lost, for this year at least. Still, we had Angela Rayner warming the cockles of the comrades by calling Johnson and the Tories ‘scum’. Again, why do this? It cheapens politics and won’t win over a single undecided voter – maybe it will have the opposite effect. Decades ago, Nye Bevan made a big mistake when he referred to the Tories as ‘lower than vermin’. It’s bad, nasty, politics. But I wonder if there’s an element of calculation in Rayner’s apparent outburst? If she can appear to be the ‘radical’ side of Starmer’s Labour it will keep the comrades happy and in line, while Starmer continues to drive his party to the centre-right (and into oblivion, in my view). A bit like the role that John Prescott played in the Blair governments which was so skilfully parodied by Steve Bell in his Guardian cartoons.

It has to be Horwich

You may have seen the press notice from the DfT that a competition has been launched to find a headquarters location for the new ‘Great British Railways’ (GBR). They are looking for somewhere outside London and mention has been made of somewhere with a ‘railway history’.

Welcome to Horwich, Home of Great British Railways?

So, why not Horwich? It has a rich railway history – even the road signs entering the town proclaim its railway heritage. There is land available around Horwich Parkway and the station is well served by rail and road, being on an electrified railway and next to the M61. Horwich offers a good quality of life and a range of affordable housing in the area, within easy reach of Manchester.

The press release says: “The government will soon launch a competition by welcoming expressions of interest with a commitment that the national headquarters will be based outside of London – ensuring skilled jobs, investment and economic benefits are focused beyond the capital. The competition will recognise towns and cities with a rich railway history that are strongly linked to the network ensuring the first headquarters will take pride of place at the heart of a new era for Britain’s railways.”

Made in Horwich


https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-competition-to-find-first-hq-of-great-british-railways

Great British Railways

Grant Shapps has announced the creation of the GBR Transition Team under the leadership of Andrew Haines, who will continue to work as CEO of Network Rail. The Transition Team will be responsible for driving forward reforms and creating the railway’s new ‘guiding mind’.

Travel as it was: a class 40 arrives at Bolton’s Platform 7, early 1980s, on a special to Blackpool

They will initially focus on driving revenue recovery efforts post-pandemic, bringing a whole industry approach to tackling cost and promoting efficiency and establishing a strategic freight unit to boost the sector. Shapps has also set out the core goals that will define GBR, including:

  • changing the culture of the railways not simply creating a bigger version of Network Rail
  • thinking like our customers, both passengers and freight, and putting them first
  • growing the network and getting more people travelling
  • making the railways easier to use
  • simplifying the sector to do things quicker, driving down costs and being more accountable
  • having a can-do, not a can’t do culture
  • harnessing the best of the private sector
  • playing a critical role in the national shift to net zero

All good stuff, and I have great respect for Andrew Haines. Let’s see how it develops. Andrew will have a critical friend in The Salvo (not quite like The Skibbereen Eagle which warned the Tsar in 1898 that it was keeping its beady eye on him…warning “We will still keep our eye on the Emperor of Russia and on all such despotic enemies, whether at home or abroad, of human progression and man’s natural rights.”

Which way for Labour? Welsh lessons unheeded (so far)

A few months ago I wrote a piece reflecting on the May elections and comparing the success of  ‘Welsh Labour’ with the generally uninspiring performance of Labour in England. Yes, yes I know there were exceptions. My argument was that Labour in the North, if it’s serious about winning back support up ‘ere, needs to pull a few tricks out of Mark Drakeford’s copy book. More recently Tribune published an updated version of my article and here’s a summary of it. You can access the Tribune piece at  https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/09/the-case-for-a-northern-labour

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THE LONGER READ:  Welsh lessons for Northern Labour

The May elections seem a long way away, and perhaps some of us are doing our best to forget them anyway. But there are some lessons from May 2021 which remain important for Labour in the North. In general, we didn’t do very well, compared with Wales where the results were if anything better than many expected.

The Tories showed little sign of relinquishing their grip on the so-called ‘Red Wall’ towns, with the continuing town/city divide, within the North and other parts of England, remaining strong. A relatively new feature was the emergence of small, ‘hyper-local’ parties, which the London media seems blithely unaware of.

Why Labour did so well in Wales but struggles in the North of England? In some ways, the two places are very different: Wales is a nation with its own history and culture, including language. The North of England is (at least) three regions, with identities revolving round locality and historic counties, such as Yorkshire and Lancashire.

However, there are similarities between Wales and the North of England, particularly in the traditionally working class former industrial areas of Wales: the Valleys in particular, but also the former mining and steel-making areas around Wrexham and North Wales. Whilst these areas mostly voted for ‘Brexit’ it has not stopped them, by and large, remaining with Labour in the Assembly elections. The pattern in similar ‘left-behind’ areas in the North of England has been very different, with swings to either the Tories or ‘hyper-local’ parties in towns such as Bolton, Oldham and Bury.

A number of suggestions have been put forward for why Welsh Labour has done so well. These include the ‘incumbency’ factor and the competent way in which the Labour-run Welsh Government has handled Covid. There is also the historic hatred of the Conservatives in many parts of Wales.

But maybe there is something else. Labour in Wales did not present itself as a sort of local version of Starmer’s Labour, but something distinctly ‘Welsh’: proud of the nation and its heritage, but not aggressively ‘nationalistic’ in a way that might have scared some people – including the large number of English ex-pats in many parts of the country. ‘Welsh Labour’ was clearly seen as something very distinctive, still marking out that ‘clear red water’ between Wales and England which former leader Rhodri Morgan first coined as a metaphor for relations with what was then a Blair-led Labour Party.

Welsh Labour, under the unassuming leadership of Mark Drakeford, comes over as responsible, progressive, in tune and helping shape a ‘green’ agenda and committed to further devolution within a reformed UK. And I’m not entirely sold on the ‘incumbency’ argument – up to a point maybe, but lots of ‘incumbent’ Labour councils in the North of England have taken a hammering. The fact is, a Welsh Labour Government has been seen to be doing a good job.

Up here in the North of England, the politics are very different. Traditional Labour-held councils which once included Bolton have seen further shifts to the Tories or to ‘hyper-local parties’, which should not be written off by Labour as ‘right-wing’ fall-outs from the Brexit party and UKIP.

Yet there’s a counter-movement. Andy Burnham did very well in Greater Manchester. He was able to capitalise on anti-Tory instincts during the Covid situation and earn the title of ‘King of the North’.

So let’s unpick the idea that Labour ‘isn’t for us’ up North a bit more. We are talking about those parts of the North which have historically supported Labour – the Boltons, Oldhams, Blackburns over on this side and the likes of Huddersfield, Bradford, Halifax, Rotherham over on t’other. Not Manchester nor Leeds where Labour wins support from the middle-class professionals and students; and results in Sheffield point to a very different political tradition emerging with the Greens doing well. They’ve now formed a coalition with Labour to run the city.

Labour could rebuild in the North if it was able to forge an identity around class, community and region. Class in the sense that it has to show it is representative of the communities it is part of and speaks their language and understands the issues – including the paramount issue of jobs. Community in that it brings people together and champions local issues and concerns – whether it’s local bus services, developing ‘green spaces’, supporting local culture and heritage or fighting inappropriate development. Region in that it is part of the North, in the way that Labour in Wales has promoted itself as being Welsh but a very inclusive Welshness.  Labour in the North of England needs to rebuild its trust with the traditional ‘white’ working class but not ignore its new areas of support amongst BAME communities and amongst middle-class professionals. A shared, inclusive, Northern identity can help do that. Not in any ‘anti-South’ sense but through pride in our heritage and our present-day identity.

This is about more than a bit of clever marketing. Just as Labour in Wales and Scotland have become effectively their own distinct political parties within an overarching UK Labour, we should have our own devolved ‘Northern Labour’ with its own domestic regional policies which include promoting democratic devolution – i.e. elected regional assemblies based on PR. If we continue having to take orders from the London-based Labour HQ, including having candidates as well as policies foisted on us, people will continue to reject us. Does this mean all parts of England should have their own ‘regionalised’ Labour parties? If that’s what the party membership wants, why not? London Labour makes obvious sense and something like it already exists organisationally (www.londonlabour.org.uk), but the same could work for the Midlands, South-west and eastern England.

If Starmer and the Labour leadership really want to win, they need to do that most difficult thing for politicians to do – surrender power. A ‘Northern Labour’ wouldn’t be deciding foreign policy, like whether to invade France or have its own air force. But there are lots of domestic policies that a ‘Northern Region’ within the UK could have responsibility for, and we need look no further than Wales and Scotland to see how that could work. That includes a ‘Northern Railway’ accountable to an elected Northern assembly.

The political expression of Northern devolution must be a devolved political party. It can’t be done by policy wonks in London.

Talks, Walks and Wanderings

Now that Lockdown is sort-of coming to an end, I’m enjoying getting out and about doing talks/lectures. So I’m available to speak to societies, community groups, political parties of all hues and academic organisations. My subject area is eclectic but here are some examples of talks he has given relatively recently (before and after Lockdown!):

  • The Lancashire Dialect Writing tradition
  • The Railways of the North: yesterday, today and tomorrow
  • Allen Clarke (1863-1935) Lancashire’s Romantic Radical
  • The Winter Hill Mass Trespass of 1896
  • The Rise of Socialism and Co-operation in the North
  • The Clarion Cycling Clubs and their Club Houses
  • Walt Whitman and his Lancashire Friends
  • Forgotten Railways of Lancashire
  • Banishing Beeching: The Community Rail Movement

I charge fees that are affordable to the organisation concerned, to fit their budget – so by negotiaton. My preferred geographical location is within 25 miles of Bolton, ideally by train/bus or bike. However, with sufficient notice I can go further afield! Phone 07795 008691 or email paul.salveson@myphone.coop

Publications update from Lancashire Loominary: buy now for Christmas

My new and substantially updated biography of Allen Clarke (Lancashire’s Romantic Radical ) is out and it had a successful launch at Bolton Library’s Lecture Theatre last week. The first edition was published in 2009 and the new one substantially improves on the original, despite some typos managing to creep in. There’s some additional information about his life and work and an entirely new chapter on his railway writings (‘Teddy Ashton Takes the Train’).  There will be an informal event at Bunbury’s Real Ale Bar, 397 Chorley Old Road, on October 19th, from 19.00h. Hopefully there will be a ‘Blackpool Launch’ later in the year.

I’m doing a special offer on the Allen Clarke book – it will sell at £18.99 in the shops and on Amazon (plus postage) but I’ll do it for £15 with free local delivery c/o Bolton Bicycling Bookshop, or £3 postage in the UK. See www.lancashireloominary.co.uk for details of how to buy it.

I’ve still got some copies of my Moorlands, Memories and Reflections which was published last year and sold pretty well. I want to clear the last remaining couple of boxes and can do it for £15 (normally £21) to Salvo readers, with £3 postage if not local to Bolton). Have to say, both books make nice Christmas presents! Details on website or just email me and let me know what you want/quantities.

I also have a few copies remaining of The Works, my novel set in Horwich and published two days before the lockdown started. The original price was £12.99 and I’m doing it for Salvo readers at a mates’ rate of £6 (£2 postage). Same applies to With Walt Whitman in Bolton, a nicely illustrated account of a unique chapter in US-British literary history. £6 to you madam.

My photo gallery – a slight emphasis on steam

I’ve been making some changes to my website/s…I’m keeping www.lancashireloominary.co.uk  for all publications, including The Salvo. However, www.paulsalveson.org.uk has been re-born as Paul Salveson Photography: places, trains and factories.

There are several pages dealing with different aspects of my photography: BR Steam, Continental Steam, The Modern Railway, Industrial Steam, Northern Rural Landscapes, Mills and Mines, and Strikes, Riots and Demonstrations. This is my current favourite: Industrial Landscapes of Lancashire – Paul Salveson Photography

Good places to buy my books and other things

As lockdown eases, more shops are opening  which sell my books. These include Carnforth Bookshop, Wrights’ Reads in Horwich, Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford and Kelsall’s in Littleborough. Please support your local bookshops, it’s vital they survive. A great feature of any walk up Rivington Pike is the Pike Snack Shack on

Leonie Smethurst, Snack Shack owner – Rivington Pike

George’s Lane – a long way up, the last place before you get on the track to the summit. You can buy copies of Moorlands, Memories and Reflections and take in the views. Another popular addition to my list of retail outlets is Bunbury’s real ale shop at 397 Chorley Old Road, Bolton. A slightly unconventional outlet is A Small Good Thing, on Church Road. This is a great little shop mainly selling organic fruit and veg and a range of ‘small good things’. Fletcher’s Newsagents on Markland Hill Bolton are stockists. Justicia Fair Trade Shop on Knowsley Street, Bolton, is handy for the town centre and has a full set of my books available (and some great gifts from around the world, ethically sourced).

If you’re local, or passing through, you can call in at 109 Harpers Lane and buy in person – just ring first or email to make sure I’m around (07795 008691).

Obituaries

The last couple of weeks have been a bad time for the loss of some dear friends. Jim Ford, a well-known figure in the community rail world, died following a major heart operation. Margaret Koppens, the driving force behind Halliwell Local History Society, passed away last week. Ian Roden, long-time treasurer of REPTA (Railway Employees’ Public Transport Association) died after a long illness earlier this week. My deepest sympathies to their families and friends.

Small Salvoes
  • A very successful seminar/workshop was held at Irlam Station on October 1st. The purpose was to look at prospects for a new community rail partnership covering the two main routes between Manchester and Liverpool – the former ‘Cheshire Lines’ route via Irlam and Warrington and the original ‘Stephenson’ line via Newton-le-Willows. Paul Dennett, the Mayor of Salford, spoke very well, complemented by his deputy and longstanding transport advocate Roger Jones. There was general agreement to take forward the CRP project.
  • Rochdale and Calderdale Councils have got together to lay the foundations of a CRP for the Calder Valley Line. They are advertising a job and details are here: or the Calder Valley Line Community Rail Partnership: Community Rail Partnership Officer | Job Details | greater jobs They have also published some information about the Calder Valley Line CRP on the council’s web site, including the CRP’s Prospectus: The Calder Valley Line Community Rail Partnership (rochdale.gov.uk)
  • After the success of the film events at Bolton station’s Platform 5 Gallery last week (as part of Bolton Film Festival) there’s more to come. On Wednesday October 13th we will be screening Anthony Dolan’s ‘The French Girl, the Engine Driver and her German Lover’ – set at the time of the Second World War and based on a true story. Most of the film is set in the Tebay/Shap area and is a moving love story. It’s also ‘steamy’ in a railway sense with footplate images. Several of the actors are Bolton-based, and they’ll be joining us at this Bolton/world premiere! It starts at 7.00pm, doors open at 6.45. It’s free but copies of the film will be on sale for £5.
  • The Working Class Movement Library has re-started its regular programme of free lectures. For details see wcml.org.uk
  • The Edgworth Folk Festival, last weekend, was well supported with some great performers. We had a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon at the historic Barlow listening to Sid Calderbank and Mark Dowding, Corrie Shelley, Nick Dow and the superb Caffrey, McGurk Madge (see pic). Well done all, and great to meet up with former next door neighbour Kath!
  • Plans are underway for a ‘live’ conference by the Hannah Mitchell Foundation, the cross-party campaign for Northern devolution and democracy. The subject will be prospects for Northern devolution; the day will also include the Foundation’s AGM. The date is Saturday December 4th, Friends Meeting House, Manchester. Details will be posted on HMF’s recently-updated website: www.hannah-mitchell.org.uk

Crank Quiz: New Towns and old streets

Thanks for all of you who responded to the last Crank Quiz on new towns. Unfortunately, the ‘comments’ seem to have got lost. I’m sure they’ll turn up but it might be as well to email your responses for the next few quizzes. They seem strangely popular. So, this one also has a ‘sense of place’ and relates to street and road names with railway connotations. It’s a cunning one, not so easy to google. Top prize for a road name with a shed code! Automatically excluded are any names/roads that are just ‘Railway’ or ‘Station’, but beyond that the field is open.

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Special Traffic Notices: Coming Events

Wednesday October 13th: The French Girl, the Engine Driver and her German Lover: Bolton Station Platform 5 Gallery, 18.45. Guest appearances by ‘French Girl’ and ‘Engine Driver’.

Tuesday October 19th: ‘Allen Clarke’s Bolton’: Bunbury’s Real Ale Bar, 397 Chorley Old Road, Bolton at 19.00

Tuesday November 16th: ‘Winter Hill: then, now and the future’ 19.00 Ainsworth Arms, Halliwell Road, Bolton. Nigel Coates’ film about Winter Hill, with speaker from Woodland Trust.

Saturday December 4th: Hannah Mitchell Foundation Conference and AGM, Manchester. See www.hannah-mitchell.org.uk

Saturday December 11th: Salvo speaking at Railway and Canal Historical Society, Friends Meeting House Manchester at 14.00. Subject: Lancashire’s Railways: a cultural perspective

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The Salvo Publications List  – see www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

The following are all available from The Salvo Publishing HQ, here at 109 Harpers Lane, Bolton BL1 6HU. Cheques should be made out to ‘Paul Salveson’ though you can send cash if you like but don’t expect any change. Bottles of whisky, old bound volumes of Railway Magazine, number-plates etc. by negotiation. If you are local you are welcome to call round and pick books up at the door, or the Bolton Bicycling Bookshop can deliver to yours.

Allen Clarke/Teddy Ashton – Lancashire’s Romantic Radical (NEW!). The story of Lancashire’s errant genius – cyclist, philosopher, unsuccessful politician, amazingly popular dialect writer.  This book outlines the life and writings of one of Lancashire’s most prolific – and interesting – writers. Allen Clarke (1863-1935) was the son of mill workers and began work in the mill himself at the age of 11. Special offer of £15 plus free local delivery or £3 postage to Salvo readers

Moorlands, Memories and Reflections (2020) A hundred years ago Lancashire writer Allen Clarke published a forgotten masterpiece – Moorlands and Memories, sub-titled ‘rambles and rides in the fair places of Steam-Engine Land’. Clarke’s biographer, Professor Paul Salveson, has published a new book celebrating Clarke’s original and bringing the story of Lancashire’s moorland heritage up to date. Maxine Peake, in her foreword to Paul’s book, says “Hill walking, cycling, literature, philosophy, protest and The North…. these are a few of my favourite things.” She adds “Paul Salveson’s new book on Allen Clarke is irresistible.” Special offer £15 for Salvo readers – see the website for details of how to buy: http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form

The Works (2020). My first novel , set in Horwich and Bolton in the 1970s and 1980s but bringing the story up to the present and beyond. Much of the action takes place in Horwich Loco Works and the campaign to save it from closure. In real life, it closed down in 1983. In the novel, after a workers’ occupation it is run as a co-operative, building both steam for heritage railways and modern eco-friendly trains for the world market. Price £6 (special offer). Also on Kindle £4.99.

