70th Annual General Meeting and Members’ Day, 9th October 2021 Agenda, Report and Accounts
Your L&YR Society
E> - The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society . No. 288 CENTRAL CENTRAL DIVISION DIVISION MISCELLANY ~~-~~ BR DAYS ~~Ma~~ A ~~LaZME~~ F scavcany A PORTRAIT OF THE L&Y’S LINES AND PROPERTY ~~-~~ wr Days inside this issue… £6.50 IN THE BRITISH RAILWAYS PERIOD 1947 - 1966 NOEL COATES AGM & Members' Day – see page 3 Water shortages on the Fylde 1910 – see page 10 Horwich Works in the 1970s Part 2 – see page 14 eH ee Ee NG Of WYK oF Sere[eee] Nigel Thornley - A Tribute from the Chairman p.3 2 SECRETARY'S COLUMN • 3 NIGEL THORNLEY, AGM & MEMBERS' DAY 2021 4 RYBURN IN P4 • 6 DIA.84 CARRIAGE IN 7mm • 8 ASPINALL 0-6-0ST IN EM 10 ASK ASPINALL • 12 ARCHIVE ACQUISITIONS • 14 HORWICH WORKS IN THE 1970s 20 HORWICH HERITAGE TRAIL • 22 MARTHOLME GREENWAY & THE NORTH LANCS LOOP 24 REMAINS OF THE RISHWORTH BRANCH • 26 LANKY TODAY ~~—~~ 30 WRITE TO REPLY • 34 BOOK REVIEW • 35 MEMBERSHIP NEWS, HIGHFLYERS SPRING 2021 The _The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society Society < ~~q~~ Publications Modelling
ee Preservation News ~~TaseePee ~oe teers VICTORIA Archives
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Agenda
The 70th Annual General Meeting of The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society will be held on Saturday 9th October 2021 at Embsay with Eastby Villiage Institute, Main Street, Embsay, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6RE, starting at 10.00am (note the earlier starting time), 9-30am for tea and coffee. After the meeting there will be a lunch at The Elm Tree Inn at a cost of £10 per head and in the afternoon a trip on the Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. Full details can be found in Magazine 288 .
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Officers’ reports (continued):
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To sign the attendance register and receive apologies
ix Publications Officer
- To remember those members who have died during the past twelve months
x Questions for the Publications Officer xi Information Officer xii Questions for the Information Officer xiii Chairman
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To receive and approve the minutes of the 2019 AGM
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To deal with matters arising
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Officers’ reports:
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i. Future of the Society Working Party (FSWP) xiv Questions for the Chairman
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ii Questions for the Chairman of the FSWP 6. To approve the Officers’ reports and the iii Secretary Annual Report & Accounts
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iv Questions for the Secretary 7. To appoint Trustees for 2021/22
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v Treasurer 8. To appoint two Independent Examiners of the vi Questions for the Treasurer Society’s accounts vii Membership Officer 9. To confirm the level of subscription for 2022 viii Questions for the Membership Officer 10. Any other business
The following Trustees are offering themselves for re-election:
Ron Tinker (Life President), Graham Smith (Chairman), Noel Coates (Treasurer), Martin Nield (Secretary), Ken Carter (Membership Officer), Roger Mellor (Publications Officer), Chris Leach (Information Officer), Mike Fitton, David Carter, Robin Pennie, and Barry Steventon.
Any other nominations must be received by the Secretary no less than 21 days before the meeting and be compliant with clause 4.4 of our Constitution.
Secretary’s report
“We have not been able to meet in person, but hopefully can do so from this autumn onwards...”
Martin Nield
out a licence for this product which means we can continue to use it in future if required.
Despite the restrictions on ordinary life over the past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Society has continued operating normally as far as possible: publications have been produced, new members have joined us and further archive material has been added to our collections. What we have not been able to do is meet in person, but hopefully we will be able to do so from this autumn onwards.
members were able to enjoy it than usually attend meetings.
Our plan for 2022 is to have our usual three meetings – a Spring Meeting, a Lanky Day Out and the AGM and Members’ Day – with a 1922 theme to mark the centenary of the amalgamation of the L&YR with the LNWR. However we still need an Events Officer to organise these.
In the absence of our usual events, Noel Coates produced a Virtual Lanky Day Out which took the form of ‘ A Trip to Blackpool ’ starting at Bacup and running via Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Preston and Lytham. It has been a great success and attracted more than 190 views, meaning many more
Our four Modelling Co-ordinators – Barry Steventon for Gauge 1; Peter Fitton for 7mm scale; Dave Carter for 4mm scale and Sam Kennion for 2mm scale – have continued their work throughout the year and we are very grateful to them for that.
There was no Annual General Meeting in 2020; I contacted the Charity Commission and discovered that we were allowed not to have an AGM in the circumstances, provided existing Trustees remained in post and meaning that we could not change the level of subscriptions.
