| Blackburn to Wilpshire |
| |
via Brookhouse, Bastwell, Skew Bridge, Cemetery,
Roe Lee, Brownhill |
| |
|
| Blackburn to Billinge |
| |
via Suddell Cross, Strawberry Bank, Preston New Road |
| |
|
| Blackburn to Cherry Tree |
| |
via King Street, Bank Top, Redlam, Preston Old Road, Witton
Stocks |
| |
|
| Blackburn to Darwen |
| |
via Bolton Road, Novas, Ewood, Craven's Brow, Earcroft,
Blackburn Road, Duckworth Street, Circus, Whitehall |
| |
|
| Blackburn to Queen's Park |
| |
via Lower Audley, Audley |
| |
|
| Blackburn to Accrington |
| |
via Eanam, Bottomgate, Furthergate, Accrington Road, Intack,
Redcap, West End, Church, Blackburn Road |
Names of destinations on indicator blinds (in order
of appearance)
| |
| WELLINGTON INN |
ACCRINGTON SECTION |
| INTACK |
WILPSHIRE SECTION |
| CHURCH |
PRESTON ROAD SECTION |
| ACCRINGTON |
CHERRY TREE SECTION |
| BLACKBURN |
DARWEN SECTION |
| DARWEN |
AUDLEY SECTION |
| BRANCH ROAD |
Via RAILWAY STATION |
| LOWER DARWEN* |
|
| BOROUGH BOUNDARY DARWEN* |
|
| PRESTON ROAD |
|
| WILPSHIRE |
| ROE LEE* |
| CEMETERY* |
| BLACKBURN |
| CHERRY TREE |
| GRIFFIN INN* |
| WITTON STOCKS* |
| QUEEN'S PARK AUDLEY |
| FOOTBALL GROUND |
| ENGAGED CAR |
| RLY STATION |
| |
| *=Short Working |
|
After the Accrington system closed and the service was cut back
to Church, ‘CHURCH SECTION’ was added to the
side indicator blind.
The single-deck cars also had the unusual destination of ‘STATION
ONLY’ and were the only class of cars to carry this.
It was used at quiet times when these cars were used on the Cherry
Tree and Preston Road routes, but instead of the through trip
went only to the destination and back to town and out again, the
‘BLACKBURN’ destination could not be used, as
all inward cars carried this and therefore, could easily have
been mistaken for a through service car.
In latter days, once the indicators had been set in the morning,
they remained unchanged all day, the one way system enabling
‘BLACKBURN’ to be shown at one end and the outward
destination at the other. The cars from Darwen, Cherry Tree and
Audley routes reversed into the Bridge Street line before entering
the Boulevard, thus making the outward name at the correct end.
The short working on the Wilpshire route to Roe Lee was somewhat
of an oddity, in-so-much-as there was no cross-over situated at
Roe Lee and, although the service was only used once a day during
weekdays, for mill workers specials at 12:07p.m., the procedure
for ‘reversing’ will have been somewhat alarming for
motorists. The trams crossed over onto the ‘wrong road’
at the Cemetery crossing on the up journey and proceeded to Roe
Lee, a distance of approximately ¼ mile, and although a
more sensible arrangement would have been for the trams to travel
on the correct road, passed Roe Lee and up to Brownhill cross-over
for the return journey, this practice continued for most of the
tramway’s life.
Length of Routes (Road Miles)
Church .....................3 miles 1,660yards*
Wilpshire .................2 miles 769 yards
Preston Road............1 mile 960 yards
Darwen Boundary.....2 miles 310 yards
Audley Section.........1 mile 840 yards
* = including sections within Church and Oswaldtwistle Urban
District Councils
In addition:
Running Powers into:
Darwen.....................2 miles 1,478 yards
Accrington................1 mile
CHURCH/ACCRINGTON
(As at 1940 and onwards)
This route started at an almost unique buffer stop outside Salford
Brewery. Originally the terminus was on the Boulevard opposite
the Adelphi Hotel, this was later altered to Salford Bridge and
due to congestion, altered to a new loop 
at
he bottom of Eanam, before being altered again to the buffer stop.
From here there was a steep climb up Eanam, passing Soho Foundary,
the line went along Higher Eanam, Bottomgate, Furthergate and
through the Burnley Road junction and onto Accrington road, then
passing the Fountain Inn. About 1¾ miles out of town a
small road to the left led to Intack depot. After passing through
the junction with Whitebirk Road, the line climbed up through
Redcap and into open country-side, where drivers could really
‘notch-up’ and high speeds were often attained. The
line proceeded over the brow and then a long descent into Oswaldtwistle
West End, followed by a long curve at Thwaites Road junction and
then, after a matter of 200 yards, went under the railway bridge
at Blythe’s Chemical Works. This was the bridge that had
caused the problems with the top covered cars. Another 200 yards
and the trams terminated outside the Commercial Hotel at Church.