With Walt Whitman in Bolton – Lancashire’s Links to Walt Whitman This charts the remarkable story of Bolton’s long-lasting links to America’s great poet. Bolton’s links with the great American poet Walt Whitman make up one of the most fascinating footnotes in literary history. From the 1880s a small group of Boltonians began a correspondence with Whitman and two (John Johnston and J W Wallace) visited the poet in America. Special offer £6 plus postage if you’re not local.

The Settle-Carlisle Railway (2019) published by Crowood and available in most bookshops price £24. It’s a general history of the railway, bringing it up to date. It includes a chapter on the author’s time as a goods guard on the line, when he was based at Blackburn in the 1970s. The book includes a guide to the line, from Leeds to Carlisle. Some previously-unused sources helped to give the book a stronger ‘social’ dimension, including the columns of the LMS staff magazine in the 1920s. ISBN 978-1-78500-637-1

You can get a better idea from going to my website: http://www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

 

 

 

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Northern Weekly Salvo 296

The Northern Weekly Salvo

Incorporating  Slaithwaite Review of Books, Weekly Notices, Sectional Appendices, Tunnel Gazers’ Gazette and Northern Umbrella,etc. Descendant of Teddy Ashton’s Northern Weekly and Th’Bowtun Loominary

Published at 109 Harpers Lane, Bolton, Lancashire  BL1 6HU email: paul.salveson@myphone.coop

Publications website: www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

No. 296 September 22nd   2021                   

Salveson’s half-nakedly political digest of railwayness, tripe and secessionist nonsense from Up North. Sometimes weekly, usually not; definitely Northern. Read by the highest and lowest officers of state, Whitmanites, weirdos, misfits, steam punks, trespassers, yes women, no men, gay Swedenborgians, cat-spotters, discerning sybarites, ILPers, bi-guys, non-aligned social democrats, mis-aligned pie-eaters, tripe dressers, nail artists, self-managing VIMTO drinkers, truculent Northerners, grumpy Norwegians, absurd Marxists, sleepy Hungarians, members of the clergy and the toiling masses, generally. All views expressed are my own and usually nobody else’s. Official journal of the Station Cat Improvement Network, Pacer Dining Club, Station Buffet Acceleration Council and the Campaign for a North with a capital ‘N’.

“We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.” – Jo Cox, maiden speech in House of Commons, June 3rd 2015.

General gossips

A bit of catching up to do after a busy few weeks.

The highlight was undoubtedly the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Winter Hill ‘Mass Trespass’ of 1896, though it has to be said that the thousands of people who took part didn’t see themselves as ‘trespassers’ at all – they were reclaiming a public right which the landowner had taken away. I enjoyed a trip up to Nelson to admire the superbly refurbished Unity Hall, built in 1907 by the Independent

The magnificent front of Unity Hall as it is today. The memorial stones were laid by Selina Cooper and Katherine Bruce Glasier and commemorate Caroline Martyn, Enid Stacy, William Morris and Edward Fay

Labour Party, with its ILP features lovingly preserved.  Seems a while ago now, but a journey down to Bournemouth for the REPTA conference gave an opportunity to test out the local bus network and visit Thomas Hardy’s birthplace. More below. I’m busy promoting my new book – an updated edition of my biography of Allen Clarke (Allen Clarke/‘Teddy Ashton’ – Lancashire’s Romantic Radical). If you have a shop that could sell it (and it doesn’t have to be a bookshop!) please let me know. More on the book below, including Salvo readers’ special offer.

Lib Dems go for regional assemblies

The Lib Dems held their annual conference at the weekend and approved a motion committing them to campaigning for elected regional assemblies. That’s a very good development though perhaps we need to move on from the very 1970s idea of regions based on the standard planning regional boundaries, which created a very large ‘North-West’ region which few people identify with. In contrast, ‘Yorkshire’ (whether just ‘Yorkshire’ or with ‘the Humber’ added) does make a lot of sense, as does the North-East. My own preference is for ‘county regions’ based on strong regional identities. In the North-West

Lancashire regional assembly? Yes please

this means a re-formed ‘Lancashire’ covering much of what was taken out in 1974 (but arguably leaving ‘north of the sands’ in Cumbria). Should Merseyside form a separate region? Cheshire? It’s all very complicated and there needs to be a lot of consultation on the most appropriate and popular regional forms. The other option is to go for a huge ‘Northern’ region which includes everyone. It has its attractions but it is too big as a region. A number of smaller regions which match with people’s historic (and current) identities but working together as ‘the North’ is a better approach, in my view. Others may differ. One of the strengths of the Hannah Mitchell Foundation is that it is keeping an open mind on options for democratically-elected regional government for the North. Will Labour make common cause with the Lib Dems for ‘proper’ devolution?

Trespassers Welcome! Winter Hill commemorated

On Sunday September 6th 1896 some 10,000 people marched over Winter Hill, just north of Bolton, to reclaim a road which had been used by local people for generations. The first commemoration was in 1982, followed by a gap before the centenary in 1996. After 25 years a few hardy souls decided that another commemoration would be a good idea, before we all get too old. On Sunday September 5th this year, around a thousand people, perhaps a few hundred more, walked the original route, accompanied up Halliwell Road by the PCS Union Samba Band. It was a great day, with warm sunshine and even warmer comradeship which crossed political divisions – the local (Tory) MP Chris Green was spotted on the march. A big thanks to Diamond Buses NW for their help in getting people to and from the walk (see right – collecting walkers at the station in the morning), the support of The Woodland Trust, Bolton Mountain Rescue and the PCS and Unison unions. Just like 125 years ago, people turned out along Halliwell Road to cheer the marchers on, and the Ainsworth Arms displayed a ‘Trespassers Welcome’ outside the door! Very appropriate 🙂

The ‘discovery’ of the events of 1896 owes much to Allen Clarke, who wrote of the battles in his Moorlands and Memories published in 1920. At the time of the demonstrations Clarke was living in Bolton and editing his Teddy Ashton’s Journal. After the first demonstration (there were several more) he published one of his dialect sketches publicising the struggle. ‘Bill Spriggs an’ Patsy Filligan o’er Winter Hill; Likewise Bet’ appeared on September 9th, and helped swell the ranks of the following Sunday’s march to an amazing 12,000. The sketch included this song:

Will yo’ come o’ Sunday mornin’

For a walk o’er Winter Hill?

Ten thousand went last Sunday

But there’s room for thousand still!

Oh there moors are rare and bonny

And the heather’s sweet and fine

And the road across the hilltops –

Is the public’s – yours and mine!

 Chorus:

So come o’ Sunday mornin’

For a walk o’er Winter Hill?

Ten thousand went last Sunday

But there’s room for thousand still!

 

Oh shame upon the landlord

That would thrutch us up in town!

Against such Christless conduct

We will put our feet firm down!

Ay we’ll put our feet down strongly

Until we’ve clearly showed

Twenty thousand feet each Sunday

Can soon mark out a road!

 

Must poor folk stroll in cinders

While the rich cop all the green?

Is England but the landlord’s?

Who locks up each pretty scene?

If they only could these tyrants

Would enclose the road to heaven!

So let us up and fight ‘em

Even seventy times and seven!

 The full story of the 1896 events was told in my pamphlet Will Yo’ Come O’Sunday Mornin’? The 1896 Battle for Winter Hill, published in 1982 and updated in 1996 but now out of print. There’s quite a bit on the events in Moorlands, Memories and Reflections, which is still available. A film of the recent walk, made by Nigel Coates, will be shown later this Autumn at The Ainsworth Arms. Trespassers very welcome.

Selina Cooper celebrated

North-east Lancashire has a rich socialist history; and nowhere is this exemplified more than in Nelson. The ILP Clarion House is a couple of miles away from this once thriving cotton weaving town and in

The large meeting room at Unity Hall. Images of Selina Cooper at the back

Nelson itself the magnificent Weavers; Institute remains. A short distance out of the town centre (under the railway and up the hill) is Unity Hall. Its history dates back to 1907 when the local ILP built ‘The Socialist Institute’. It has had a chequered history in recent years, recounted in an excellent booklet just published to coincide with the re-opening of the hall after an extensive refubishment, funded by Heritage Lottery Fund with support from Nelson Town Council.

Veteran Clarion cyclist Charles Jepson at Unity Hall on saturday

The links with the town’s socialist tradition have been retained and strengthened, with pride of place going to Selina Cooper, a weaver from Brierfield who played a leading role in the movement for women’s suffrage, active in the ILP, co-operative movement and the Women’s Peace Crusade. There are displays in ‘Unity Hall’ on the Clarion Cycling Club and space for meetings, film shows and a cafe. Congratulations to all involved in this wonderful project.

Bolton Film Festival at the Platform 5 Gallery

The internationally-recognised Bolton Film Festival has a two day programme of short films at the P5 Gallery, Platform 5, Bolton Station on the 29th and 30th September . The festival is a BIFA and BAFTA -qualifying short film festival, an impressive feat achieved in just five years since the festival started, very much thanks to Adrian Barber and Zőe Rothwell.

In her introduction to the Bolton Film Festival programme, patron Maxine Peake says, “Short films are a format close to my heart, they have the ability to tell big stories in a short amount of time, it’s always been a place to take risks and be bold and adventurous.”

There are two sessions of films each day and a light buffet lunch will be served in between. Note that the programme is suitable for adults only. The sessions are Wednesday (29th) from 12.20 to 13.20 with a number of animations. After lunch at 14.00 it’s ‘Past and Present’ films up to 15.30. On the Thursday there is an ‘environment’ theme, between 11.30 and 13.00. The afternoon features more ‘Past and Present’ films.

Pre-booking is essential. Seating is limited to 30 people per session and you will be encouraged to wear a mask if you are attending. If you would like to book a place or places, please contact Julie Levy at  julielevy9@yahoo.co.uk by the 26th September 2021. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first served basis so get your booking form in, fast! For the full festival programme see https://www.boltonfilmfestival.com/

  • Meanwhile….An exhibition of work by artists from New Mills and Bolton celebrating the connections between their hometowns is on at the P5 Gallery and at New Mills Central station until this Saturday. Some great work!  Supported by Platform Gallery, Bolton, High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership & Bolton Station Community Partnership
A visit to Tom Hardy’s houses

Like so many organisations, REPTA (Railway Employees’ Transport Association but formerly known as ‘Railway Employees’ Privilege Ticket Association’ see www.repta.org.uk) has been ‘ticking over’ during lockdown, unable to hold meetings or promote trips both near and far. Finally, a reconvened, real live AGM was organised for last month, in Bournemouth. It was an opportunity to have a short break tagged on, exploring the Dorset coast and some of the attractive towns and villages nearby.

Thomas Hardy’s writing desk at Max Gate, Dorchester

The bus network is pretty good and we were able to use our old folks’ passes to pop down to Christchurch and go further afield to Blandford Forum, Swanage and Dorchester. I’d been hoping to visit Thomas Hardy’s birthplace near Dorchester for some time, as well as his later home nearby. Combining train, bus and a bit of walking we got to Higher Bockhampton and saw the original cottage, now in National Trust ownership. From there we walked by a circuitous route to ‘Max Gate’, the much larger house which Hardy himself designed and lived in for many years before his death. There was yet another ‘Allen Clarke’ aspect to the visit. Clarke and his wife had called in to see Hardy during a cycling tour of Dorset. This is how he described it, writing in The Bolton Evening News as ‘Old Boltonian’ in 1935:

“Dorchester didn’t seem to have any great opinion of him. The landlady of the inn where we made enquiries as to the famous novelist’s residence remarked ‘Tom Hardy! Yes, he lives up at Max Gate.’…I said we had come all the way from Lancashire to see him. ‘Well, well,’ said the buxom dame. ‘It surprises me that people come here wanting to see Tom Hardy, there’s nothing special about him, I used to go to school with him.’

‘He has written great books,’ said I.

‘I don’t know,’ said the lady. ‘He doesn’t seem to have anything about him. Now, if you’d said it was his wife that wrote them –‘

We laughed and I bade good day to the genial landlady, who evidently wasn’t much interested in literature, nor impressed by authors.”

The Clarkes found ‘Tom’ to be at home and had a long discussion with him. Clarke commented on the novelist’s negative view of the Dorset dialect, with Hardy suggesting that William Barnes would have been a better poet had he written in standard English. Clarke disagreed. It would have been a fascinating debate to have witnessed!

Clarke, in an interview years later, said that he “expressed the view that dialect is the very soul of the people, and that Barnes would not have had such a hold on Dorset now, nor be such a favourite of all Dorset folk, had he written in ordinary English.” Clarke suggested that he should come up to Lancashire – “it would do him good mentally and physically.” Hardy replied that he had been to Bolton, on business with Tillotson’s, but remembered little about the town, or of Lancashire in general – to Clarke’s obvious disappointment. Clarke said that he corresponded with Hardy on a few occasions; they shared a common love of cycling and the countryside and there’s no doubt that Clarke’s novel writing style owed much to Hardy’s influence.

At Max Gate today there is reference to Hardy’s slightly fraught relationship with Tillotson’s. The firm set up a subsidiary which syndicated serialised novels and short stories. However, they rejected Tess of the D’Urbervilles on the grounds of indecency! They did publish The Woodlanders, for the princely fee of a thousand guineas.

Delightful Dorchester and Pallid Poundbury

We used the current hourly train service between Bournemouth and Dorchester for various outings. The last time I visited Dorchester the main station (Dorchester South) felt very isolated from the town and a bit depressing. That has changed dramatically, with a new development in the former brewery effectively integrating the station much more with the town. The station forecourt has a steady flow of buses, including a half-hourly service to Poundbury, the ‘new town’ supported by Prince Charles. Having an interest in these sort of things, we hopped on the bus and had a wander round the place, which lies just on the edge of Dorchester. I last went there about ten years ago and found it a lifeless place. I have to say I still do. It’s all very nicely done but there is so much lacking: a sense of life and vibrancy. It’s ever so clean and tidy, some nice shops and the one pub. But I’d hate to live there. Give me Halliwell Road with its multi-ethnic corner shops, pubs, pie shops and chippies.

Swanage Railway impresses

No trip to Dorset would be complete without a ride on the Swanage Railway, and we had perfect summer weather to enjoy it. It’s a great operation and we had a delightful afternoon in the goods yard at Corfe Castle supping coffee and watching the trains go by (then a very nice pint in one of the excellent village pubs). The small museum at Corfe is a model for how it should be done, with lots on the people who worked on the line. The nearby arists’ studios were an added bonus. We got there on the amazing no. 50 bus – an open-topper which uses the ferry to get across from Sandbanks. The bus was very busy with quite a few people unable to get on.

Station Mela brings out the sunshine

The well-established tradition of throwing a party on Bolton station was revived during the post-lockdown summer, and – true to form – the sun shone. It was our first attempt at holding a ‘mela’ – or festival – and all went pretty well. There were fifteen stalls and a very lively team of Indian drummers.

The Dhol drummers with Julie (hi-vis) and Cllr Linda Thomas, Mayor of Bolton

The event was a ‘fringe’ for the Bolton Food and Drink Festival which took place in the town centre. The mayor, Councillor Linda Thomas, popped down and took time to chat with stall holders and visitors. It was the last day of the ‘Railway Workers’ Art’ exhibition in the Platform 5 Gallery, which proved to be our most popular event so far (I think…)

Haigh Woodland Wanderer, Rivington Rover and Rammy Rambler

The dedicated weekend bus link from Wigan town centre to Haigh Woodland Park is doing very well, with passenger numbers steadily growing. It’s a joint initiative of South East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership, Wigan Council, Friends of Haigh Woodland Park and the Park itself. We had a trip on August Bank Holiday which seems to have been the busiest day so far, with over a 120 users of the hourly service.

The Haigh Woodland Wanderer welcomes customers at Haigh

The operator is Finch’s of Wigan. The extension of the 575 Bolton – Horwich service to serve Rivington – and other CRP initiative – was picking up well until a road closure meant that the service couldn’t operate during most of August – exactly when it should have been at its busiest. The service has re-started and we’re making a big effort to promote the half-hourly service, which is running every Sunday for the next month. The operator is Diamond Buses, who are also running an open-top double-decker from Bolton to Ramsbottom connecting with the East Lancashire Railway. Details on https://www.diamondbuses.com/north-west/

(Sub) Station Garden Adoption Takes off in Halliwell

The space next to Harpers Lane  – ‘el substa’ as it is described on maps – (electricity sub-station to most of us) was derelict for years, with overgrown bushes, rubbish dumped and little to incline you to linger. That has all changed thanks to the efforts of a new community group –

The community garden

Harpers Lane Community Garden has seen a remarkable transformation in just a few months. Much of the old vegetation and all of the rubbish has been cleared. The area has been landscaped and a bench provided by a local craftsman, Geoff. New paths have been created and a range of plants donated by local people adorn the space. A garden party last Sunday raised £340 for further development of the site.

Allen Clarke is out……Publications update from Lancashire Loominary

Allen Clarke (‘Teddy Ashton’) Lancashire’s Romantic Radical is out! The first edition was published in 2009 and the new one substantially improves on the original, despite some typos managing to creep in. There’s some additional information about his life and work and an entirely new chapter on his railway writings (‘Teddy Ashton Takes the Train’).

The ‘official’ book launch is on Saturday September 25th at Bolton Library’s Lecture Theatre, at 11.00. I’ll say a few words about the book and maybe do a few readings. Copies will be available at a discounted price.

There will be a more informal event at Bunbury’s Real Ale Bar, 397 Chorley Old Road, on October 19th, from 19.00h. Hopefully there will be a ‘Blackpool Launch’ later in October.

I’m doing a special offer on the Allen Clarke book – it will sell at £18.99 in the shops and on Amazon (plus postage) but I’ll do it for £15 with free local delivery c/o Bolton Bicycling Bookshop, or £3 postage in the UK. See www.lancashireloominary.co.uk for details of how to buy it.

My photo gallery – a slight emphasis on steam

I’ve been making some changes to my website/s…I’m keeping www.lancashireloominary.co.uk  for all publications, including The Salvo. However, www.paulsalveson.org.uk has been re-born as Paul Salveson Photography: places, trains and factories.

There are several pages dealing with different aspects of my photography: BR Steam, Continental Steam, The Modern Railway, Industrial Steam, Northern Rural Landscapes, Mills and Mines, and Strikes, Riots and Demonstrations. This is my current favourite: Industrial Landscapes of Lancashire – Paul Salveson Photography

Good places to buy my books and other things

As lockdown eases, more shops are opening  which sell my books. These include Carnforth Bookshop, Wrights’ Reads in Horwich, Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford and Kelsall’s in Littleborough. Please support your local bookshops, it’s vital they survive. A great feature of any walk up Rivington Pike is the Pike Snack Shack on

Kelsall’s Bookshop in Littleborough – well worth getting off the train for!