The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society
L ANK Y D AY OUT A trip from Bacup to Blackpool
The title page and a slide from Noel’s video presentation which is available through the Home Page of the website - www.lyrs.org.uk
Four committee meetings and various other meetings were held on the video conferencing platform Zoom and it has proved very effective. We have taken
Written and narrated by NOEL COATES
Chairman’s review
“The quality of our publications remains, in my humble opinion, second to none...”
Facit way it is then: Bacup 801 feet above sea level; Britannia, two miles uphill is 965ft, then it’s downhill all the way...
Graham Smith
Well, it finally looks like the fog of Covid is lifting and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The vaccination programme seems to be well on the way to doing its job and our freedoms are slowly being restored.
Another year has flown by and, as I remarked last year in my review, the day-to-day workings of our Society have been relatively unaffected by events that seem to have turned the rest of our lives completely upside down.
Our finances remain sound, as no doubt Noel Coates will be pointing out in his Treasurer’s Report.
The quality of our publications remains, in my humble opinion, second to none. The Publications Team set themselves very high standards and we see that in the quality of the publications they produce. Believe me they are their own biggest critics! A big thank you needs to be said to Roger Mellor and the rest of the team for their outstanding work
this year. I must single out Magazine for a special mention here; not only has it increased in size to accommodate articles from members, but the quality of the articles sent in has been quite outstanding. So another Thank You, not only to Martin Nield, Gavin Clark and the rest of the team for continuing to do such a professional job, but to all of you who have taken the time and gone to the trouble of sending in an article.
Membership levels are also pretty steady at round about the 900 mark; always a good sign that we are doing something right!
Certainly, on the face of it everything in the garden appears to be rosy. We are getting back to normal. So why am I still full of apprehension for the future? Is this ‘new normal’ going to be the old normal or will it be different? I do not know.
Are we going to be able to have our Spring Meeting, our Lanky Day Out and our AGM just as we did pre-
Covid? Will members be able to mingle and meet up with friends at these events, something which I feel is so important for our Society? I do not know. Perhaps we will all have to book in on some sort of app that we have on our mobile phones – if, of course, we have one!
Will we be able to attend shows, galas and exhibitions with our exhibition stands? Or, more to the point, will there be any exhibitions, galas, and shows as we knew them for us to attend? Will our volunteers be happy to come back and be on the stands, putting themselves on the front line so to speak? I do not know.
I do not want to paint a bleak picture here because I am the eternal optimist, but I am apprehensive because I do not know the answers to any of the questions I have just posed.
I just hope that the light at the end of the tunnel I mentioned earlier is not an express train coming the other way.
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Membership Officer’s report
“As a Society we should rightly be proud of our efforts over recent years...”
Ken Carter
are joining a progressive and great Society. I think you will agree with me that in 2020 we have built on past achievements and I look forward with enthusiasm to a future of continued success and a return to further increases in membership.
will enable us to produce even more and better publications and services.
Perhaps the best way to judge the success of our Society is through its ability to attract new members and retain existing ones. Increases in membership do not happen automatically, it is only through the efforts of all officers and members that we are able to recruit new people, and as a Society we should be rightly proud of our efforts over recent years especially during the Covid pandemic.
For the last 27 years I have been proud to be the Membership Officer and my enthusiasm for the position has not diminished. In fact I would say it has increased over the years as we have increased our membership: it is exciting and rewarding not only to me, but to all those who help with recruitment. Due to Covid we have not been able to attend shows for the past two years, but we have tried to make potential members aware of our existence through our successful advertising and marketing.
I am pleased to report that although there has been a very slight decrease in membership, we ended the membership year in a good position which will give us a springboard to move forward once the Covid situation improves.
After recruitment, membership retention is our second highest aim and, as no doubt a small number of you will have found out, I do not let anyone leave the Society without asking why anyone would want to leave such a brilliant Society as ours. Unfortunately each year some have no choice and some are called to a higher Society and we are sad for their going, so each year we are required to recruit more new members so we can progress and expand the Society which
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|Membership Year|to Dec 2020|
|Ordinary members|860|
|Corporate members|31|
|Honorary members|14|
|Total|905|
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We have a wonderful story to tell when talking to prospective new members. Our look, our publications, our friendliness, our 71 years of researching the L&YR and our increasing membership tells everyone what we have achieved and that they
Publications Officer’s report
= “ Magazine continues to be an outstanding success story and has grown to 36 pages...”
Roger Mellor
Work will resume on LYR Goods Workings as soon as possible. Work is continuing on other titles with Chris Littleworth (Manchester Victoria Signalling combined with an updated version of Tom Wray’s history of the station) and Peter Taylor (LYR Arc Roofed Carriage Stock diagrams) both making good progress on their projects.
