Leyland Station.

[William R]

Another "stranger than fiction" about the station at Leyland, during wartime. Leylands had a lot of workers who came in by train from Wigan way, and from Chorley onwards. They came and went through Leyland station which had four platforms, Chorley on No.4 and Wigan on No.2 - both left at the same time. The designation of the platforms was due to the junction at Packsaddle Bridge at Euxton, and trains being on the wrong line for the junction. At finishing time. crowds of travellers walked up Chapel Brow to the station and crossed the footbridge to their platform, Chorley on No.4 and Wigan on No.2. Train now due, when the porter comes along shouting "Wigan on platform four and Chorley on platform two" Two train loads of commuters have now to change platforms, a lot of people going in both directions, not too pleased. Once on the new platform, it was not unusual for the change to be called again, and everyone changed platforms. This was travel in the blackout, without station lighting, and very tired workers. This was only one small incident but it showed the type of people we were to stand it, after all, there were no cars, few buses, but tons of that wartime spirit to grin and bear it and many years later it becomes "I remember when..." or "Do you remember when....". Cheers, Bill.

[Spitfire]

Enjoyed your story about the station and wish I could add to it, but can`t I`m afraid. Going up and down those stairs is bad enough today, Must have been hell in black-outs.

[William R]

quote:

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Originally posted by Spitfire
Enjoyed your story about the station and wish I could add to it, but can`t I`m afraid. Going up and down those stairs is bad enough today, Must have been hell in black-outs.

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Wow! I didn`t realise that those stairs were still there. In the blackout it was not unusual for some passengers to get onto the platform at Preston with a one penny platform ticket (seeing your mate off) and get off at Leyland and walk off the No.4 platform heading for Turpin Green Bridge. Generally it was someone who lived around Young Avenue or so. The porters got wise and stood right at the end where the engine was, and swept everyone up the steps. They were very short of staff though. Cheerio, Bill.

[LDunlop76]

At least that type of naughty antic doesn't physically harm anyone. On Friday night/Saturday morning some wicked kids laid sleepers across the railway track just 3 miles from me (Carr Mill) and derailed the first Liverpool Wigan train of the morning. According to Radio 4, the line was shut all yesterday as a result. Luckily no injuries, but it could have been very nasty indeed and the driver was badly traumatised as it was. Along the same route lumps of concrete are regularly thrown off bridges onto passing trains. [!] And the govt want us to use public transport more? The local paper tells me that plain clothes policemen are having to travel on certain Wigan bus routes in the evenings because gangs of kids are causing trouble on buses. Remember when 'knock and run' used to be the height of naughtiness? [V]

[William R]

Linda, We have similar vandalising here. One council estate has had to cancel the whole bus service because of attacks on drivers. When police went in one time to restore some sort of order, they went in riot gear. Their horses were attacked and police dogs attacked until the police withdrew, stating the area was beyond normal policing methods. Council tenants are fitting steel shutters to their windows and steel grills to the doors. The age of the terror gangs is between 12 and 14 years. My daughter moved away from the big house they had because of threats against the kids and windows, and the fact that there was a drug supply place nearly opposite. There was a continual stream of young kids from town who were bringing the goods they had "lifted" in town to exchange for drugs. The police said they knew about the house and were watching what went on, but took no action. don`t do anything like a minor offence in town, because you`ll find more police there than you knew they had. No-one dare complain about it, your home and family are at risk. Cheerio, Bill.

[Spitfire]

Why don`t they just catch the kids and lock-up the parents? That is certain to bring down the crime rate. I`m sure that these `do -gooders` have never had children of their own.