George’s Lane – a long way up, the last place before you get on the track to the summit. They do coffee, pies, sandwiches and cakes for takeaway and you can sit amidst the heather and savour the view across the West Lancashire Plain. You can also buy copies of Moorlands, Memories and Reflections.  Another popular addition to my list of retail outlets is Bunbury’s real ale shop at 397 Chorley Old Road, Bolton. A slightly unconventional outlet is A Small Good Thing, on Church Road. This is a great little shop mainly selling organic fruit and veg and a range of ‘small good things’. Fletcher’s Newsagents on Markland Hill Bolton are stockists. Justicia Fair Trade Shop on Knowsley Street, Bolton, is handy for the town centre and has a full set of my books available (and some great gifts from around the world, ethically sourced).

If you’re local, or passing through, you can call in at 109 Harpers Lane and buy in person – just ring first or email to make sure I’m around (07795 008691).

Small Salvoes
  • Bolton’s P5 Gallery is currently showing an excellent exhibition, with local artists and friends from New Mills (Derbyshire). Also on at New Mills Central Station. Some great work on display, the exhibition is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 12.00 to 16.00 with free admission. Last chance to see it this Saturday!
  • The ‘Clarion Sunday’ event last Sunday at the Nelson ILP Club House near Roughlee attracted over 200 cyclists and raised a tidy sum for Clarion funds. It was the first major gathering following the move (with questionable authority) to delete reference to ‘socialism’ from the club’s constitution.
  • The Working Class Movement Library, a short but potentially lethal walk from Salford Crescent (pedestrian lights out of commission), has re-started its regular programme of free lectures. For details see www.wcml.org.uk
  • Plans are underway for a ‘live’ conference by the Hannah Mitchell Foundation, the cross-party campaign for Northern devolution and democracy. The subject will be prospects for Northern devolution; the day will also include the Foundation’s AGM. Provisional date is Saturday December 4th, Friends Meeting House, Manchester. Details will be posted on HMF’s recently-updated website: www.hannah-mitchell.org.uk
Crank Quiz: New Towns

There was a good response to the last Crank Quiz (see website for entries). This one is partly inspired by Poundbury, which doesn’t have a rail service. What new towns had a rail connection from the beginning…and which new towns lost their rail connection (but might be getting it back).

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Special Traffic Notices: Coming Events

Saturday September 25th: Launch of my new book on Allen Clarke at Bolton Library’s Lecture Theatre, 11.00. Get there early and have a cup of tea or an orange juice!

Wednesday September 29th, 18.00: Richard Lysons is speaking on the history of The Free Trade Hall, at Manchester Central Library. Book via eventbrite (it’s free) and search for ‘Free Trade Hall’

Wednesday September 29th – Sunday October 3rd: Bolton Film Festival. See www.boltonfilmfestival.com

Wednesday October 13th: Walk o’er Winter Hill: Mass Trespass! 19.30 Ainsworth Arms Bolton

Tuesday October 19th: Allen Clarke’s Bolton: Bunbury’s real Ale Bar, 397 Chorley Old Road, Bolton at 19.00

Saturday December 4th: Hannah Mitchell Foundation Conference and AGM, Manchester. See www.hannah-mitchell.org.uk

Saturday December 11th: Salvo speaking at Railway and Canal Historical Society, Friends Meeting House Manchester at 14.00. Subject: Lancashire’s Railways: a cultural perspective

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The Salvo Publications List  – see www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

The following are all available from The Salvo Publishing HQ, here at 109 Harpers Lane, Bolton BL1 6HU. Cheques should be made out to ‘Paul Salveson’ though you can send cash if you like but don’t expect any change. Bottles of whisky, old bound volumes of Railway Magazine, number-plates etc. by negotiation. If you are local you are welcome to call round and pick books up at the door, or the Bolton Bicycling Bookshop can deliver to yours.

Allen Clarke/Teddy Ashton – Lancashire’s Romantic Radical (NEW!). The story of Lancashire’s errant genius – cyclist, philosopher, unsuccessful politician, amazingly popular dialect writer.  This book outlines the life and writings of one of Lancashire’s most prolific – and interesting – writers. Allen Clarke (1863-1935) was the son of mill workers and began work in the mill himself at the age of 11. Special offer of £15 plus free local delivery or £3 postage to Salvo readers

Moorlands, Memories and Reflections (2020) A hundred years ago Lancashire writer Allen Clarke published a forgotten masterpiece – Moorlands and Memories, sub-titled ‘rambles and rides in the fair places of Steam-Engine Land’. Clarke’s biographer, Professor Paul Salveson, has published a new book celebrating Clarke’s original and bringing the story of Lancashire’s moorland heritage up to date. Maxine Peake, in her foreword to Paul’s book, says “Hill walking, cycling, literature, philosophy, protest and The North…. these are a few of my favourite things.” She adds “Paul Salveson’s new book on Allen Clarke is irresistible.” Price £20 – see the website for details of how to buy: http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form

The Works (2020). My first novel , set in Horwich and Bolton in the 1970s and 1980s but bringing the story up to the present and beyond. Much of the action takes place in Horwich Loco Works and the campaign to save it from closure. In real life, it closed down in 1983. In the novel, after a workers’ occupation it is run as a co-operative, building both steam for heritage railways and modern eco-friendly trains for the world market. Price £6 (special offer). Also on Kindle £4.99.

Will Yo’ Come O’ Sunday Mornin’? The Winter Hill Trespass of 1896 (1996). Quite a few copies have re-surfaced and are available price £5 – with all proceeds going to Bolton Socialist Club, which played the main part in organising the original demonstrations in 1896. This was Britain’s biggest-ever rights of way battle with a series of demonstrations which peaked at 12,000 one Sunday afternoon in September 1896. SOLD OUT

With Walt Whitman in Bolton – Lancashire’s Links to Walt Whitman This charts the remarkable story of Bolton’s long-lasting links to America’s great poet. Bolton’s links with the great American poet Walt Whitman make up one of the most fascinating footnotes in literary history. From the 1880s a small group of Boltonians began a correspondence with Whitman and two (John Johnston and J W Wallace) visited the poet in America. Special offer April £5 plus postage if you’re not local. New and extended edition under preparation – should be out late July

The Settle-Carlisle Railway (2019) published by Crowood and available in most bookshops price £24. It’s a general history of the railway, bringing it up to date. It includes a chapter on the author’s time as a goods guard on the line, when he was based at Blackburn in the 1970s. The book includes a guide to the line, from Leeds to Carlisle. Some previously-unused sources helped to give the book a stronger ‘social’ dimension, including the columns of the LMS staff magazine in the 1920s. ISBN 978-1-78500-637-1

You can get a better idea from going to my website: http://www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

 

 

 

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Lancashire Loominary 6

 

The Lancashire Loominary

An occasional update from Lancashire Loominary : No. 6 September 2021

Lancashire’s Romantic Radical: new edition of Allen Clarke biography is out

The new and updated edition of my biography of Allen Clarke (Allen Clarke – Teddy Ashton: Lancashire’s Romantic Radical) is now available with a pre-publication offer.  There is a lot of new material in it, including an entirely new chapter on Clarke’s railway writings. The official publication is September 1st but I am doing a pre-publication offer for £15, with free local delivery in the Bolton area, or add on £3 for UK postage (this will continue to the end of September).  You can download an order form from my website, below, or there’s one at the back of this newsletter: http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form

I’ve a number of talks planned for the Autumn for different groups, and still open to requests. The main Bolton launch event will be on Saturday September 25th at the Lecture Theatre of Bolton Central Library. It will start at 11.00 and end by about 12.30 with book signing (at the special rate of £15). No need to book, just turn up. There will be a Blackpool event at the town’s main library in October, details to be determined later.

Unlikely Pioneers

I’ve been working on a new edition of my ‘Whitman’ book – With Walt Whitman in Bolton – spirituality, sex and socialism in a Northern Mill town – last published in 2019 though little changed since 2009. I’ve combined it with a lengthy paper on Whitman’s influence on ‘Northern Socialism’ and re-titled it Unlikely Pioneers: Walt Whitman, the Bolton Boys and Northern Socialism. I’m going to publish it as a kindle book to keep costs down – but the print version which is just on the Bolton group (and nicely illustrated) is still available at the special price of £5 plus p&p.

The latest Salvo

Here is a link to the latest  Northern ‘Weekly’ Salvo number 295 –  England and ‘Englishness’ (see below), reviews of books by some old mates, trips to Coniston and Ulverston, a literary walk on the moors and the new exhibition of ‘Railway Workers’ Art’ at the Platform 5 Gallery , Bolton. Plus the new RHS gardens at Worsley with  comments about the lack of decent public transport access. It’s here: http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/northern-weekly-salvo-295

England, which England?

The quest for a ‘progressive English politics’ is something that seems to have captured the imagination of quite a few writers on the English left, mostly columnists for The Guardian and Observer. I could be accused of making cheap points that most of them are based in London, but I won’t. As Marx said, material reality (inc. where you live) determines your consciousness. There’s another school of thought, which I must confess to having leaned towards myself on some occasions, which is quite anti-English. It’s a view shared by some in the Northern Independence Party which hopes to wish away the reactionary English state and have a Northern socialist republic. It’s a lovely dream, perhaps, but political utopias usually turn into something very different from what their first disciples hoped for. And I don’t think many people really want it. You can be passionately ‘Yorkshire’ and still identify as English, as well as ‘Huddersfield’ etc.

It’s always a good idea to start with a concrete analysis of a concrete situation. Scotland is key to this, with the likelihood that it will break away from the UK within the next ten years, possibly sooner. Northern Ireland could become an even bigger hot potato within the same time frame, the North re-uniting with the South and rejoining the EU. That leaves a UK comprising England and Wales, with Wales very much the junior partner. Could it go its own way? People say that it’s too small but that doesn’t necessarily bear scrutiny. Far smaller nations have gone independent and done very well – Iceland being just one.

So there is the possibility that we end up with a centralised English state by default. That could be very bad for the North and possibly the Midlands too, as more power – political and economic – concentrates in London and the south-east. Throwing a few sops to the North in the form of a bit more power for the largely unaccountable mayors won’t make that much difference.

What could make for a much more attractive vision of a ‘new England’ is a political entity that is decentralised with a much smaller central state – and it doesn’t matter that much whether or not it’s in London (I’d keep it there). Strong regions, based on historic boundaries rather than ‘technocratic’ ones, should be the foundation – county regions such as Yorkshire and Lancashire – with empowered local government again based on historic identities where possible and of appropriate size, that is really ‘local’. That means a return of the old ‘Lancashire’, starting with Greater Manchester (Burnhamshire) rejoining what’s left.

That set-up could work whether or not Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland went their own ways. It would be a sad thing if they did and I suspect that after a while there might be the basis for a rapprochement based on equality between the nations and regions, rather than the current overwhelming dominance of England, and London in particular. A British confederation.

So a new England is possible, and we get glimpses of it through things like the Euros and our great ambassadors in the England football team. Nobody has to hate England, particularly anyone who is English. There’s lots of things in our past that are positive, in politics, culture, sport and industry. We should cherish these but have the maturity to look at the negatives in an open and honest way too.

So I think it’s OK to love England, but accept that it needs to change – and discard the reactionary trappings of an old imperial state. Personally, I’m relaxed about the monarchy continuing but again, let’s drop some of the outdated nonsense that goes with it. It all comes back to the people, the demos, democracy. Our voting system is an embarrassment, our leaders are a joke.  But change is possible. As the gay, upper-class Edward Carpenter (who made Yorkshire his home) once sang, ‘England Arise!’

Other books from th’same shed: Moorlands, Memories and Reflections

2020 was the centenary of the publication of Allen Clarke’s Moorlands and Memories, sub-titled ‘rambles and rides in the fair places of Steam-Engine Land’. It’s a lovely book, very readable and entertaining, even if he sometimes got his historical facts slightly wrong. It was set in the area which is now described as ‘The West Pennine Moors’ It also included some fascinating accounts of life in Bolton itself in the years between 1870 and the First World War, with accounts of the great engineers’ strike of 1887, the growth of the co-operative movement and the many characters whom Clarke knew as a boy or young man.

My book is a centenary tribute to Clarke’s classic – Moorlands, Memories and Reflections. It isn’t a ‘then and now’ sort of thing though I do make some historical comparisons, and speculate what Clarke would have thought of certain aspects of his beloved Lancashire today. There are 28 chapters, covering locations and subjects which Clarke wrote about in the original book, with a few additions. It includes the Winter Hill rights-of-way battle of 1896 and Darwen’s ‘freeing of the moors’;  a few additional snippets about the Bolton ‘Whitmanites’, handloom-weaving, railway reminiscences, the remarkable story of ‘The Larks of Dean’ and Lancashire’s honourable tradition of supporting refugees (including the much-loved Pedro of Halliwell Road). The story of Lancashire children’s practical support for the locked-out quarryworkers of Snowdonia in 1900-3 is covered in some detail, including the remarkable ‘Teddy Ashton Picnic’ of 1901 in Barrowbridge, which attracted 10,000 people. It is well illustrated.

It is available for Loominaries reading this at £20, with £4 post and packing. Go to http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form or use order form below

I can do free delivery locally (within 6 miles of Bolton).

The Works: a tale of love, lust, labour and locomotives

I’ve had a steady flow of orders for The Works, my novel set mostly in Horwich Loco Works in the 1970s and 1980s, but bringing the tale up to date and beyond – a fictional story of a workers’ occupation, Labour politics, a ‘people’s franchise’ and Chinese investment in UK rail.  I’ve had lots of good reactions to it, with some people reading it in one session. The Morning Star hated it. If you want a copy I can offer it for £5 plus £2.50 postage to those of you on this mailing list. Please make cheques payable to ‘Paul Salveson’ and post to my Bolton address above or send the money by bank transfer (a/c Dr PS Salveson 23448954 sort code 53-61-07 and email me with your address). If you are local I can do free delivery by e-bike (so just a tenner). There is a kindle version available price £4.99 and you can also buy it off Amazon. See www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

If you’ve already read and hopefully enjoyed The Works it would be great if you could do a short review of it on my facebook page (Lancashire Loominary). Feedback on how it could have been better is also welcome, especially as I’m starting work on the next novel (see below).

The Works is available in a range of outlets  – please support them, and see www’lancashireloominary for details of their location, ranging from Bolton and Horwich to Carnforth, Barrowford, Machynlleth and Bo’ness.

If you know of any local shop which might like to take my books please let me know. I do a third discount, sale or return.

With Thomas Hardy in Dorset

Thanks to a conference in Bournemouth (the REPTA AGM) we were able to explore Dorset for a few days, making the most of our bus passes. There’s a surprisingly extensive bus network and I was impressed by the quality of the operators. Dorchester-based Damory was particularly good but also Yellow Buses and Morebus too. We naturally took the no. 50 from Bournemouth to Swanage via the the Studland ferry for a trip on the Swanage Railway, behind BR standard 2MT 78018. We caught the Damory-operated bus from Blandford Forum to Dorchester, alighting near to Bockhampton, where Thomas Hardy spent his childhood and youth. It’s owned by the National Trust, as is his later home at Max Gate, a pleasant three mile walk from his original home.

Allen Clarke was a big fan of Hardy and modelled his writing on some aspects of Hardy’s. His relationship with the great novelist provides an interesting footnote to the history of English literature. Clarke corresponded with him and met him on at least one occasion and possibly more. Writing in The Bolton Evening News as ‘Old Boltonian’ in 1935, he recalls him and his wife doing a cycling tour of Dorset and looking up the great writer in his home town Dorchester. Clarke wrote that “Dorchester didn’t seem to have any great opinion of him. The landlady of the inn where we made enquiries as to the famous novelist’s residence remarked ‘Tom Hardy! Yes, he lives up at Max Gate.’…I said we had come all the way from Lancashire to see him. ‘Well, well,’ said the buxom dame. ‘It surprises me that people come here wanting to see Tom Hardy, there’s nothing special about him, I used to go to school with him.

He has written great books,’ said I.

‘I don’t know,’ said the lady. ‘He doesn’t seem to have anything about him. Now, if you’d said it was his wife that wrote them –‘

We laughed and bade good day to the genial landlady, who evidently wasn’t much interested in literature, nor impressed by authors.”

The Clarkes found ‘Tom’ to be at home and had a long discussion with him. Clarke commented on Hardy’s negative view of the Dorset dialect, suggesting that William Barnes would have been a better poet had he written in standard English. Clarke disagreed. It would have been a fascinating debate to have witnessed!

Clarke, in an interview years later, said that he “expressed the view that dialect is the very soul of the people, and that Barnes would not have had such a hold on Dorset now, not be such a favourite of all Dorset folk, had he written in ordinary English.”

Allen suggested that he should come up to Lancashire – “it would do him good mentally and physically.” Hardy replied that he had been to Bolton, on business with Tillotson’s, but remembered little about the town, or of Lancashire in general – to Clarke’s obvious disappointment. Clarke said that he corresponded with Hardy on a few occasions; they shared a common love of cycling and the countryside. (above is from my new biography of Clarke).

There is a reference at the NT-managed Max Gate to Hardy’s relationship with Bolton-based Tillotson’s. The publishers of The Bolton Evening News established a subsidiary – Tillotson’s Newspaper Fiction Bureau – which syndicated novels to newspapers around the world. These included some of Clarke’s own novels and short stories, such as The Miser’s Mine which appeared in local papers in Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand. They rejected Tess of the D’Urbervilles because the content was deemed ‘unsuitable’, despite having signed a £1000 contract with Hardy. They did however come to a settlement and Tillotson’s went on to publish other work by Hardy.

Still in print: previous publications

The Settle-Carlisle Railway (2019) published by Crowood and available in reputable, and possibly some disreputable, bookshops price £24. I have a few which I can offer with £4 postage.  It’s a general history of the railway, bringing it up to date. It includes a chapter on the author’s time as a goods guard on the line, when he was based at Blackburn in the 1970s. It includes a guide to the line, from Leeds to Carlisle. Some previously-unused sources helped to give the book a stronger ‘social’ dimension, including the columns of the LMS staff magazine in the 1920s. ISBN 978-1-78500-637-1

With Walt Whitman in Bolton – Lancashire’s Links to Walt Whitman. This charts the remarkable story of Bolton’s long-lasting links to America’s great poet. Normal price £10.00, selling for £5.00. Bolton’s links with the great American poet Walt Whitman make up one of the most fascinating footnotes in literary history. From the 1880s a small group of Boltonians began a correspondence with Whitman and two (John Johnston and J W Wallace) visited the poet in America. Each year on Whitman’s birthday (May 31) the Bolton group threw a party to celebrate his memory, with poems, lectures and passing round a loving cup of spiced claret. Each wore a sprig of lilac in Whitman’s memory.