Prior to 1931, the trams continued from here to Accrington. The
route returned to Blackburn the same way
WILPSHIRE
This route terminated in a ‘Y’ junction in Water Street,
allowing the cars to reverse. A sharp left around the Bay Horse
Hotel led into Penny Street and a small climb up to the Regent
Street junction. After a harder climb up Larkhill the line ran
passed, from 1934, East Lancashire Coach builders and also the
Convent
before passing through Bastwell and climbing up towards the Seven
Trees Inn, here was a tram pinch, so called as the lines came
very close to the kerb. After descending from the Seven Trees,
a ‘Z’ bend was taken under Skew Bridge, then on to a
long straight section, working it’s way passed the Cemetery,
the old steam tram terminus, through Roe Lee and on to Brownhill
roundabout, through which the trams passed. Half a mile further
along the trams reached the terminus at a gutter stub, just beyond
the Bull’s Head pub. The original terminus had been in the
middle of the road, but this was altered in 1928 due to traffic
problems. The trams returned to town via the same route until
the Regent Street junction, when they crossed over the outward
track into Regent Street itself, when, after 120 yards, a left
turn was made into Ainsworth Street at the end of which was Water
Street and it’s ‘Y’ terminus.
PRESTON ROAD
Terminating on the Boulevard, the trams ran along Railway Road
and at Salford Bridge turned left into Church Street then a sharp
right into Victoria Street, at the junction with the Darwen/Audley
route lines. The points and frogs at this junction were operated
by an electronic sensor in a short distance of the overhead wire
just prior to the junction. The points and frogs were always set
for the Darwen lines, but by the driver keeping power on the sensor
would trigger 
the
points and frogs for Victoria Street. After this junction the
lines ran along the back of the Market Square and Market Halls,
after which a left turn led into Town Hall Street. From there
the trams turned right onto King William Street which passed the
front of the Town Hall before veering left up to Sydell Cross.
at this junction a line to the left led down Simmons Street to
where the original horse depot was, and still is. Through Sudell
Cross the line continued up Preston New Road, this was a steady
climb most of the way up only leveling out just before the terminus
at Billinge End, where the Preston New Road met Billinge Road
and Revidge Road. Originally the terminus was in the centre of
the road, but this was altered to a gutter stub in 1926. The trams
returned to Sudell Cross where they turned left into Richmond
Terrace which led to Ainsworth Street, along to Salford and back
up Railway Road and onto the Boulevard.
CHERRY TREE
From the Boulevard, this route followed the previous up Church
Street but continued passed the Victoria Street junction and turn
left into Darwen Street. Half way down Darwen Street the trams
swung right into St Peter Street and then over Mincing Lane, crossing
the inward track line. Three quarters a way along a right turn
led into Freckleton Street, then a left into King Street, meeting
up with the inward line again after another 50 yards or so. The
lines continued
along Whalley Banks, Bank Top and Redlam to the Griffin Inn, the
original horse tram terminus. The line then went over a brow and
onto Witton Stocks, the first electric terminus. Through the junction
with Spring Lane and Buncer Lane and onto Preston Old Road passing
Witton Park and, after a climb, a left bend and the line terminated
50 yards from the entrance from the Cherry Tree railway station
at Green Lane. Inward trams followed the same route back to town
until just before Freckleton Street, where they turned right into
Byrom Street and then left into St Peter Street, joining the outward
track before branching off into Mincing Lane, left onto Mill Lane,
over Darwen Street and along Jubilee Street onto the Boulevard.
This route contained, along with the Darwen route, an usual and
almost unique feature of a cross-over on interlaced track, which
was situated along Whalley Banks. Only two other towns in the
Country included this track formation, Bury’s Walmersley
route and in the centre of Gateshead.
DARWEN
Again this route terminated on the Boulevard and left via Railway
road and Church Street, but went all the way down Darwen Street
to the main line railway bridge, where a line forked to the left
up Park Road which led to the Audley route. The Darwen trams took
the right hand fork onto Great Bolton Street, 
along
Bolton Road, where, at the Savoy Cinema, was where the other cross-over
on interlaced tracks was to be found. Some mile or so out of town,
the Infirmary was passed, followed quickly followed by passing
under Hollin Street Bridge and down the steep gradient and over
the River Blakewater. The line now bore left shortly passing Blackburn
Rovers football ground at Ewood, where, from 1908, a junction
to the left led into Kidder Street. Just passed this junction
was a third line section, or long loop, for ‘Football specials’
car storage. Another 300 yards or so and the line forked right
at the junction with Branch Road and took the steep climb up Craven’s
Brow, at the top of which the Borough Boundary was reached. Up
till 1946 the cars ran on from here into Darwen. Cars returned
to Blackburn the same way, except turning right in Darwen Street
into Jubilee Street and onto the Boulevard.