[William R]

Spitfire - I don`t know the answer. My grand daughter and partner were threatened with physical violence in their house on a Sheffield Council Estate, the police came in riot gear and intimated that they knew who these children were (13 and 14yr old girls) but were powerless to do anything as they were not comitting an offence. They actually told them that until they could show injuries and someone with a bloodstaine knife, they couldn`t do a thing. Another grand daughter moved into a council flat in Sheffield, and couldn`t get the toilet to flush. When she lifted the cistern lid, the tank was filled with syringes and packets. She rang the authorities and they removed them and said everything was alright. Later that night the doorbell rang and she opened the door on a safety chain, an arm came through the gap with a knife and slashed her fore arm. She rang her father who came and took her to hospital to have it seen to. The police said that as she didn`t see who it was there was nothing they could do, as it was in a bad district. She moved back to her father`s house that night. So you see why we have a siege mentallity here, everything is out of control. people never go out alone at night, and the local cuncil have a scheme whereby elderly people have additional security measures fitted F.O.C. All my windows have security locks, five locks on front door, four locks on rear door, internal attack alarm system in the house and security light outside, plus a burglar system. No-one gets in at night unless they phone first. This is all against gangs of marauding school children, are we safe anywhere? Cheers, Bill.

[LDunlop76]

I don't know what the answer is either. We live in a supposedly "nice" area, but we had problems with young teenagers sitting on our garden wall and dropping their pop bottles and crisp packets into our garden. When I remonstrated with them, they egged the front of the house. It escalated to graffiti on the external gas meter and the pavement by our house, and to dropping condoms and feminine hygiene products (thankfully unused) into the garden. They've been in the garden too and damaged a wall, but when the police came out, they said nothing could be done unless they were actually caught in the act... and even then, they'd blame each other and a prosecution would fail..... if they were even old enough to take to court. Basically there's nothing you can do - except keep a big dog... and then you'd get done if it bit one of 'em!

Recently I've been going to Sainsbury's later on a Saturday evening and when I come out, about 8-ish, there are gangs of around 15 kids, 10 - 12 age group, mucking about riding trolleys round the car park, riding them through the car wash in the petrol station and so on. It's been in the paper the last two weeks that the community police are moving them on for causing a nuisance, and some parents had the cheek to write in and say their kids were doing nothing wrong, why target them? !!! *I* feel a bit intimidated by them and I'm reasonably young and fit. I'd be pretty scared if I was a frail old lady living nearby. Do these parents know or care what their kids get up to? I'd be worried sick if one of mine had been out after dark at that age and I didn't know exactly where they were and who they were with.

As for drugs..... we had to stop anyone who wasn't staff or a patient using the toilets at work, because we had drug users mainlining in the cubicles. The DSS office is behind the clinic and we've had drug dealers waiting on our car park to escort their customers from picking up their dole cheque at the DSS to the post office across the road to cash the cheque and hand over what they owe. Then the police got wise to it (the police station is within sight of the DSS so these dealers were very brazen!) and asked if they could mount a surveillance operation from our car park! 20 years ago we only locked the clinic at the end of the day and if everyone was going out at lunchtime. Now we have digital locks on practically every door - it's like working in Fort Knox! Sign of the times!

[William R]

Linda, there`s nothing more I can say. When Margaret was in Hospital in Sheffield just before the end, she had to be moved from one hospital to another for a kidney operation. It was about 200yds by ambulance, and the escorting nurse had to carry a bag with all her (the nurse`s) personal belongings in. She said it was not safe to leave any personal things on wards, I wondered why all the other nurses carried big bags about whilst on duty. Hospital staff had a secure car park with patrolling security, but a nurse had her car stolen within twenty minutes of signing in. I could go on, but I`ll spare you, it must be country wide. Cheerio, Bill.

[rocketmanjohn]

Just whats going on in England these days? I was'nt aware that the place is rife with vandalism, crime and drugs. The worst we get is kids dressing up trees with toilet rolls at graduation time, hardly criminal. Sinse everyone is armed to the teeth there is very little burglary, no gang riots and no vandalism. I say this with tongue in cheek, but maybe it helps. Obviously, there is a drugs problem here, but it is mainly in well defined areas, and yes, the murder is high, but I'd guess that at least 95% are druggies killing druggies, awful though it sounds, I don't care.
On the Station topic, when I was an apprentice I used to bike it from Bent Bridge to the station every morning, leave it in the room provided for a shilling a week, and catch the bus at the Railway Hotel to UKAEA Salwick. It was said that I, and the other apprentices, could be seen sleeping against the pub wall while waiting for the bus. This could only have been a rare occurrence because I was always on the last minute and had to run to catch it. I often slept on the bus though.
John