The group was close to the founders of the ILP – Keir Hardie, Bruce and Katharine Bruce Glasier and Robert Blatchford. The links with Whitman lovers in the USA continue to this day. Later this summer (see above) I’ll be bringing out an expanded version which has more on the wider political context – Unlikely Pioneers: Walt Whitman, The Bolton Boys and Northern Socialism.

Will Yo’ Come O’ Sunday Mornin? The Winter Hill Mass Trespass of 1896. The story of Lancashire’s Winter Hill Trespass of 1896. 10,000 people marched over Winter Hill to reclaim a right of way. Price: £5.00 (not many left). The Kinder Scout Mass Trespass of 1932 was by no means the first attempt by working class people to reclaim the countryside. Probably the UK’s biggest-ever rights of way struggle took place on the moors above Bolton in 1896, with three successive weekends of huge demonstrations to reclaim a blocked path. Over 12,000 took part in the biggest march.  A new supply has been found and is available price £5 plus postage (free local delivery).

Ordering:

http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form

Other titles still available:

Socialism with a Northern Accent (Lawrence and Wishart)

This was my take on a progressive Northern regionalism, with a foreword by the much-maligned but admirable guy, John Prescott. Time for a new edition – working on it

Railpolitik: bringing railways back to communities (Lawrence and Wishart)

This is an overview of railway politics from the early days to semi-monopolies and current arguments for nationalisation, or co-operative ownership?

 

109 Harpers Lane BOLTON BL1 6HU

Phone: 07795 008691 email: paul.salveson@myphone.coop

www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

ORDER FORM 2021 (including Special Offers)

Name………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Delivery Address……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………Post code…………………….

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Quantity Title Price ( + delivery)
  The Works (special offer) 5.00 + £3
  Allen Clarke/Teddy Ashton:  Lancashire’s Romantic Radical (new edition, officially to be published September) pre-pub offer now: 15.00 + £3
  With Walt Whitman in Bolton (special offer) 5.00 + £3
   Moorlands, Memories and Reflections                                                                                                             20.00 + £4
  Will Yo’ Come O’ Sunday Mornin’? Winter Hill Trespass of 1896 5.00   + £3
  The Settle-Carlisle Railway 24.00 + £4
  Total  

Bundles by negotiation! If ordering more than 1 book postage is £4 in UK. Local delivery is by Bolton Bicycling Bookshop, otherwise Royal Mail. Enquire for overseas rates.

Send cheque for total amount made to ‘Paul Salveson’ to 109 Harpers Lane, Bolton BL1 6HU.

If paying by BACS the account details are:

Dr P S Salveson (it’s a personal account) sort code 53-61-07 A/C no. 23448954. Email me with your order details and put your name and book e.g. ‘MMR’ or ‘Works’ as the reference when paying.

I’m happy to sign books, but please let me know (and to whom, if you want a specific dedication).

Many thanks for your support.   Paul

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Northern Weekly Salvo 295

The Northern Weekly Salvo

Incorporating  Slaithwaite Review of Books, Weekly Notices, Sectional Appendices, Tunnel Gazers’ Gazette and Northern Umbrella. Descendant of Teddy Ashton’s Northern Weekly and Th’Bowtun Loominary.

Published at 109 Harpers Lane Bolton BL1 6HU email: paul.salveson@myphone.coop

Publications website: www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

No. 295 August 6th  2021                       

Salveson’s half-nakedly political digest of railwayness, tripe and secessionist nonsense from Up North. Sometimes weekly, usually not; definitely Northern. Read by the highest and lowest officers of state, Whitmanites, weirdos, misfits, steam punks, yes women, no men, gay Swedenborgians, cat-spotters, discerning sybarites, bi-guys, non-aligned social democrats, mis-aligned pie-eaters, tripe dressers, nail artists, self-managing VIMTO drinkers, truculent Northerners, grumpy Norwegians, absurd Marxists, sleepy Hungarians, members of the clergy and the toiling masses, generally. All views expressed are my own and usually nobody else’s. Official journal of the Station Cat Improvement Network, Pacer Dining Club, Station Buffet Acceleration Council and the Campaign for a North with a capital ‘N’.

“We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.” – Jo Cox, maiden speech in House of Commons, June 3rd 2015.

General gossips

Like a lot of Salvo readers I’ve mixed feelings about relaxing Covid restrictions, particularly when quite a few people I know seem to have caught it recently..not much you can say that hasn’t been said a thousand times other than I’ll carry on wearing the hated mask when it seems right to do so but not when common sense dictates otherwise (e.g. in an empty railway carriage).

What of the wider political world? In this issue I float a few thoughts on ‘England’ and ‘Englishness’, readers’ views welcome, as always. It worries me that Starmer’s Labour Party could lurch into championing a kind of ‘Englishness’ that leaves little room for regional variations, let alone distinctiveness, and panders to a sort of nostalgic and reactionary ‘Englishness’ which is miles away from what is exemplified by the England football team.

It continues to puzzle and surprise me that so many politicians, of all hues, continue to think that HS2 is somehow ‘a good thing’ and will help the North. I

Most people in the North would prefer to see investment in regional networks, not HS2. A Northern 158 creeps across Accrington Viaduct (10 mph speed restriction)

very much doubt that it will and share the view of most people ‘up ‘ere’ that the money could be far better spent on improving local and regional transport. So I’m pleased that it looks like Leeds will not get its HS2 link and I very much hope Manchester will be similarly blessed. Why so anti-HS2? Well first let me say I’m not against high-speed rail as such but this scheme is so flawed in so many ways that I find it impossible to justify. Changing travel habits ‘post’ Covid make it even less justified. All those day trips to London for business meetings are less likely to happen and the leisure market is perfectly happy being served by trains that run at 125 mph. I wish politicians would listen to what their constituents are saying and scrap this expensive white elephant which will only benefit London. I suspect it will not get beyond Crewe as financial reality kicks in, but why wait for that to happen when it’s obvious that it makes no sense environmentally, economically or – where it counts – politically.

It’s good to see heritage railways returning to something like normal. I met up with some old school friends in Bury the other week and had a pleasant drink in ‘The Trackside’ bar at Bolton Street station and watched a well-filled 1300 to Rawtenstall depart. Bolton now has a direct bus link to the East Lancs – ‘The Rammy Rambler’, a joint initative of Diamond Buses North-West and the ELR. Runs Wednesday to Sunday, three times a day, using an open top double-decker (presumably when fine!).

England, which England?

The quest for a ‘progressive English politics’ is something that seems to have captured the imagination of quite a few writers on the English left, mostly columnists for The Guardian and Observer. There’s another school of thought, which I must confess to having leaned towards myself on some occasions, which is quite anti-English.

It’s a view shared by some in the Northern Independence Party which hopes to wish away the reactionary English state and have a Northern socialist republic. It’s a lovely dream, perhaps, but political utopias usually turn into something very different from what their first disciples hoped for. And I don’t think many people really want it. You can be passionately ‘Yorkshire’ and still identify as English, as well as ‘Huddersfield’ etc.

It’s always a good idea to start with a concrete analysis of a concrete situation (special prize for who said that). Scotland is key to this, with the likelihood that it will break away from the UK within the next ten years, possibly sooner. Northern Ireland could become an even bigger hot potato within the same time frame, the North re-uniting with the South and rejoining the EU. That leaves a UK comprising England and Wales, with Wales very much the junior partner. Could it go its own way? People say that it’s too small but that doesn’t necessarily bear scrutiny. Far smaller nations have gone independent and done very well – Iceland being just one.

So there is the possibility that we end up with a centralised English state by default. That could be very bad for the North and possibly the Midlands too, as more power – political and economic – concentrates in London and the south-east. Throwing a few sops to the North in the form of a bit more power for the largely unaccountable mayors won’t make that much difference.

What could make for a much more attractive vision of a ‘new England’

Cartoon quintessential Englishman

is a political entity that is decentralised with a much smaller central state – and it doesn’t matter that much whether or not it’s in London (I’d keep it there). Strong regions, based on historic boundaries rather than ‘technocratic’ ones, should be the foundation – county regions such as Yorkshire and Lancashire – with empowered local government again based on historic identities where possible and of appropriate size, that is really ‘local’.

That set-up could work whether or not Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland went their own ways. It would be a sad thing if they did and I suspect that after a while there might be the basis for a rapprochement based on equality between the nations and regions, rather than the current overwhelming dominance of England, and London in particular. A British confederation.

So a new England is possible, and we get glimpses of it through things like the Euros and our great ambassadors in the England football team. Nobody has to hate England, particularly anyone who is English. A silly position to adopt. There’s lots of things in our past that are positive, in politics, culture, sport and industry. We should cherish these but have the maturity to look at the negatives in an open and honest way too. And when people who should know better harp on about a ‘Quintessentially English’ country that implicitly excludes anywhere north of Watford, that’s urban or multi-ethnic, they should be challenged.

So I think it’s OK to love England, the real England as it is not how some romanticise it, but accept that it needs to change – and discard the reactionary trappings of an old imperial state. Personally, I’m relaxed about the monarchy continuing but again, let’s drop some of the outdated nonsense that goes with it. It all comes back to the people, the demos, democracy. Our voting system is an embarrassment, our leaders are a joke.  But change is possible. As the gay, upper-class Edward Carpenter (who made Yorkshire his home) once sang, ‘England Arise!’

Up on th’windy moors

The third Saturday of July is the traditional day of pilgrimage to ‘Waugh’s Well’ – the lonely and beautiful spot on the Lancashire moors that celebrates the great Lancashire poet Edwin Waugh. After the inevitable break last year, the tradition was re-established last month with a group of about 15 members of the Edwin Waugh Dialect Society making the hike from Edenfield up to Fo’ Edge, on a hot summer’s day.

At Waugh’s Well

Stops were made on the way up for readings from Waugh and his contemporaries and a picnic lunch was partaken at Fo’ Edge, on the site of the farmstead that Waugh lodged in for a few months. There’s a plaque on the site telling you more about the place and Waugh himself. Less we lurch into too much misty-eyed nostalgia, part of the reason for Waugh’s sojourn was his need to ‘dry out’ from his rather excessive drinking habits. You’re a long way from a pub up there, though I suspect the farmer would have made his own ‘whoam-brewed’ but rationed Edwin’s share. The return walk was particularly interesting, following some of the long-disused tramway routes that once served the huge slate quarries ‘on the tops’. Some of these railways were very well engineered with deep cuttings and high embankments. Considering most closed soon after the First World War, they are remarkably easy to follow. So all in all a gradely day out, the highlight for some being the spectacle of one of the participants deciding to rip up his short – possibly in ecstasy at the loveliness of Sid and Alyson’s poetising, or maybe because it was just too warm.

Platform culture thrives in Bolton

Bolton Station Community Partnership is hosting a unique art exhibition at its Platform 5 Gallery on Bolton Station. ‘Routed – an exhibition of railway workers’ art’ displays the work of active and retired railway employees and is the only show of its kind in the UK. It

Julie Levy and first visitor John Stirzaker

includes paintings and photographs by five artists and runs until Saturday August 28th, culminating in the first-ever Station Mela which will feature stalls and music. The exhibition is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 12.00 to 4.00pm and admission is free – barrier staff will let visitors through the gates on request.

“We’re really excited to host this latest exhibition, building on the success of the first-ever Railway Workers’ Art exhibition in 2019,” said July Levy, chair of the station partnership who is curating the exhibition. The show features the work of Nigel Valentine, Susan Skully, Richard Hall, Josh Watkins and Paul Salveson.

The subject matter is largely but not exclusively rail-related. Some of the photographs were taken in the Bolton area and include images of railwaymen at work. The paintings of railway manager Josh Watkins feature scenes from the Welsh narrow-gauge railways whilst Richard Hall’s paintings include a dream-like scene at the former ‘Mop’ pub in Halliwell. “It’s a great show and follows on from our last exhibition featuring Bolton artists including Julia Uttley and Dave Burnham,” said Julie. “People really like the cosy atmosphere of the gallery and everyone can be assured of a friendly welcome.” Further details Julie Levy 07789 725753

Day trip to Coniston

I’ve made previous mention of the excellent ‘community bus’ operation based in Ulverston and run by Blueworks Taxis. The services have continued to develop, assisted by the Friends of the X12 who actually run some of the services on a Section 22 licence (which permits voluntary groups to run scheduled minibus services). My friend Martin suggested we should have a day out by train and bus and take in the steam-yacht ‘Gondola’ too. We got to the rather forlorn-looking Ulverston station and headed into town for a look round the market hall, which is home to a couple of excellent bookshops. One sells mainly new stuff while the stall next door is second-hand. I came away with a very nice Maryport and Carlisle Railway booklet and a couple of Oakwood Press titles. And some excellent Lancashire cheese (Ulverston being historically part of Lancashire).

We reached the bus stop to find quite a few people already there – a

A confluence of minibuses at Coniston

local women’s association having a day out to Coniston. Would we all fit in? MD (and Farnworth lad) Phil Halliwell had the situation sussed and three minibuses were on hand to cope with the throng, with Phil covering s driver on one of the vehicles. I wonder if the same responsiveness would have been evident from one of the larger corporate bus operators?

We set off in convoy with the third bus empty – but people joined en route so by the team our ‘bus train’ arrived at Coniston all three vehicles were respectably full.

The Gondola departs from Coniston

‘The Gondola’ was a delight, what a remarkable ‘restoration’ job the National Trust has done. When we got going it sounded just like an LMS Black 5 working hard at about 50 mph.

We returned on the afternoon bus convoy, with the Ulverston ladies in good spirits. They didn’t actually break out into song but maybe a bit longer and they would have. We were dropped at the station, a kind gesture by the driver. We spent half an hour reflecting on what great potential the station has. The booking office and waiting room has already been improved and there is some excellent artwork. But so much more could be done. The exterior is shabby and neglected, the former water tower is now empty after the brave attempt to open a cafe and bike hire business a few years back.

Haigh Woodland Wanderer wends its way from Wigan

A new rail-linked bus service from Wigan to Haigh Woodland Park started last weekend – and initial results are encouraging. The service is a joint initiative of South East Lancs Community Rail Partnership, Wigan Council, Haigh Woodland Park (owned by the Council) and Friends of Haigh Woodland Park. The service is part-funded by the Community Rail Network’s ‘Integrated Sustainable Transport Fund’. The service, operated by local company Finch’s, runs every hour and picks up alongside Wallgate station. The first weekend loadings were

Councillors, staff and volunteers at Haigh Hall with Finch’s bus in background

predictably low on the Saturday but much busier on the Sunday. Wigan Council has been energetically publicising the service with door to door leaflet drops and a media campaign. As word gets round, loadings will continue to increase. Haigh Woodland Park is a great place for a day out. Its centrepiece is Haigh Hall, currently undergoing restoration, but there’s lots to see and do in the park, not least the miniature railway. There’s also a popular bar, cafes and crazy golf.

RHS not as green as it thinks it is

We had a very enjoyable visit to the new Royal Horticultural Society gardens at Worsley (Bridgewater). The story of the garden’s restoration, from the ruins of Worsley New Hall, is remarkable and all credit to the RHS for getting it up and running so quickly – about four years from start to opening, despite Covid. But what lets it down are the poor transport links. There’s an infrequent bus service which runs from the Trafford Centre to Leigh – nothing from central Manchester – and it drops you off over half a mile from the ‘welcome’ centre. People

The grounds of RHS Bridgewater are extensive and great scope for further development

arriving by public transport are given a discount on their admission, but really they should be awarded a medal. The RHS makes much of its green credentials but this really is very poor. It’s right in the heart of Burnhamshire, between the RHS, Transport for Greater Manchester, Salford City Council and the bus operators it ought to be possible to have a frequent dedicated bus service. It’s all the more galling that a large amount of money is being invested in a cycle link from Walkden station to the gardens, which could have easily funded a frequent bus link. Much as I’m keen to promote cycling, the reality is that this will mainly benefit fit, middle-class people who have a pretty direct route from Walkden to the gardens already. And that assumes you are able to get your bike on the train – with the ‘2 bikes’ rule there isn’t much scope for group visits. So, unless things change, the overwhelming majority of visitors, like us, will go by car. But don’t let me put you off, it’s a great place for all that.

Off to the sunny South Coast with RPTA

This weekend it’s the annual conference of REPTA – The Railway Employees’ Public Transport Association (formerly Railway Employees’ Privilege Ticket Association, much more prosaic) – in Bournemouth. I’m looking forward to a pleasant trip down with CrossCountry and a weekend of catching up with old friends. For obvious reasons last year’s conference was cancelled. REPTA was set up in 1893 and continues to provide a ‘circle of good fellowship’. Many of its still-active members are retired but there are some newer members who are keeping the flame alive. Back in BR days it had a huge membership, around 50,000 at its peak. Today it’s much less but it still has a role as a truly ‘social’ network. Membership costs a mere £5 and is worth every penny – see www.repta.org.uk

Vintage Day out

It’s a while since I’ve travelled along ‘The Shakespeare Line’ from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon and the promise of a run behind ‘Clun Castle’ was too good to miss. But as sometimes happen, it didn’t quite turn out as intended. ‘Clun’ caught a cold and was confined to shed and an almost equally ancient class 20 diesel (with ‘47’ support) substituted. Did it matter? Not at all, it was a great day out, launching Vintage Trains’ programme of excursions this summer, many of which will be steam-hauled, hopefully some with a revived ‘Clun’.  Vintage

Our short stop at Henley-in-Arden to admire the station gardens and hear about plans for the buildings

Trains is a fully accredited train operated company and the only one in the UK (probably the world) that is run as a genuinely community operation. It’s a community benefit society, mostly using locomotives owned by a charitable trust. It is part of the Heart of England Community Rail partnership and supports ‘station friends’ along the Shakespeare Line. Chairman Michael Whitehouse says it’s the only line on the national network to have every single station adopted, and I wouldn’t contradict him. On the way out we had a stop at Henley-in-Arden where the station buildings are set to be refurbished for community uses. At Stratford we had about 40 minutes and enjoyed drinks in the nearby cafe before heading back to Birmingham, from where we hopped on a local train to Bournville to have a look round the fascinating Cadbury’s industrial village. A perfect day was rounded off by a curry in our favourite Indian, The Lagan. Dessert just had to be a ‘Cadbury’s Delight’.

My Fernarium and 10F

During the mini-heat wave I decided it would be a good time to really get stuck into the various garden projects that I’d been promising myself I’d ‘get round to’. Not, you’ll be surprised to know, garden railway related. Oh no, the rail infrastructure is pretty much established now and it’s more a case of adding a few extras, new locos and the like. The two major new projects were the ‘Rose Grove’ at the front and the ‘Fernarium’ at the back. I’ve never really been much of a ‘rose’ person but, coming up to my 69th, I am a convert, with all the zeal that goes with it. But open to readers’ suggestions for what to buy, what to look out for. The ‘Fernarium’ is a case of using some space that has struggled to find uses. It’s very shady but the soil is good. The railway runs by it, naturally, and it sometimes gets a bit overgrown. So I’ve cleared out the early summer wild flowers (red campion, foxgloves, mint) and the ferns have gone in. Ladies’ ferns – again, no expert and welcome suggestions for what else to plant. The ones that have gone in are transfers from other depots.