AUDLEY
This route followed the same lines as the Darwen route until Darwen
Street Bridge, where the left-hand fork was taken onto Park Road
and then a sharp left into Lower Audley, after a long climb the
road levelled out onto Audley Range, shortly after the trams then
turned right into Queen’s Park Road and followed the road
to the park entrance. The route returned the same way, and, again
turned right on Darwen Street onto Jubilee Street before entering
the Boulevard. Most of this route was single track with passing
loops.
As stated previously, Blackburn made good use of interlaced track
and single track, only the route along Preston New Road to Billinge
was double track all the way once out of the town centre one-way
system.
To give an indication of how hard the trams worked each day,
one must not only look at the amount of miles covered, nor the
hours in service, but also the severity of the gradients that
made up each route. Only four short sections of track were dead
level throughout the whole of the system. Most routes were steady
inclines and descents, though each route did have it’s own
steep sections:
Church section:
from George Street to Higher Barn Street........1 in 20
from Copy Nook to Bottomgate......................1 in 19
Ascent passed Old Mother Redcap................1 in 28
Wilpshire section:
from Regent Street to Blakewater Street.........1 in 21
from Bastwell to Seven Trees.........................1 in 23
from Wilpshire terminus to Bull’s Head Hotel...1 in 23
The Preston Road section was a steady climb all the
way averaging at 1 in 28, the steepest part being between Saunders
Road and Granville Street, which was 1 in 17.
The Cherry Tree section boasted the steepest section,
where between Feniscliffe Bridge and Cecilia Road, there was
a 1 in 15.
On the Darwen section Craven’s Brow began as a
1 in 23, then became a 1 in 19.
| Wilpshire: |
4 cars - 20 minutes each way - 10 minute service |
| Preston rd: |
3 cars -15 minutes each way -10 minute service |
| Darwen: |
*3 cars - 40 minutes each way -10 minute service |
| Cherry Tree: |
4 cars - 20 minutes each way -10 minute service |
| Church: |
4 cars - 20 minutes each way - 10 minute service |
| Audley: |
2 cars - 15 minutes each way - 15 minute service |
| Darwen Borough Boundary: |
4 cars - 20 minutes each way -10 minute service |
| Intack: |
2 cars - 12 minutes each way - 5 minute service |
| * = Plus 4 Darwen Corporation
Cars |
| |
| Peak hours extra cars (6:40a.m. - 8:30a.m. and
4:30p.m. - 6:30p.m.) |
| Wilpshire: |
6 extra (a.m. only) - 4 minute service 4 extra (dinner time
and evening) - 5 minute service |
| Preston Road: |
No a.m. peak hours other than extra for schools 4:30p.m.
- 6:00p.m.3 extra - 5 minute service |
| |
No other peak-time timed cars - extras on Darwen
and Cherry Tree used as required. All cars returning to Intack
depot would pick-up along the way.
In the early 1920’s four cars were used
for a time on the Audley route, one always being at each terminus,
whilst the other two traversed the route. Pre-1st World War five
cars operated on the Wilpshire route so that one car was always
in Water Street acting as a shelter.
During foggy weather the running of trams on the single track
and interlaced sections of the system was covered by strict guidelines.
On the routes of Wilpshire, Darwen Borough Boundary and Church
where single or interlaced track was, then the Blackburn bound
trams always had to wait at the beginning of such track work until
the out-bound car had passed. On the Wilpshire route this was
at Brookhouse and the section near to St James Road. On the Borough
Boundary route the ‘passing place’ was the section of
track near to the Savoy Cinema, Bolton Road. Two sections were
used as passing places on the Church route, these being at Reddish
Gate and White Ash.
| 1d |
White |
 |
| 1½d |
Purple |
| 2d |
Pink |
| 2½d |
Yellow |
| 3d |
Blue |
| 3d return |
Green |
| 4½d through fare |
Orange |
| 3d child bargain |
Light Brown |
| 6d adult bargain |
Brown |
| |
|
| Workmen: |
|
| 2d return and 2d. single |
Yellow |
(The ‘Bargain’ Tickets had the description “Anywhere
to Anywhere”)
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on the CONTACTS page
