Community Rail Lancashire has just learned that it has been successful in securing a grant of £6000 from the Community Rail Development Fund for a project called ‘Memorable Journeys by Train from Accrington’
CRL’s headquarters at Accrington Station – Simon Clarke
The project will explore the idea of memorable journeys as far as Accrington is concerned through two local primary schools. In recent years some of the community have come to Accrington having made a memorable journey to find a better life from Pakistan; there are those in the community who have fled war torn Syria; going back in time there were the soldiers in the Accrington Pals who went to the front line in the First World War or those who went on holiday to the seaside during the Wakes Weeks.
Pupils from the two schools will work with a local artist, the East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership (ELCRP) & Community Rail Lancashire (CRL) to research in the local library or talk to their family to discover more about these ‘Memorable Journeys’. Central to the project will be the role the railway has and continues to play in making these ‘Memorable Journeys’.
The outputs from the project will be artwork that can be displayed on the platforms; a new pictorial and written display to go in the display unit in the station booking hall and oral history that can be used in class, at home and in the local mosques. In addition, a project leaflet will be written as well as explanatory posters.
The pupils from the 2 schools will also take part in CRLs ‘Passport to Safe Rail Travel’ and will be taken on an escorted rail journey – hopefully memorable as well as many won’t have travelled by train up to this point.
The Community Rail Development Fund is a pot of money provided by the Department of Transport and managed by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships and helps by providing funding for projects on community rail lines across the country.