Bolton’s Great Strike

My most recent feature in The Bolton News’ ‘Looking Back’ supplement was on the ‘Great Engineers’ Strike’ of 1887. This was no ordinary industrial dispute: cavalry were drafted in from their barracks in Manchester and hundreds of police from around the North-West were billeted in the town. Hundreds of strike-breakers – ‘knobsticks’ – were

Ald. Benjamin Dobson, main protagonist from the employers’ side. In possible mitigation he was fond of miniature railways

brought in by train and riots ensued at the station. The event formed the basis for Allen Clarke’s novel The Knobstick, published in 1891. It led to major changes in the town’s politics, with ‘labour’ representatives elected at the next local elections. It can be read in full here: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19465313.bitter-industrial-dispute-saw-troops-streets-bolton/

Publications update from Lancashire Loominary

Allen Clarke (‘Teddy Ashton’) Lancashire’s Romantic Radical is back from the printers but I’m going to delay a full launch until September when something approximating ‘normality’ might be back, allowing events in both Bolton and Blackpool. The first edition was published in 2009 and the new one substantially improves on the original, in my estimation. There’s some new information about his life and work and an entirely new chapter on his railway writings (‘Teddy Ashton Takes the Train’).

The current plan is once the Allen Clarke is duly launched I’ll publish a new book on the Lancashire –Whitman connection. This will incorporate most of With Walt Whitman in Bolton (published in 2019) with an entirely new section on Whitman’s wider influence on Northern socialism. It will be called Unlikely Pioneers – Walt Whitman, the Bolton Boys and Northern Labour 1885-2022. I’m not sure whether to do it as a print edition or just by kindle, which is much less trouble, but less fun. Comments welcome, I still have some copies of With Walt Whitman in Bolton left, which I’m selling for a fiver.

I’m doing a pre-publication offer on the Allen Clarke book – it will sell at £18.99 in the shops and on Amazon (plus postage) but I’ll do it for £15 with free local delivery c/o Bolton Bicycling Bookshop, or £3 postage in the UK. See www.lancashireloominary.co.uk for details of how to buy it.

New books from my pals

Here’s details of four excellent books that have two things in common – they’re all written by good friends and all feature , to some extent, railways. So no big surprise, each is very different. Stan Abbott, who played a major role in the fight to save the Settle-Carlisle Line in the 1980s, has published Walking The Line – exploring Settle-Carlisle Country. It’s a detailed description of a linear walk along the route of the railway, using public rights of way. It’s really well written – much more than just a walking guide, it has history, anecdote and a strong personal touch. It sells at £9.99 and is published by Saraband.

Martin Bairstow, who features elsewhere in this Salvo (Coniston story) has lived (at least) two lives – as an accountant, often acting for disreputable railway consultancy clients (like me) and as a very reputable railway historian. His latest work is a new edition of Railways in the Lake District and includes the Cumbrian Coast and Furness Lines, Windermere and Coniston branches, the late and much lamented Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith line as well as the Lake steamers and Barrow Docks. Martin puts his encyclopaedic knowledge of railway history to god use and has a very good feel for railway politics. His account of the closures of the Lakeside and CK&P routes are of great value. He rightly bemoans the closure (one of the last) of the Penrith – Keswick Line in 1972. What a difference it would have made to ‘sustainable transport’ in the Lakes had it survived. But at least we’ve got the Coast Line and Windermere Branch – the latter very much in need of electrification and double-tracking, at least in part to permit a more frequent service as leisure travel takes off post-Pandemic. It’s priced at £17.95 and is published by Martin himself, at 53 Kirklees Drive, Farsley, Pudsey.

In the early days of community railways we had strong support from a number of BR managers. Foremost amongst them, together with David Prescott, was John Davies. John has spent much of his railway career in South Wales and knows the ‘Valley’s intimately. He was largely responsible for the renaissance of the Valleys Lines back in the 1990s as Regional Railways Manager for Wales. John has always been passionate about railways and the transformation of the Valleys Lines was partly informed by John seeing at first hand what can be achieved with regional railways elsewhere in Europe and further afield. His book From Hell to Paradise – and a thousand places in between is about his travels around the world, usually with his beloved Josianne, to whom the book is dedicated. Of the four books it is the most ‘personal’ but there’s plenty of politics and ‘railway’ in it too. John has a great love of American railroads and his travels around the USA are a fascinating contrast to his trips around Europe. The book is self-published and sells at £17.99. Email John at johnbaytrans@btinternet.com for details of how to get it.

The fourth member of this mates’ quartet is Richard Horrocks’ fascinating Turton Tower: A Caretaker’s History. It is edited from the notes of Albert Barrett who was caretaker of the historic house north of Bolton, between 1948 and 1964. I’ve known and loved Turton Tower for many years – it was always a favourite spot to watch, and later photograph, steam locos climb the steep gardient between Bolton and Entwistle. I got to know th house itself, a remarkable amalgam of different styles and periods which somehow works. There is some dispute as to how old the place is, with some suggesting the 12th century while others say the 15th century. But take it from Richard, it’s old. He takes us through the history of the building and its occupants, including Lees Knowles, an early patron of the Lancashire Authors’ Association in the 1920s. The building was managed by Turton Urban District Council from 1930 although today it is run by Blackburn with Darwen Council. Albert was appointed by Turton UDC in 1948 and lived in the building with his family until his retirement in 1964. Interestingly, the Tower was only made into a museum in 1952 and the Council was fortunate in having such a devoted employee to look after it. Albert’s notes reflect someone with a deep passion and interest for the Tower’s history. What makes Richard’s book so special is the role of Albert Barrett, clearly a most unusual chap – all too often people like him get air-brushed out of the history of these historic buildings. The book costs £9.99 and is available through Amazon or from the Turton Tower shop and Wright’s Reads in Horwich.

My photo gallery – an emphasis on steam (but not completely)

I’ve been making some changes to my website/s…I’m keeping www.lancashireloominary.co.uk  for all publications, including The Salvo. However, www.paulsalveson.org.uk has been re-born as Paul Salveson Photography: places, trains and factories or summat like that.

There are several pages dealing with different aspects of my photography: BR Steam, Continental Steam, The Modern Railway, Industrial Steam, Northern Rural Landscapes, Mills and Mines, and Strikes, Riots and Demonstrations. This is my current favourite: Industrial Railways UK 1966 – 1980 – Paul Salveson Photography

Good places to buy my books and other things

As lockdown eases, more shops are opening  which sell my books. These include Carnforth Bookshop, Wrights’ Reads in Horwich, Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford and Kelsall’s in Littleborough. Please support your local bookshops, it’s vital they survive. A great feature of any walk up Rivington Pike is the Pike Snack Shack on George’s Lane – a long way up, the last place before you get on the track to the summit. They do coffee, pies, sandwiches and cakes for takeaway and you can sit amidst the heather and savour the view across the West Lancashire Plain. You can also buy copies of Moorlands, Memories and Reflections.  Another popular addition to my list of retail outlets is Bunbury’s real ale shop at 397 Chorley Old Road, Bolton. A slightly unconventional outlet is A Small Good Thing, on Church Road. This is a great little shop mainly selling organic fruit and veg and a range of ‘small good things’. Fletcher’s Newsagents on Markland Hill Bolton are stockists. Justicia Fair Trade Shop on Knowsley Street, Bolton, is handy for the town centre and has a full set of my books available (and some great gifts from around the world, ethically sourced).

Winter Hill 125 – this September, have a walk o’er Winter Hill

Plans to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the 1896 Winter Hill ‘mass trespass’ continue to evolve with strong interest from a wide range of groups and individuals. The celebration will take place on Sunday

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September 5th 2021 – get it in your diary now! It will set off at 10.30 from the bottom of Halliwell Road, with assembling from 10.00 onwards. We expect the walk to take about four hours – Diamond Bus is providing buses to get people back from Belmont to Smithills and Bolton.

My book on the mass trespass is available price £5 (plus postage if not local) – see below. It is hoped to have some major events this year, circumstances permitting. More details to follow. The best way of keeping updated is to join the Winter Hill 125 facebook page.

Small Salvoes

  • Bolton Diggers are running a series of talks on ‘The Alternative Economy’ in the town’s Victoria Hall. The first one kicked off on June 30th, at 6.00 and they have been well attended. These free talks and participative workshops take place every Wednesday evening at 6pm in the old coffee bar at Victoria Halls between June 30th and September 1st. This will be followed by a ‘Made in Bolton’ local products fair (date to be arranged.)
  • Humanity trumps politics: it was good to see the respectful messages from local opposition politicians to the untimely death of Council Leader (and Conservative) Cllr David Greenhalgh, who died suddenly at the age of 53. My own condolences to his friends and family; a decent man by all accounts.
  • Plans are underway for Autumn events by the Hannah Mitchell Foundation, the cross-party campaign for Northern devolution and democracy. Details will be posted on HMF’s recently-updated website: www.hannah-mitchell.org.uk

Aagh! Crank Quiz returns…Sheds and seating

Several readers (well, one) laments the absence of the Salvo ‘Crank Quiz’. Well OK, showing appropriate responsiveness to customer demand, it’s back! In fact two quizzes. The first was suggested by that man in the water tower, Mark Rand of Settle. He mentioned amusing railway signage, giving examples of the station seats at Settle (‘SettleDown’ on the down line and ‘Settle Up’ on t’other) and a named class 66 ‘The Flying Dustman’. So please send examples, with photos if possible, of amusing official or unofficial examples of signage/etc.

The other part of the Crank Quiz is inspired by my new-found horticultural zeal. Please name loco sheds (with shed codes unless a sub-shed) of loco sheds with horticultural themes. There are too many stations, junctions etc. so don’t go there, but sheds should keep you busy.

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Special Traffic Notices: Coming Events

Sunday September 5th. Winter Hill Trespass Memorial Walk: assemble 10.00 bottom of Halliwell Road, Bolton,  for 10.30 departure. Buses from Bolton Interchange to starting point and special buses back from Belmont in the afternoon. Bring flask and sandwiches, sturdy footwear and waterproofs!

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The Salvo Publications List  – see www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

The following are all available from The Salvo Publishing HQ, here at 109 Harpers Lane, Bolton BL1 6HU. Cheques should be made out to ‘Paul Salveson’ though you can send cash if you like but don’t expect any change. Bottles of whisky, old bound volumes of Railway Magazine, number-plates etc. by negotiation. If you are local you are welcome to call round and pick books up on the doorstep, or the Bolton Bicycling Bookshop can deliver to yours.

Allen Clarke/Teddy Ashton – Lancashire’s Romantic Radical (NEW!). The story of Lancashire’s errant genius – cyclist, philosopher, unsuccessful politician, amazingly popular dialect writer.  This book outlines the life and writings of one of Lancashire’s most prolific – and interesting – writers. Allen Clarke (1863-1935) was the son of mill workers and began work in the mill himself at the age of 11. Publication date September 1st . Pre-publication offer of £15 plus free local delivery or £3 postage

Moorlands, Memories and Reflections (2020) A hundred years ago Lancashire writer Allen Clarke published a forgotten masterpiece – Moorlands and Memories, sub-titled ‘rambles and rides in the fair places of Steam-Engine Land’. Clarke’s biographer, Professor Paul Salveson, has published a new book celebrating Clarke’s original and bringing the story of Lancashire’s moorland heritage up to date. Maxine Peake, in her foreword to Paul’s book, says “Hill walking, cycling, literature, philosophy, protest and The North…. these are a few of my favourite things.” She adds “Paul Salveson’s new book on Allen Clarke is irresistible.” Price £20 – see the website for details of how to buy: http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form

The Works (2020). My first novel , set in Horwich and Bolton in the 1970s and 1980s but bringing the story up to the present and beyond. Much of the action takes place in Horwich Loco Works and the campaign to save it from closure. In real life, it closed down in 1983. In the novel, after a workers’ occupation it is run as a co-operative, building both steam for heritage railways and modern eco-friendly trains for the world market. Price £6 (special offer) . Also on Kindle £4.99.

Will Yo’ Come O’ Sunday Mornin’? The Winter Hill Trespass of 1896 (1996). Quite a few copies have re-surfaced and are available price £5 – with all proceeds going to Bolton Socialist Club, which played the main part in organising the original demonstrations in 1896. This was Britain’s biggest-ever rights of way battle with a series of demonstrations which peaked at 12,000 one Sunday afternoon in September 1896.

With Walt Whitman in Bolton – Lancashire’s Links to Walt Whitman This charts the remarkable story of Bolton’s long-lasting links to America’s great poet. Bolton’s links with the great American poet Walt Whitman make up one of the most fascinating footnotes in literary history. From the 1880s a small group of Boltonians began a correspondence with Whitman and two (John Johnston and J W Wallace) visited the poet in America. Special offer £5 (plus postage if you’re not local).

The Settle-Carlisle Railway (2019) published by Crowood and available in most bookshops price £24. It’s a general history of the railway, bringing it up to date. It includes a chapter on the author’s time as a goods guard on the line, when he was based at Blackburn in the 1970s. The book includes a guide to the line, from Leeds to Carlisle. Some previously-unused sources helped to give the book a stronger ‘social’ dimension, including the columns of the LMS staff magazine in the 1920s. ISBN 978-1-78500-637-1

You can get a better idea from going to my website: http://www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

 

 

 

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Lancashire Loominary Summer Excursion

 

Lancashire Loominary No. 5

July 2021

It’s summer…time for a new book to blossom

The new and updated edition of my biography of Allen Clarke (Allen Clarke – Teddy Ashton: Lancashire’s Romantic Radical) is back from the printers and looks good, apart from a few annoying typos.  There is a lot of new material in it, including an entirely new chapter on Clarke’s railway writings. The Bolton News carried a feature on his novels recently (June 16th) – there’s a word version of it below. The official publication date will be September 1st but I am doing a pre-publication offer for £15, with free local delivery in the Bolton area, or add on £3 for UK postage.  You can download an order form from my website, below, or there’s one at the back of this newsletetr: http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form

I’m hoping to do a number of launch events in late August or early September. If you’d like to host a launch, even for a small group of people, please let me know.

Who was Allen Clarke?

More than any other writer of the early 20th century, he captured the essence of life in the industrial North. He was born into a working class Bolton family in 1863 but most of his later life was spent in Blackpool. He followed his parents into the mill, starting as a ‘half-timer at the age of 11. He went on to write over 20 novels, dozens of short stories and poems as well as factual accounts of life in the factories, one of which was translated into Russian by Tolstoy, whom he greatly admired as a writer and political thinker.

His sketches in Lancashire dialect (written as ‘Teddy Ashton’) “poked sly fun and undermining sarcasm” at the social evils of the day and sold over a million copies. His newspapers, like Teddy Ashton’s Northern

Cover of one of his hugely popular ‘Annuals’

Weekly, were read and passed round mill and factory by thousands. His book Windmill Land popularised the Fylde countryside and is a mix of history, folklore and roadsides chats.

The new edition includes lots of new material which sheds more light on this important, but neglected figure in English literature who was loved by thousands of his readers in the textile districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. He had a close relationship with his audience and one group of Manchester railwaymen wrote to Clarke protesting at the abrupt way he ended one of his novels!

As well as his own work, Clarke encouraged other working class men and women to write for his newspapers and was instrumental in forming the Lancashire Authors’ Association in 1911. His ‘readers’ picnics’ attracted hundreds of visitors, often arriving by train or bicycle.

Cover of the 2009 edition, now out of print

One, at Barrow Bridge near Bolton in 1901, was held to raise funds for the locked-out quarry workers at Penrhyn, Wales; it was attended by several thousand, including the Clarion Choir. He mobilised his child readers to raise funds for the starving families and organised cycle trips to the quarry villages.

After his move to Blackpool he created the Blackpool Ramble Club, one of the biggest walking clubs in the country. He died in December 1935 and is buried at Marton Cemetery, close to the windmill that is now a shrine to his memory.

Unlikely Pioneers

I’ve been working on a new edition of my ‘Whitman’ book – With Walt Whitman in Bolton – spirituality, sex and socialism in a Northern Mill townlast published in 2019 though little changed since 2009. I’ve combined it with a lengthy paper on Whitman’s influence on ‘Northern Socialism’ and re-titled it Unlikely Pioneers: Walt Whitman, the Bolton Boys and Northern Socialism.

I’m debating whether to do a print edition or just publish it on kindle, which makes life easier in terms of an international readership. Readers’ views welcome!

The latest Salvo

The latest edition of my blog/e-newsletter or whatever, is out and can be downloaded from here:

http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/northern-weekly-salvo-294

The latest edition carries comment on the Labour Party’s current quandaries, progressive regionalism and the latest Government ‘Plan for Rail’. There’s a Salvo take on the recent Lib Dem by-election victory and comments on Batley and Spen, which is now history. The media had more or less conceded victory to the Tories; my take was that they could be wrong, and they were.

The ‘Bolton novels’ of Allen Clarke

Allen Clarke, born in Daubhill (Bolton) in 1863, was one of the most important figures in Northern literature between the early 1890s and late 1930s. Today his work is largely forgotten. Yet he was loved by tens of thousands of Lancashire mill workers and had an astonishing output of dialect sketches, poetry, journalism and works of philosophy. He wrote over 20 novels, most of which were never published in book form, but appeared in newspapers across Britain and even beyond.

Most of his novels are set in Bolton, where he was born and bred. He was never part of the upper class literati – his parents were mill workers, and he started his working life as a half-timer at the age of 11.

Portrait of the author as a young lad

His subject matter was the people he knew and the places he grew up in. His parents encouraged his love of writing; at the age of 14 he won a national prize for one of his poems. As his writing developed he had a clear aim – to be a writer of the people and for the people. In 1896 he said: “My aim today is to give the working class life (of Lancashire principally, for that I know best) faithful expression in the literature of England.”

His first published novel was The Lass at the Man and Scythe, written in 1889 and published in book form (by himself) in 1891. It was printed by Pendlebury’s of Bolton. The ‘Lass’ was later revised and extended, re- titled John O’God’s Sending. It is a story of the Civil War, set in Bolton in 1644. It contained many of the themes that featured in his later novels. There is tragedy, a conventional love story, and a healthy dose of radical politics. His preface to the first edition of the book is an early example of his attempt to engage the reader:

With the aid of that wizard’s wand, a pen, dipped into that magic fluid, ink, the Boltonians who live and move again (at least I hope so) in the following pages have been temporarily raised from the dead. For taking the liberty of resurrecting them somewhat prematurely I beg their pardon. If I have done the business clumsily and inconvenienced these characters in any manner whatever I humbly tender my apologies. I am but a novice at the work……”

The novel revolves around the ancient Bolton pub, The Man and Scythe, still standing opposite the town cross, where the Earl of Derby was executed for his part in the Siege of Bolton in 1644. Royalist soldiers, led by the Earl and Prince Rupert, besieged the town siege and massacred a large number of the townspeople, who supported the Parliamentary side. Clarke sets the wider political context in characteristic style:

“The war that was taking up the time, money, and blood of the nation at this period was a struggle for supremacy between King and Parliament. The King wanted to do exactly as he pleased; the people, as represented by Parliament – wanted to do what they pleased. As a rule, when two parties each resolve to please themselves, it pleases neither. It was so in this instance. Both were obstinate. The monarch had on his side ‘the divine right of Kings’; but that is not much when opposed to the superior force of revolutionary masses.”

Clarke favoured the Parliamentary side but the novel shows that things are never black and white, and creates some positive, human characters amongst the Royalists.

A very important part of this first novel is the extensive use of dialect amongst its characters. Early in the novel we find this exchange between Bolton characters, sat in the pub debating the war:

How think ye the cavaliers will fare in York?” asked Isaiah Crompton.

“They sen they’ll howd eawt till th’King sends a force to their relief,” said Cockerel, “though for my part I think as they’ll have hard wark for’t keep Fairfax eawt o’th’city.”

“Wheer’s that wild Prince Rupert, what feights like Satan?” queried Roger Roscoe, a farmer.

Deawn tort Lunnon, somewhere, i’them forrin parts,” replied another.

The novel was a success. Readers enjoyed the local connections, the ‘homely’ characterisation and use of dialect, the love interest  combined with the horror and violence of the siege. It was subsequently re-written and enlarged as John O’God’s Sending and published in book form in 1919.

His next novel was The Knobstick, completed in 1891 and serialised in his paper The Bolton Trotter from October 21st 1892 and later published in book form.  ‘Knobstick’ is an abusive Lancashire term for strike-breaker or ‘blackleg’ which has long gone out of use. This time Clarke used a near-contemporary event – the Bolton Engineers’ Strike of 1887 – as the backdrop to the story.

Some of Clarke’s themes from The Lass at the Man and Scythe re-emerge: a love story, a dramatic event – in this case the strike, with a powerful riot scene. The novel was celebrated by the East German writer Mary Ashraf in a schoalrly article in 1976, who identifies the beginning of the novel as being of very high literary quality, suggesting “if that quality had been maintained throughout, the book might have been a masterpiece.”

The engineers’ strike is a central part of the novel and Clarke builds up a sense of an impending struggle through the union secretary Peter Banks and his wife:

We’re gooin to strike Jane,” said Peter Banks to his wife one evening, speaking, as he always did to her, in the dialect.

God forbid!” she exclaimed.

Well, it’s so for aw that,” continued Peter, “an I’m afraid as it’ll  come  off  this  time.  Th’men’s  gradely dissatisfied, an fully resolved to have mooar money…It’ll be a mighty struggle if it begins and there’s dozen’s what’ll ne’er see o’er it. Of course eaur society’s very rich at present an’ con howd eaut a good while; but t’mesturs con howd eaut longer. I’m willin for t’ strike anyday, but I’d rayther not. I con feight as weel as anybody when I’m put to, but it seems a silly gam to me.”

It’s melodramatic stuff but well told; it appealed to the readers he was aiming at. After tragedy there is a happy ending with hero and heroine  married; the strike ends and a new era begins in the town, with working men elected to the council.

During the 1890s Clarke was working flat out, editing and publishing his Northern Weekly. He wrote much of the copy, including a steady stream of novels including The Little Weaver, Lancashire Lasses and Lads, A Daughter of the Factory, A Curate of Christ’s, For a Man’s Sake and Slaves of Shuttle and Spindle. All of these are set in the Lancashire mill towns, mostly Bolton – often fictionalised as ‘Spindleton’.

The Little Weaver proved popular with his readers, who identified with the characters in the tale; as so with most of his novels, it was about people like them. It has this powerful image of a mill coming to life on Monday morning:

Then, slowly, at six o’clock precisely, there stole a huzzing murmur on the silence; the shafts began to revolve, the straps that chained the looms creaked, stretched and yawned, as if reluctant to begin their duty, and commenced to climb languidly up to the ceiling, quickening their speed with every turn; the huzzing murmur grew and grew; the weavers touched the levers of their looms one by one, and set them on. The murmur had now become a rattling roar; the sound swelled; the straps whizzed faster; the threads of the warp flowed into the loom like a slow broad stream, and the shuttle darted across them like a swallow, binding them together and making them into cloth; there was creaking and groaning of wheels; the hissing and spluttering of leather straps, as if the animal moaned painfully in its hide; the air grew warmer; the noise became deafening; you could not hear your own voice; and the weaving shed was in full swing.”

Clarke hated what industrialism had done to the Lancashire countryside. In Driving – a tale of weavers and their work, he contrasts what Lancashire once was with how it is day, but even here there is a sense of a tremendous human achievement which has somehow been abused:

What a marvellous transformation James Watt’s steam engine, aided by the spinning and weaving inventions of Kay, Hargreaves and Crompton had wrought in a hundred years; an agricultural and pasturing shire had been turned into a county of manufacture; Lancashire’s wild moorland vales had become the smoky workshop of the world; and once sweet hillsides were now cinder-heaps and once- bright brooks were now sinking sewers.”

Lancashire Lasses and Lads, set in Bolton and Farnworth, was first published 1896 and in book form 10 years later. The hero, Dick Dickinson, is the son of a factory master who forces his son to leave the family home and ‘descend’ into the working class, where he meets and falls in love with a young weaver, Hannah.  Again, Clarke is fascinated by the awesome power and beauty of the factory contrasted with the reality of life inside the mills. Dick Dickinson, when he arrives in Bolton early in the morning, sees the mills coming to life:

Lights began to show in the great factories of four or five stories, with their many windows. Soon they were all lit up like a vast illumination. ‘Very pretty to look at from the outside, and at a distance on a black frosty morning,’ said Dick, ‘but it’s a different matter toiling inside them’.”

Clarke was a friend of the Tillotson family which published The Bolton Evening News and Bolton Journal, both of which carried his writing, long after he had left Bolton to live in Blackpool. The  company set up the Tillotson Newspaper Fiction Bureau to syndicate novels and short stories for newspapers across the British Empire. Many of Clarke’s novels and short stories were published in such seemingly unlikely newspapers as The Forfar Herald, Western Evening Herald, The Devon Valley Tribune (Clackmannanshire) and The Kilrush Herald and the Kilkee Gazette of West Clare. Quite what they made of the Lancashire dialect I can’t imagine.

Clarke’s novels were of their time but remain readable and offer real insight into Lancashire life in the late 19th century. Some of them deserve re-printing, perhaps starting with ‘The Knobstick’.

It’s ‘Wakes Week’….or is it ‘Bolton Holidays’?

Across Lancashire, from late June, the cotton towns started to close down for the fortnightly holiday. It was actually a short-lived tradition, taking off after the Second World War (when paid holidays came in) and ending with the decline of the cotton industry in the 1980s. Some places called it ‘Wakes Week’ though my own memories in Bolton (and many friends) are of ‘Bolton Holidays’. Take your pick – maybe there were localised differences, with Great Lever people calling it ‘Bowtun Holidays’ and Daubhill people saying ‘Wakes Week’? Over the Pennines in Yorkshire, Huddersfield had separate holidays for engineers and textile workers, which was a bit tricky if dad worked in engineering and mum in the mill, as many people did.  Further research is needed. Anyroad, take a look at this, from last week’s Bolton News:

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19416154.wakes-week—folk-bolton-headed-off-coast/

Make Greater Manchester Greater (from Salvo 294)

As a proud Boltonian I have never been comfortable with the idea of being part of ‘Greater Manchster’ preferring the original, admittedly cumbersome title of ‘South East Lancashire and North-East Cheshire’ used by the buses. SELNEC. They could have added ‘with bits of The West Riding of the Yorkshire’ recognising Saddleworth’s inclusion in the area. Greater Manchester doesn’t really work. And I deeply disagree

Just call it ‘Lancashire’

with the contemporary obsession with ‘city regions’ in which the ‘city’ will always dominate the satellite towns. Years ago I remember my friend David Begg talking about ‘Greater Manchester’ in a transport context pointing out that its hinterland goes well beyond its current boundaries. He was right then (1990s?) and that perception is truer today than ever. Blackburn and North-East Lancashire are very much part of the wider hinterland that relates to Manchester itself. So is Preston and – more arguably – Warrington. Lancashire itself, in administrative terms, is a total shambles, with unitary authorities for Blackpool and ‘Blackburn with Darwen’ and talk of carving up what remains of local government into larger and even less accountable districts.

There is an alternative! Make Greater Manchester into a much bigger entity, more or less recreating ‘Lancashire’ but with boundaries which make political, economic and cultural sense now. I’d be inclined to leave Merseyside (or ‘Liverpool City Region’) as a separate entity with Chester. But it would all need a lot of debate and discussion rather than the forced imposition of an alien concept, back in 1974. The new ‘Greater Lancastria’ should have an elected assembly along similar lines to the existing devolved administrations, with re-constituted local authorities which should have more, rather than less, power.

Other books from th’same shed: Moorlands, Memories and Reflections

Still available.  2020 was the centenary of the publication of Allen Clarke’s Moorlands and Memories, sub-titled ‘rambles and rides in the fair places of Steam-Engine Land’. It’s a lovely book, very readable and entertaining, even if he sometimes got his historical facts slightly wrong. It was set in the area which is now described as ‘The West Pennine Moors’ It also included some fascinating accounts of life in Bolton itself in the years between 1870 and the First World War, with accounts of the great engineers’ strike of 1887, the growth of the co-operative movement and the many characters whom Clarke knew as a boy or young man.

My book is a centenary tribute to Clarke’s classic – Moorlands, Memories and Reflections. It isn’t a ‘then and now’ sort of thing though I do make some historical comparisons, and speculate what Clarke would have thought of certain aspects of his beloved Lancashire today. There are 28 chapters, covering locations and subjects which Clarke wrote about in the original book, with a few additions. It includes the Winter Hill rights-of-way battle of 1896 and Darwen’s ‘freeing of the moors’;  a few additional snippets about the Bolton ‘Whitmanites’, handloom-weaving, railway reminiscences, the remarkable story of ‘The Larks of Dean’ and Lancashire’s honourable tradition of supporting refugees (including the much-loved Pedro of Halliwell Road). The story of Lancashire children’s practical support for the locked-out quarryworkers of Snowdonia in 1900-3 is covered in some detail, including the remarkable ‘Teddy Ashton Picnic’ of 1901 in Barrow Bridge, which attracted 10,000 people. It will be profusely illustrated.

It is available price £21, with £4 post and packing. Go to http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form

for details of how to order. I can do free delivery locally (within 6 miles of Bolton).

The Works: a tale of love, lust, labour and locomotives

I’ve had a steady flow of orders for The Works, my novel set mostly in Horwich Loco Works in the 1970s and 1980s, but bringing the tale up to date and beyond – a fictional story of a workers’ occupation, Labour politics, a ‘people’s franchise’ and Chinese investment in UK rail.  I’ve had lots of good reactions to it, with some people reading it in one session. The Morning Star hated it. If you want a copy I can offer it for £10 plus £2.50 postage to those of you on this mailing list. Please make cheques payable to ‘Paul Salveson’ and post to my Bolton address above or send the money by bank transfer (a/c Dr PS Salveson 23448954 sort code 53-61-07 and email me with your address). If you are local I can do free delivery by e-bike (so just a tenner). There is a kindle version available price £4.99 and you can also buy it off Amazon. See www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

If you’ve already read and hopefully enjoyed The Works it would be great if you could do a short review of it on my facebook page (Lancashire Loominary). Feedback on how it could have been better is also welcome, especially as I’m starting work on the next novel (see below).

The Works is available in the following outlets – please support them! If you know of any local shop which might like to take my books please let me know. I do a third discount, sale or return.

  • Justicia Fair Trade Shop, Knowsley Street, Bolton
  • The Wright Reads, Winter Hey Lane, Horwich (currently closed)
  • Bunbury’s Real Ale Shop, 397 Chorley Old Road
  • Pendle Heritage Centre, Barrowfoed
  • Smethurst’s Newsagents, Markland Hill
  • Pike Snack Shack, Rivington
  • Horwich Heritage Centre
  • A Small Good Thing, Church Road Bolton
  • Carnforth Bookshop
  • The Lakeland Gallery, Bo’ness
  • Penrallt Bookshop, Machynlleth

Points and Crossings in Chartist……

I write a regular column called ‘Points and Crossings’ for Chartist magazine, one of the brightest and most intelligent magazines of the left. A recent column was a critique of Labour’s nationalisation plans for the railways: https://www.chartist.org.uk/labours-british-railways-mark-2-is-a-dead-duck/. The current one has my thoughts on the cycling revival: stillborn or a new lease of life for the bike? Let me know if you’d like a sample copy. https://www.chartist.org.uk/carry-on-cycling/

Still in print: previous publications

The Settle-Carlisle Railway (2019) published by Crowood and available in reputable, and possibly some disreputable, bookshops price £24. I have a few which I can offer with £4 postage.  It’s a general history of the railway, bringing it up to date. It includes a chapter on the author’s time as a goods guard on the line, when he was based at Blackburn in the 1970s. The book includes a guide to the line, from Leeds to Carlisle. Some previously-unused sources helped to give the book a stronger ‘social’ dimension, including the columns of the LMS staff magazine in the 1920s. ISBN 978-1-78500-637-1

With Walt Whitman in Bolton – Lancashire’s Links to Walt Whitman. This charts the remarkable story of Bolton’s long-lasting links to America’s great poet. Normal price £10.00, selling for £5.00. Bolton’s links with the great American poet Walt Whitman make up one of the most fascinating footnotes in literary history. From the 1880s a small group of Boltonians began a correspondence with Whitman and two (John Johnston and J W Wallace) visited the poet in America. Each year on Whitman’s birthday (May 31) the Bolton group threw a party to celebrate his memory, with poems, lectures and passing round a loving cup of spiced claret. Each wore a sprig of lilac in Whitman’s memory.

The group was close to the founders of the ILP – Keir Hardie, Bruce and Katharine Bruce Glasier and Robert Blatchford. The links with Whitman lovers in the USA continue to this day. Later this summer (see above) I’ll be bringing out an expanded version which has more on the wider political context – Unlikely Pioneers: Walt Whitman, The Bolton Boys and Northern Socialism.

Northern Rail Heritage A short introduction to the social history of the North’s railways. Very few left but I’m planning a new, updated edition. Hopefully will be available from February 2021.

The North ushered in the railway age with the Stockton and Darlington in 1825 followed by the Liverpool and Manchester in 1830. But too often the story of the people who worked on the railways has been ignored. This booklet outlines the social history of railways in the North. It includes the growth of railways in the 19th century, railways in the two world wars, the general strike and the impact of Beeching.

Will Yo’ Come O’ Sunday Mornin? The Winter Hill Mass Trespass of 1896. The story of Lancashire’s Winter Hill Trespass of 1896. 10,000 people marched over Winter Hill to reclaim a right of way. Price: £5.00 (not many left). The Kinder Scout Mass Trespass of 1932 was by no means the first attempt by working class people to reclaim the countryside. Probably the UK’s biggest-ever rights of way struggle took place on the moors above Bolton in 1896, with three successive weekends of huge demonstrations to reclaim a blocked path. Over 12,000 took part in the biggest march.

A new supply has been found and is available price £5 plus postage (free local delivery)

Ordering:

Please use this link:

http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form

Other titles still available:

Socialism with a Northern Accent (Lawrence and Wishart)

This was my take on a progressive Northern regionalism, with a foreword by the much-maligned but admirable guy, John Prescott. Time for a new edition – working on it

Railpolitik: bringing railways back to communities (Lawrence and Wishart)

This is an overview of railway politics from the early days to semi-monopolies and current arguments for nationalisation, or co-operative ownership?

 

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Bolton Holidays – or was it Wakes Week?

Here are some lovely memories of people’s holiday experiences from the 50s onwards. It will form the basis of my next piece in The Bolton News (Wednesday June 30th):

Bolton Holidays – or Bolton Wakes? People’s recollections

Roni Cunliffe: In the 70s we went to Margate on the coach every year for 6 years while there we went to the shell grotto and Margate caves ,we also used to go on the hovercraft in the times we went there we went on the swift the on the sure , we also went to Broadstairs to the beach on the bus from Margate

Carol Walsh: I remember Wakes Weeks, my grandma used to take me and my brother on the train to Blackpool, the same boarding house in York St. (Central ) every year. Great memories.

Jayne Littler: My dad was an engineer and had the Wakes weeks off. We went to a B and B in Scarborough twice, bus to train station and train to Scarborough . Can’t remember if we changed trains or direct . We also hired a little bathing hut above the open air swimming pool on south shore. My brother had to be rescued by a lifeguard when he fell in and couldn’t get back up. When I was little went to see family in Cornwall on the train I think it was fourteen hours and we had a compartment for us four plus grandparents. Often my dad would say I wish we had enough money on holiday to buy you an ice cream everyday

Joanne Campbell: We did go away during Bolton Holidays, but not sure where. However, i remember 1 year we didn’t go away and I went to get a paper from the terminus at Andrew Lane, Astley Bridge, and staying there, sorting the papers and selling them for a least on one of the weeks, for nothing. It gave me something to do as I was an early riser. The local shops, at the bottom of Sharples Ave would close at dinner every day.

Andrea Coward: When British Rail was British Rail – my dad worked there and got free family tickets , we went to St Ives every year , didn’t have to pay for trains , we got a sleeper carriage , a very long way to St Ives from Bolton but was possible on the holiday express. One steam train to Manchester then the electric fast train, (holiday express) dad always got the Bolton Holidays weeks off from work, I remember spending many happy holidays on the beach with mum and dad , holidays are more difficult to book with work these days , didn’t realise how lucky I was.

Lesley Rayton: remember them being called Wakes Weeks… We used to go en masse from Moor Lane on Ribble Coaches to Torquay, usually coaches split up into 2/3 that more or less drove down together and used different stop offs for Drinks/Toilets etc… Loved it I was a young teenager at the time…Also during these holidays the Newsagents would close and you’d buy your Papers from allocated places on the Streets/Roads

Christine Salt: I worked in the travel office at Ribble, Bolton, for many years. Bolton holidays, (last Saturday in June and first week of July ), were mad busy, dozens of coaches going to places such as Rhyl, Llandudno , Newquay , Bournemouth etc, and every day hundreds of customers taking day trips to Blackpool, various zoos, Betws-y-Coed in Wales, and many more. Some days we didn’t even manage a cup of tea. Even when Continental holidays really took off, we still lots at day and weekly excursions, as well as cruise bookings and many package holidays. Obviously none of us were able to go away for Bolton Holidays.

David Collier:  In the Bolton Holiday Weeks the Bolton Evening News could be bought in the more popular resorts. I can remember being sent to buy one in Rhyl!

Nigel Greensitt: As a kid we would go away, maybe to North Wales or Torquay. I was impressed that the shops on the caravan sites would know where we came from “just by the way you talk” when in all probability it was because they knew when the various towns had their ‘wakes weeks’ ( Bolton always the two weeks following the last Saturday in June ) .

Jon Heath: I still go on holiday first week of what was Bolton holidays, we used to all pile in our auntie and uncles car and go to Robin Hood camp then we started to go to Towyn caravan sites as there was more going on, down the main Rd there sandbank, led to the sea wall and the beach, later years still we started travelling by coach from Moor Lane, was very hectic and dad would be cursing, grandma made us sandwich spread butties to eat on the coach, like having a picnic on arrival the trolleyboys would be waiting to load your cases and take you to your campsite, dad would obviously have to tip them, the coaches only went to Rhyl then not Towyn, you could buy Bolton evening news there, it was very exciting from start to finish, some of my friends never went away, and we would bring friends next door bars of rock, I loved the memories made and because of this took my own children, grandchildren and now me and my husband still go, wakes week, first week, last Saturday in June.when we came home the fair was still on Moor Lane and we would go on the fair, great 2 weeks

Arthur Singleton: In the 1950’s we always went for a weeks holiday in Bolton’s Wakes Week. Always went to Fleetwood. Did this for a decade.  Lunch at the same Fish and Chip Shop near the Euston Hotel. Not surprisingly saw a few of my Uncles ( not my real uncles ) and Families there every year. Always stayed with Mrs Hawkins B&B at 16 Windsor Terrace just opposite the Pier. Always fascinated with a Fortune Teller on the sea front , the Marionette man near the Bowling Greens and remember glorious long days in the Open Air Swimming Pool. Too dangerous to go in the sea because of the River. Always by Steam train from Bolton and when we got there we always went to Knott End by Ferry. For years my Dad convinced me we had been to the Isle of Man. I don’t remember it ever raining. What made me laugh were all the Bolton workmen sat in deck chairs sleeping the Lunchtime boozing off – with suntanned faces and arms and white bodies that looked as though they had never seen the sun. Don’t mention the woollen Swimming trunks which could hold 20 lbs of spuds when they were wet.

Vincent Malcolm Wright: I remember them being called Wakes Weeks and everyone knew when all other local towns Wakes Weeks were too. We always went to Blackpool to a Boarding House in Derby Road, near the baths and I have lots of old photos. When I was around 7 or 8 we started going to Northern Island for two weeks to a place called Warrenpoint and I have quite a lot of photos from those years too. As I got to 10 or so we began going to North Wales, originally Rhyll then later to Abergele, oddly I don’t have any photos from that period. I do remember pestering my Dad to leave soon enough on last Saturday so I’d be home in time for Roller Skating at Bridgeman Street Rink.

Cheryl Green: I remember it being called Bolton Holidays in the 70s although my nan from Atherton used to call wakes week. I never understood what she meant. We were fortunate enough to go on holiday Easter week, June week and Sept week but only to Pontins and Butlins and mum and dad used to take us to Cheetham Hill for all our holiday gear a couple of weeks beforehand . We were each given a black bin liner at the door and we’d pick out our own stuff and wasn’t allowed to wear any of it until the holiday started so everything was brand new. Not sure if that was the norm in them days or if it was just mum’s thing.I remember those times fondly

Margie Hodgetts: Day trips to Blackpool on a charabanc (coach) communal singing all the way home and a flat cap passed around for a tip for the driver! Holidays in Fleetwood with the highlight of the evening being the first to spot the Isle of Man ferry coming onto the horizon! Simple pleasures!

Ada Evans: I remember Wakes Weeks when all the shops used to close and I mean allthe shops and Bolton used to be like a Ghost Town. Every body used to go on Holiday Happy Days.

Mosie Wild: Lots of people from Farnworth used to go down to Cornwall when I was younger full they went for Bolton holidays. But we used to go to Scarborough. And even one year my dad got a coach trip up to take other people from Falmouth over to Scarborough for Bolton holidays.

Jackie Richards: Bolton Wakes, oh what lovely memories. 1955 Kent Street, Farnworth. I was 7 and there was something up. A burning hot Friday even the tarmac on the road was melting and the factory workers were running up the street, laughing and shouting and singing, ‘We’re off, we’re off, we’re off in a motor car, 50 bobbies are after us and we don’t know where we are’. At 8.00 after a wash and change I was bundled into a coach waiting in Frederick Street along with half the street. We were going to Fleetwood to catch the Lady Of Man to the Isle of Man. Such excitement I had never known before. It was a rough overnight crossing but no one minded, all the fellas during in the bar whilst women and children are butties and cake in the lounge. We slept eventually and woke to a glorious morning and the first sight of a magical island with it’s own little castle in the middle of the sea. (Tower of Refuge) I thought it was heaven, from 2 up 2 down terraced houses and mills to this wonderful place was magic to me. There were so many people from Kent Street and surrounding areas on the boat and during the week we saw most of them every day. I cried when we had to go home, as I wanted to stay forever in this lovely place. I did return many times during wakes weeks but that first trip with my nan and grandad was the best.

Michael Matthews: I can’t remember my mother and father taking me and later on my siblings away before 1959, up to the age of eight my grandmother and my aunt would take me to Blackpool for a week by charabanc usually, I joined the church lads brigade which along with the lads brigade was very popular at the time, and with them I went to camps in Abergele North Wales and Whitby! We lived under canvas and had a mess tent and practised marching and we had several bugle and drum bands it was very healthy for us kids living in sub standard houses near factories and mills belching out smoke, the people who ran these organisations had their wives and children there to, so it was very family orientated, when I was thirteen I joined the air training corps and spent the holidays on RAF bases learning to be young airmen and we even had a chance to fly!

 

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Northern Weekly Salvo 294

The Northern Wokely Salvo

Incorporating  Slaithwaite Review of Books, Weekly Notices, Sectional Appendices, Tunnel Gazers’ Gazette and Northern Umbrella. Descendant of Teddy Ashton’s Northern Weekly and Th’Bowtun Loominary.

Published at 109 Harpers Lane Bolton BL1 6HU email: paul.salveson@myphone.coop

Publications website: www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

No. 294 June 21st 2021                        

Salveson’s half-nakedly political digest of railwayness, tripe and secessionist nonsense from Up North. Sometimes weekly, usually not; definitely Northern. Read by the highest and lowest officers of state, Whitmanites, weirdos, misfits, steam punks, yes women, no men, gay Swedenborgians, cat-spotters, discerning sybarites, bi-guys, non-aligned social democrats,  pie-eaters, tripe dressers, nail artists, self-managing VIMTO drinkers, truculent Northerners, grumpy Norwegians, absurd Marxists, sleepy Hungarians, members of the clergy and the toiling masses, generally. All views expressed are my own and usually nobody else’s. Official journal of the Station Cat Improvement Network, Pacer Dining Club, Station Buffet Acceleration Council and the Campaign for a North with a capital ‘N’.

“We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.” – Jo Cox, maiden speech in House of Commons, June 3rd 2015.

The 5th anniversary of Jo’s murder was on June 16th. Still in our hearts.

General gossips

Greetings from Bolton (Lancs). Thankfully, our premier position at the top of the Covid infection league has been usurped by our neighbours and Bolton seems to be the only place where infection rates are going down, at least in the North-West. Maybe some lessons there – throw substantial resources at the problem, vaccinate as many people as possible and behave sensibly.

Down south, the outcome of the Chesham and Amersham by-election gives hope that the apparently indestructible Johnson may not be as invincible as he seems. The Lib Dems scored a great victory and there’s no reason to think that it is that much different from other constituencies in the leafy south-east. Maybe HS2 was a factor (and good on them if it was) but it wasn’t the whole story. What it does point to is a very pronounced realignment of English politics, with Labour struggling to find a role outside the major cities and Wales. More on that below.

Elsewhere in this Salvo there’s news about the Williams-Shapps ‘Plan for Rail’ and the Rail Reform Group’s less than enthusiastic response. Much will depend on the people running the new entity – railway people are good at making even the most unpromising structures work, after a fashion. They’ve had enough practice these last 30 years.

Light shines in Buckinghamshire, but will it in Batley?

After all the pre-election publicity about Hartlepool, the Chesham and Amersham by-election was little noticed, but the result was equally significant, maybe more so. While Johnson may try to justify the Tories’ drubbing as being down to a few ‘local difficulties’ (HS2, planning law changes) the reality is more complex, with many longstanding Tory voters deserting their party in disgust at the lurch to a populist, anti-European agenda where corruption is obvious. Let’s see what happens in similar seats in the south-east, there is talk that there might be a vacancy in Maidenhead quite soon.

Meanwhile, the outcome of the Batley and Spen by-election will be of more immediate interest. A few days ago I would have put money on Labour hanging on, but now I’m not so sure. Starmer has become a lame-duck leader and switching a few of his back-office staff isn’t going to make much difference. Batley and Spen isn’t ‘solid’ Labour (like many of the other so-called ‘red wall’ constituencies) and had a Tory MP not that long ago. I hope it doesn’t go back to that.

The harsh reality is that the grand coalition that once made Labour such a powerful force no longer exists. The classic industrial working class, organised in strong, Labour-affiliated unions, has gone. In the large former industrial towns where it once ruled supreme, its influence has waned. Its support in Scotland has all but disappeared. Where it is doing OK is in the major cities of England as well as some of the south-eastern towns and cities with large university populations and Labour-inclined migrant ex-Londoners. And Wales. Taking these areas of support together, it isn’t enough to form the basis for a majority Labour government. In fact it is very hard to see how Labour, for the foreseeable future, could regain power on its own. Boundary changes may not help, but with current voter realignment who knows.

Going back to Chesham and Amersham, people voted intelligently; there was no need for a formal deal between Labour and the Lib Dems, people were shrewd enough to see that voting Lib Dem was the only way to get rid of the Tories (and many of these were of course traditional Tory voters who have fallen out with Johnson’s lot). While the Greens did considerably better than Labour there’s no doubt as to who was the winner in all this. It’s fine saying that proportional representation would solve the problem, and I’m a strong supporter of it – but there’s the inconvenient fact that you first need to get a Government elected that will legislate for it, under the existing unfair system. As things look today, that means a coalition government led by Labour with Lib Dem, SNP and Green support. Much as I’d like to see the Greens having more MPs to work alongside the excellent Caroline Lucas, I think they will struggle to increase their seats in the short term, their focus should be on local government where they can do well if they target places. I just wish Bolton’s hard-working Alan Johnson could get himself elected onto the Council.

Back to Batley then. I hope Labour’s gamble in selecting a candidate whose main claim to fame is being the sister of the late Jo Cox comes off; it could prove to be a tactical error. If Labour is defeated that will put a big question mark over Starmer’s future. Several leading figures are already dropping hints that they could step into his shoes, including Andy Burnham and possibly Angela Rayner. I think both could make a half-decent job of it, but nether have them have the talent of previous Labour leaders, including Wilson and Blair (cries of shock! horror! from some readers). They (Andy and Ange) both have ambition but not much substance beyond basic rather old-fashioned social democratic policies with a bit of ‘greenwash’ added in Angela’s case. A key battleground within Labour is going to be around building a new democratic Britain, with democratic devolution to the English regions and PR. Neither of them get those issues. The one person who does is, ironically, not a ‘Northern MP’ – I’m thinking of Clive Lewis, the sparky and thoughtful left-of-centre MP for Norwich who is closely linked to the ‘Compass’ think tank.

If Labour wants to re-unite a future United Kingdom (which may or may not include Scotland and Northern Ireland) it needs to devolve itself. Welsh Labour has shown that where the party can meld a progressive national identity with sensible centre-left politics, it can win. In the case of England, that means progressive regionalism, with the creation of a ‘Northern Labour’ that isn’t beholden to an increasingly out of touch party HQ in London. So the Salvo solution, in a nutshell is: get rid of Starmer and bring in Clive Lewis as leader. Make Andy Burnham the leader of a ‘Greater Greater Manchester (aka Lancashire and Cheshire) which has an assembly elected by PR. Angela Rayner to become head of ‘Northern Labour’.

But, of course, it isn’t just about leaders: Labour needs to rebuild as a popular grass-roots party which speaks a language that people recognise and identify with. Trying to struggle on with a plain vanilla politics that tries to speak to all of Britain (and will fail) isn’t the way to go.

Great British Railways, coming to you soon

The Department for Transport published its long-awaited ‘plan for rail’ in early June. It was co-authored by former British Airways boss Keith Williams and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, though the hand of Johnson’s transport advisor Andrew Gilligan is all over it.

After such a long time in gestation the Williams-Shapps Report is sadly disappointing.  There is no analysis of the deep-rooted problems in the industry which led to the report’s commissioning two years ago, following the May 2018 timetable meltdown. Nor is there much reference, let alone, analysis, of the other key issues that need to be addressed, such as decarbonisation (electrification) and infrastructure development (e.g. Northern Powerhouse, Midlands Engine) or of why Great Western electrification costs rose so dramatically out of control.

The imminent demise of the franchise system is over-stated in the document. The proposed new ‘National Rail Contracts’ are merely franchises with the revenue risk, to operators, stripped out.  The same

east-wst links in the North need investment: a Northern 195 tiptoes over Copy Pit on a Blackpool – York service

issues that currently exist, including ‘delay attribution’ – which is detailed as an example of how contractual (and costly) the railways have become – will continue across the wheel/rail divide (viz., the separation of infrastructure management from train operations), which has been perpetuated for no obvious reason and with no justification.

The re-branding to ‘Great British Railways’ (GBR) covering both the English passenger railway and the Great Britain-wide network will add complexity and confusion as well as reducing accountability for the railways run by devolved administrations, (particularly Scotland and Wales, but also Merseyside and London) each of which has their own strong identity. It seems to be a political ploy to support the Government’s ‘defend the union’ agenda. And I don’t mean RMT.

The claims to reform fares and ticketing are also over-stated. Some of the suggestions for fares reform have already been available with some operators – there are no new major proposals.

It would be silly to say it’s all bad. The support for community-rail partnerships is welcome, but the Government should put its money where its mouth is and give them further funding to develop their work. However, expecting them to bid on their own for ‘micro-franchises’ could be over-optimistic unless resources are made available to assist them. Who will be the CRP’s main partner? GBR, or the ‘contracted’ train operator? In London, this has caused some difficulties with TfL wanting to micromanage more things than they really ought. The new contracts should clealry set out what is expected of the CRP and whom should be their primary partner (I’d say the train operator).

Railway people have proved adept at making the best out of a bad job and one cause for hope in the Government’s plan is the likelihood that Network Rail leaders Peter Hendy and Andrew Haines will run the new ‘GBR’. Both are highly respected and committed transport professionals, but they will have their work cut out in making the new body a success. I hope they will be brave and sensible enough to give real power to the proposed regional divisions and encourage them to work with regional partners such as the combined authorities.

There are fears among many rail professionals, such as the Rail Reform Group, that the new GBR “could be a return to the old days of London-based centralisation with little understanding of regional, let alone local, markets…..Centralised control of timetables and fares lacks any link to local markets which are key to growing rail business, yet whilst reference is made to the five current regions (one of which is Scotland and run quite differently) there is no indication that the regions will be the key specifiers and drivers.”

It appears that the ‘single guiding mind’ translates into a highly centralised operation, much like the railway of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Anyone who thinks that this represents a change back to a publicly-owned and accountable railway are deluding themselves. In many ways it is the worst of all worlds, with the likelihood that the private operators who will operate the ‘national passenger contacts’ having little incentive to develop new products and services, and will look at ways to cut costs wherever they can. The response from some will be that the contracts won’t allow them to do that, but you end up with a railway that is specified down to the tiniest detail, making any change, for good or bad, incredibly difficult to do.

There is an alternative. In previous Salvoes I’ve argued for mutually-owned and vertically-integrated regional companies to run the railways that Government and the public can trust – creating a railway for the Common Good, that is there for the long term, not just a few years. The ‘plan’ is a wasted opportunity, but Labour doesn’t seem to be offering much of an alternative, other than a return to a different model of highly-centralised bureaucracy.

Running a national railway network well involves a delicate balance with some degree of national co-ordination other issues such as fares, core timetables and passenger standards, with regional and even local initiative. If you think that’s pie-in-the-sky, have a look at the railways of Switzerland.

Make Greater Manchester Greater

As a proud Boltonian I have never been comfortable with the idea of being part of ‘Greater Manchester’ preferring the original, admittedly cumbersome title of ‘South East Lancashire and North-East Cheshire’ used by the buses. SELNEC. They could have added ‘with bits of The West Riding of the Yorkshire’ recognising Saddleworth’s inclusion in the area.

Greater Manchester doesn’t really work; ironically, I think it’s not big enough. And I deeply disagree with the contemporary obsession with ‘city regions’ in which the ‘city’ will always dominate the satellite towns.Years ago I remember my friend David Begg talking about ‘Greater Manchester’ in a transport context pointing out that its hinterland goes well beyond its current boundaries. He was right then (1990s?) and that perception is truer today than ever. Blackburn and North-East Lancashire are very much part of the wider hinterland that relates to Manchester itself. So is Preston and – more arguably –

Looking over Bolton towards Manchester

Warrington. Lancashire itself, in administrative terms, is a total shambles, with unitary authorities for Blackpool and ‘Blackburn with Darwen’ and talk of carving up what remains of local government into larger and even less accountable districts.

There is an alternative! Make Greater Manchester into a much bigger entity, more or less recreating ‘Lancashire’ but with boundaries which make political, economic and cultural sense now. I’d be inclined to leave Merseyside (or ‘Liverpool City Region’) as a separate entity with Chester. But it would all need a lot of debate and discussion rather than the forced imposition of an alien concept, as we got back in 1974. The new ‘Greater Lancastria’ should have an elected assembly along similar lines to the existing devolved administrations, with re-constituted local authorities which should have more, rather than less, power. Simple, eh?

Bollington Bolsheviks

Did they exist? If not, it would be necessary to invent them, for alliterative correctness. Bollington is a small town just a few miles from Macclesfield. It was once a southern outlier of the Lancashire cotton industry, with a couple of large spinning mills. One, Clarence Mill, survives and prospers as a mixed-use hub with an excellent gallery

Clarence Mill at Bollington

(Northern Makes, specialising in Northern art), cafe and a number of other small businesses, with living space on the upper floors. It is superbly situated alongside the Macclesfield Canal. It no longer has a railway – the link from Macclesfield to Marple (Rose Hill) now forms part of the Middlebrook Way and makes for a good bike ride.

Hearty art in Hale

Another trip in place of our Scottish holiday was an afternoon and evening in Hale and Altrincham, easily reached by rail from here. The station is very much unchanged, even with the signalbox at the end of the platform. Needs a bit of TLC though – in comparison, Altrincham is looking much better. I love the artwork, sponsored by the community iial partnership. How integration should be – trains, trams and buses check by jowl with good cycling facilities. Someone should enter it for an award. The booking office staff are excellent, which

Altrincham Interchange: The Cheshire Cat takes her leave

really makes it special. Back to Hale then – it has a couple of very good art galleries. The Clarendon specialises in contemporary works and has some great stuff. Clark Art (which seems to sponsor the station and is very close to it) must be the leading gallery for specifically ‘Northern’ artists (and has some similarities with Northern Makes in Bollington – see above). It had some originals by Adolphe Vallette for sale, but also showcased several contemporary Northern artists. In a way, talk of ‘Northern’ artists and a ‘Northern School’ is a slight misnomer. They’re really ‘Lancastrian’.  But let’s not get too picky. A final point, you may be wondering how we spent our evening (or maybe you’re not). We had an excellent meal in a superb Sri Lankan restaurant, Sigirya, just down the high street from the station.

Publish and be bxxxxxd

In the last Salvo I optimistically suggested that a new edition of Socialism with a Nortehrn Accent would be out in July. Mmm. Don’t think so. It’s in a queue, with my new edition of the Allen Clarke biography first in line. Allen Clarke (‘Teddy Ashton’) Lancashire’s Romantic Radical will be back from the printers by the end of June and I’m going delay a full launch until September when something approximating ‘normality’ might be back, allowing a proper launch (Bolton and Blackpool). The first edition was published in 2009 and the new one substantially improves on the original, in my estimation. There’s some new information about his life and work and entirely new chapter on his railway writings (‘Teddy Ashton Takes the Train’).

The current plan is once the Allen Clarke is duly launched I’ll do a new book on the Lancashire –Whitman connection. This will incorporate most of With Walt Whitman in Bolton (published in 2019) with an entirely new section on Whitman’s wider influence on Northern socialism. It will be called Unlikely Pioneers – Walt Whitman, the Bolton Boys and Northern Labour 1885-2022. I’m not sure whether to do it as a print edition or just by kindle, which is much less trouble, but less fun. Comments welcome, I still have some copies of With Walt Whitman in Bolton left, which I’m selling for a fiver.

After that I may do a pre-Christmas ‘Bolton’ book, which will hopefully repeat the success of Moorlands, Memories and Reflections which came out in November last year and caught the ‘Christmas present’ market. After that, we’re into 2022 – a new edition of Socialism with a Northern Accent would be a good project, with time to reflect on post-Covid politics and whether Labour is able to turn the tide in its former ‘red wall’ strongholds. My usual optimism struggles with that.

So no shortage of things to do and I’ve hardly started on that ‘Farnworth’ novel which I’d really like to do next year, as well as a railway title (Lines of Attraction: Railways of the North-West). Or maybe, cheekily,Great Northern Railways’.

I’ll be doing a pre-publication offer on the Allen Clarke book – it will sell at £18.99 in the shops and on Amazon (plus postage) but I’ll do it for £15 with free local delivery c/o Bolton Bicycling Bookshop, or £3 postage in the UK. I will start sending it out early in July, see www.lancashireloominary.co.uk for details of how to buy it.

Roaming around Radcliffe and Little Lever

Radcliffe is a medium-sized town north of Manchester, within the metropolitan district of Bury. Like many similar towns it once had its own local authority and the town hall survives, as a reminder of how local government was once just that. Recently, a ‘hyper-local’ party, Radcliffe Independents, have made sweeping gains in local elections. They now have four councillors elected onto Bury Council. The issues include a perceived lack of control over local issues, as well as proposal for huge housing development east of the town towards Bury, close to Elton Reservoir. They state: “We are not politicians we are everyday people who care about Radcliffe. At Radcliffe First we are not trying to build careers in politics, our only reason for wanting to become councillors is to make a difference for Radcliffe. Being a councillor is not a stepping stone to something greater it is our final destination. We want to give Radcliffe a voice in Bury Council, something it has been lacking for a long time. We are involved in the community not to boost our political careers but simply because we care about Radcliffe and want to make a difference. We need your vote to allow us to do that.”

Farnworh Town Hall: once the base of a thriving local authority

The rise of ‘hyper local’ parties in places like Radcliffe, Farnworth and Failsworth is one of the more interesting political developments in the North, predictably un-noticed by the media.

But what of Radcliffe today? It is on the Bury – Manchester Metrolink route though the line from Bury to Bolton via Black Lane closed. There are aspirations to extend Metrolink into Bolton with the option of using at least some of the old trackbed. Don’t hold your breath, stupid planning decisions resulted in much of the former trackbed being built on.

The town itself has, for a long time, had a run-down look to it. That is starting to change. It is nicely situated on the River Irwell, with ‘Radcliffe Bridge’ being a prominent landmark. The parish church, just

near the site of Ladyshore Colliery

up the hill, is a very fine building. If you carry on along the road towards Bolton you get to the point where the Bolton – Bury Canal once crossed. It’s a pleasant walk in either direction, east towards Bury or west, as we did, towards Bolton. There are some attractive ‘Radcliffe in Bloom’ displays by the road so you get off to a good start.

The towpath is well maintained and takes you past some examples of Radcliffe’s old industry, mainly cotton spinning and paper. You reach the site of Ladyshore Colliery (on the right) at Little Lever and a little way further on the spot where the canal burst its banks, in 1942. This closed the canal to all traffic, and the breach has never been repaired. It would be a big job. A housing developer, Watson’s, has said it would help fund the restoration if it gets planning permission for the 270 houses it wants to build. It would be good to see the canal restored though part of me likes it just as it is. Beyond the diversion (you

The abandoned flight of locks at Nob End

actually go into the bottom of the former canal for a short way) you reach Nob End. Here, the canal split with one section continuing to Darcy Lever and Bolton and the other descending to Prestolee, down an impressive flight of locks. The local canal society would love to see the locks re-instated; a big job but why not?

Radcliffe Market

Radcliffe has the usual supermarket brands like ‘Lidl’ which is OK if you like that sort of thing. There are a number of smalls shops dotted around the town centre. But what is really special is the re-opened Radcliffe Market, next door to Lidl in the town centre, at Radcliffe Bridge. It was probably not the best time to re-open a local market, in the middle of the Pandemic last year. However, this brave effort deserves support. It is well designed with a god mix of shops and places to eat. It also hosts events including music and theatre. Its website (www.radcliffe.market) says  “We are a community owned and run market hall.  Our aim is to bring you fresh and local food, ethical products, local services that you cannot find in any other place in and around Radcliffe and North Manchester.  We want to be that place you spend time to do a bit of shopping, relaxing and unwinding with your friends over a drink and a bite to eat and watch the world go by from the riverside.  We want to help bring our community together by providing thriving community venue for great events that allows you to enjoy this wonderful market hall.” The market is run as a co-operative – it’s a community benefit society. I’ll go back to Radcliffe, for the market and another walk along th’cut.

Looking back on our history: Bolton’s Other Railway

Readers of The Bolton News will know about my fortnightly ‘Looking Back’ feature, which has grown to a double-page spread on aspects of Bolton’s history. A recent one featured ‘Bolton’s other railway’ – the London and North Western, which ran into (and occasionally through) Bolton’s Great Moor Street station. The Bolton and Leigh Railway opened in 1828 and was Lancashire’s first public railway, though it didn’t start passenger services until 1831, connecting with the Liverpool and Manchester at Kenyon Junction. I think I can say that I was on one of the last passenger trains (apart from enthusiast railtours) to leave the station, on a Bolton Holidays’ special to North Wales in June 1957. I can just about remember going up the stairs and being thrilled at the sight of a long train headed by a ‘Black 5’. The feature is on this link – possibly the most interesting bit is the tale of Bolton School Classics Master ‘Butch’ Ingham who did a bit of loco driving during his commute to and from Bolton.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19321460.boltons-railway-served-great-moor-street-station/

Moses of the Mail and random acts of kindness

We recently enjoyed a trip over to Leeds on the Calder Valley Line, in my view the most scenic of the trans-Pennine railways and one I used to ‘sign’ when I was a guard at Blackburn (or at least the bit over Copy Pit and then through to Healey Mills). It was the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway’s main line and was once graced by Aspinall’s ‘Highflyer’ locomotives, which feature in Andrew Martin’s novel, The Blackpool Highflyer, mostly set in Sowerby Bridge loco shed (56E). I remember getting to Sowerby Bridge when I was about 8, by train from Bolton via Bury and Rochdale. After getting round the shed (no Highflyers by then, obv.) I decided to try and get to Low Moor shed. I was informed that there was a bus that would take me there so I jumped on, only to find I didn’t have enough money for the fare. A kindly lady sitting opposite gave me the 2d (or whatever it was) to make up the difference and I got to Low Moor. I can’t remember what was on either shed, though I’ve never forgotten that act of kindness from the lady on the bus. And if anyone thinks that these things are dead and gone, my friend John in Portrush was recently helped out by a fellow shopper when he realised that he had forgotten his wallet and couldn’t pay his (fairly modest) bill at the checkout.

But anyway, the Calder Valley Line always reminds me of that song, recited by Ewan MacColl, called ‘Moses of the Mail’. He collected the song from a visit to Newton Heath shed in 1951, it appeared on his LP Shuttle and Cage. Moses – actually Henry Poyser – was an L&Y driver at Newton Heath and the song is about his misadventures working the night ‘mail’ from Manchester to York.  It’s an amusing ditty, though MacColl misheard some of the lines, when he sings:

It was a dark and stormy night

The snow was falling fast,

I stood at Thorpbridge Junction

When the reckless Moses passed

His hair was wildly waving

As through the air he sped,

He’d never had such doings since

He started at the shed…

So error number 1 – did you spot it? Thorpe’s Bridge Junction, not ‘Thorpbridge’. OK, small point. He goes on to trill:

In Moston’s dreary cutting

The struggle was extreme

Both front fenders failed to work

And the engine wouldn’t steam…

He obviously means ‘injectors’ not ‘front fenders’ – the dangers of oral transmission! Some lyrics show it as ‘front sanders’ but that’s not right either. But anyway, it’s a great song.

Second-Hand Department

The Lancashire Loominary Secondhand Bookshop has stirred some interest. There’s still some quite good stuff there – you can view it at http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/second-hand-books . I’ve added a few more things to it and I’m happy to consider swops for interesting books on Lancashire, politics, railways etc.

My photo gallery – an emphasis on steam (but not completely)

I’ve been making some changes to my website/s…I’m keeping www.lancashireloominary.co.uk  for all publications, including The Salvo. However, www.paulsalveson.org.uk has been re-born as Paul Salveson Photography: places, trains and factories or summat like that.

Astley Green Colliery – ‘Harry’ crosses the cut

There are several pages dealing with different aspects of my photography: BR Steam, Continental Steam, The Modern Railway, Industrial Steam, Northern Rural Landscapes, Mills and Mines, and Strikes, Riots and Demonstrations. This is my current favourite: Industrial Railways UK 1966 – 1980 – Paul Salveson Photography

Good places to buy my books and other things

As lockdown eases, more shops are opening  which sell my books. These include Carnforth Bookshop, Wrights’ Reads in Horwich, Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford and Kelsall’s in Littleborough. Please support your local bookshops, it’s vital they survive. A great feature of any walk up Rivington Pike is the Pike Snack Shack on George’s Lane – a long way up, the last place before you get on the track to the summit. They do coffee, pies, sandwiches and cakes for takeaway and you can sit amidst the heather and savour the view across the West Lancashire Plain. You can also buy copies of Moorlands, Memories and Reflections.  Another popular addition to my list of retail

A Small Good Thing – Lisa with a copy of my latest book

outlets is Bunbury’s real ale shop at 397 Chorley Old Road, Bolton. Another slightly unconventional outlet is A Small Good Thing, on Church Road. This is a great little shop mainly selling organic fruit and veg and a range of ‘small good things’. Fletcher’s Newsagents on Markland Hill Bolton are stockists. Justicia Fair Trade Shop on Knowsley Street, Bolton, is handy for the town centre and has a full set of my books available (and some great gifts from around the world, ethically sourced).

Winter Hill 125 – this September, have a walk o’er Winter Hill

Plans to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the 1896 Winter Hill ‘mass trespass’ continue to evolve with strong interest from a wide range of groups and individuals. The celebration will take place on Sunday September 5th 2021 – get it in your diary now! We now have a superb banner made by Andy Smith –  it was unveiled on a wet and windy day at the start of Coalpit Road (the trespass route) a few weeks ago. We were joined by people from Country Walking magazine – a feature on the ‘mass trespass’ will appear in their September issue, out in August.

The 1982 commemoration heads up Halliwell Road

My book on the mass trespass is available price £5 (plus postage if not local) – see below. It is hoped to have some major events this year, circumstances permitting. More details to follow. The best way of keeping updated is to join the Winter Hill 125 facebook page.

The Alternative Economy

Bolton Diggers are running a series of talks on ‘The Alternative Economy’ in the town’s Victoria Hall. The first one kicks off on June 30th, at 6.00 These free talks and participative workshops will take place every Wednesday evening at 6pm in the old coffee bar at Victoria Halls between June 30th and September 1st. This will be followed by a ‘Made in Bolton’ local products fair (date to be arranged.) The first talks are as follows:-

June 30 Domestic Production : Vicky Urmston (Olive & Co.) on home-made soaps and Helen McGlynn on home made balms.

July 7 Local Brews: TBA a local micro brewery

July 14 Food Growing: Chris and Helen from the Kindling Trust have been promoting food growing initiatives in Greater Manchester for decades. From training up horticulturalists to distribution systems for existing growers, they have recently been raising funds for a new organic farm.

July 21 Including the Excluded: Tony Stephenson of Bolton Emmaus links up on social enterprise with  formerly homeless people. At their Fletcher Street base he and his team have spearheaded the development of a variety of imaginative social enterprises.

July 28 Alternative Retail Distribution Systems: Established local permaculturalist Steve Jones looks at the pros and cons of locally accessible systems of retail distribution from car boots to online sites.

Small Salvoes

  • This weekend (June 19th) sees the launch of Bolton’s Macfest 2021 – a Muslim arts and culture festival with a wide range of speakers, performers and more. The launch is on Saturday at 11.00. Details here: macfest.org.uk
  • Bolton Food and Drink Festival will happen this year, over the August Bank Holiday. Bolton Station will hold its ‘Mela’ on the same weekend with a wide range of food and music.
  • Poetry from the Platform is selling well and you can buy it via pay pal on the CRP website. Details here: https://www.boltoncommunityrail.org.uk/2021/02/26/poetry-platform-for-boltons-creative-community/#more-307
  • My latest piece for The Bolton News ‘Looking Back’ supplement was on the novels of Allen Clarke. You can view it here: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19384298.boltons-literary-great-shaped-home-town/

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Special Traffic Notices: Coming Events

See above for talks on ‘The Alternative Economy’ starting June 30th. I’ll do an extended STN in the next issue now things are opening up a bit

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The Salvo Publications List  – see www.lancashireloominary.co.uk

The following are all available from The Salvo Publishing HQ, here at 109 Harpers Lane, Bolton BL1 6HU. Cheques should be made out to ‘Paul Salveson’ though you can send cash if you like but don’t expect any change. Bottles of whisky, old bound volumes of Railway Magazine, number-plates etc. by negotiation. If you are local you are welcome to call round and pick books up on the doorstep, or the Bolton Bicycling Bookshop can deliver to yours.

Moorlands, Memories and Reflections (2020)  A hundred years ago Lancashire writer Allen Clarke published a forgotten masterpiece – Moorlands and Memories, sub-titled ‘rambles and rides in the fair places of Steam-Engine Land’. Clarke’s biographer, Professor Paul Salveson, has published a new book celebrating Clarke’s original and bringing the story of Lancashire’s moorland heritage up to date. Maxine Peake, in her foreword to Paul’s book, says “Hill walking, cycling, literature, philosophy, protest and The North…. these are a few of my favourite things.” She adds “Paul Salveson’s new book on Allen Clarke is irresistible.” Price £20 – see the website for details of how to buy: http://lancashireloominary.co.uk/index.html/order-form

The Works (2020). My first novel , set in Horwich and Bolton in the 1970s and 1980s but bringing the story up to the present and beyond. Much of the action takes place in Horwich Loco Works and the campaign to save it from closure. In real life, it closed down in 1983. In the novel, after a workers’ occupation it is run as a co-operative, building both steam for heritage railways and modern eco-friendly trains for the world market. Price £6 (special offer) . Also on Kindle £4.99.

Will Yo’ Come O’ Sunday Mornin’? The Winter Hill trespass of 1896 (1996). Quite a few copies have re-surfaced and are available price £5 – with all proceeds going to Bolton Socialist Club, which played the main part in organising the original demonstrations in 1896. This was Britain’s biggest-ever rights of way battle with a series of demonstrations which peaked at 12,000 one Sunday afternoon in September 1896.

 Lancashire’s Romantic Radical – the life and writings of Allen Clarke/Teddy Ashton‘ (2009). The story of Lancashire’s errant genius – cyclist, philosopher, unsuccessful politician, amazingly popular dialect writer.  This book outlines the life and writings of one of Lancashire’s most prolific – and interesting – writers. Allen Clarke (1863-1935) was the son of mill workers and began work in the mill himself at the age of 11. Currently out of print but new and enlarged edition out in July. Pre-publication offer of £15 plus free local delivery or £3 postage

With Walt Whitman in Bolton – Lancashire’s Links to Walt Whitman This charts the remarkable story of Bolton’s long-lasting links to America’s great poet. Bolton’s links with the great American poet Walt Whitman make up one of the most fascinating footnotes in literary history. From the 1880s a small group of Boltonians began a correspondence with Whitman and two (John Johnston and J W Wallace) visited the poet in America. Special offer April £5 plus postage if you’re not local. New and extended edition under preparation – should be out late July

The Settle-Carlisle Railway (2019) published by Crowood and available in most bookshops price £24. It’s a general history of the railway, bringing it up to date. It includes a chapter on the author’s time as a goods guard on the line, when he was based at Blackburn in the 1970s. The book includes a guide to the line, from Leeds to Carlisle. Some previously-unused sources helped to give the book a stronger ‘social’ dimension, including the columns of the LMS staff magazine in the 1920s. ISBN 978-1-78500-637-1

You can get a better idea from going to my website: http://www.lancashireloominary.co.uk