This has been a very frustrating year in many ways, but with significant highlights.
It was with great sadness that we learned of the sudden and unexpected death of our friend and colleague Nigel Thornley who was an unsung hero of the Society - not well known to members but very much appreciated by those of us who worked with him. Two immediate changes have had to be made; Martin Nield has taken over keeping the Events page of the website updated, and we have had to rent secure storage space for our publications stock and exhibition stands.
An elderly member of my family became ill in November of last year, was infected with Covid whilst in hospital, and is now back home with an extensive care package. This meant the time I could devote to publications was very limited over a four month period. At the same time, Gavin Clark had to temporarily stand down from Magazine duty due to extreme day job pressure and I have taken back the layout and typesetting work until he can return later this year.
Also complete and ready for publication next year is a booklet on the LYR / LNWR Amagamation which took place in 1922, and this will be free to members.
We now have a unit in Leeds near to Sales Officer, Barry Steventon’s house and by the time you read this we expect to have moved all our stock from Nigel’s factory. Our new unit will cost us around £2000 per annum - our stock had been stored free of charge by Nigel for around twenty years - not to mention the A3 scanner which I use for our publications - it cost over £2000 and was donated by Nigel.
Magazine continues to be an outstanding success story. I talked in my last report about increasing the page count from 24 to 28, and recent issues have grown again to 36 pages of high quality articles such as Peter Wood’s authoratitive series on Taylors Bridge and Gauxholme Viaduct and Howard Bolton’s splendid recollections of Horwich in the 1970s. Thanks to them and all our contributors and authors - keep ‘em coming!
This has meant work has stopped on the LYR Goods Workings book for the time being and it has been replaced in the programme by a 192 page hardback, Central Division Miscellany - BR Days which Noel had prepared some time ago and he and I had been working on the layouts - so it was a quick win that got a book to members at short notice.
Another frustration has been lack of progress on making the available
material accessible through the Virtual Musem. Our appointed website builder and his wife were blessed with a new daughter late last year but she has had health problems involving Great Ormond Street Hospital and his time has understandably been taken up with looking after his family.
We are working on a short term solution which Chris Leach and I have reported on in Magazine , and we hope to have up and running soon. Andrew Wright has done a magnificent job in preparing material for uploading - we just need a platform to put it on.
Finally, my usual thanks to all the publications team, ten regulars at the last count - they do a great job and we are lucky to have such talented people in the Society.
Above right: Roger Markland’s artistic skills have graced Magazine on three occasions with prints being available to members.
Right: Taylors Bridge, Todmorden, in the 1960s.
Information Officer’s report
“The enquiry service has still been very active, with requests for information, drawings and photos...”
Chris Leach
Several enquiries from Colin Irwin (Steamchasers); Closure dates of goods facilities on ex-L&Y stations; Rail chairs at Horwich works; Photos of the 0-8-0 compound coal engines; Shed allocations at Bacup and Wakefield in LMS days; Photos of Poulton No 3 box and Poulton station frontage; Holmfirth goods shed interior photos; L&Y locos in the late 1920’s’ Thomas Brassey and the L&Y; Ewood goods shed; Several family history enquiries; Heckmondwike cutting ownership; Netherton station details; Manchester Victoria buildings layout; 2-4-2T GA drawings; Manchester & Leeds Railway “logo” for a TV drama programme on the Brontes; Brinscall station photos; L&Y loco classes around Leeds Huddersfield and Bradford; Agecroft loco shed; Silkstone branch
The Information Group has again been constrained in most of its potential activity thanks to the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic which were exacerbated by other issues affecting a variety of group members and factors external to the Society. However, the enquiry service has still been very active, with more than 60 requests for information, drawings and photos. The following are just a few examples of some of the many enquiries that have come in over the last year:
in our collections at the Manchester Archives, but work on this stopped after the lockdown came into force.
Unfortunately, the major project to digitise the great majority of our drawings collection, together with many of the L&YR drawings in the Manchester Archives own collection, has made no further progress. Attempts to push forward on this have been made more difficult because of the pandemic lockdown, but we hope to report some action soon..
Request for photos from David Joy of the line between Rochdale and Summit tunnel; L&YR clocks; Northorpe North Road station; Pug drawings; Meltham branch photos for member whose garden ends at the Butternab tunnel entrance; Butler Street goods station, Preston; Goods traffic on the Middleton Branch; 1960’s track diagram for St Anne’s; Information on the Middleton Branch; Details about Horwich station; Emigrant trains on the L&Y; 0-8-2 banking engine drawings; 1875 accident at Middleton; Drawings for 0-6-0s and LBL carriages; Loco steam pressure gauges on the L&Y;
Virtual Museum of the
Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway
- local archive research project Project Officer Robin Pennie, assistant John Bulmer and their team have again been constrained by pandemic lockdown, coupled with several other issues outside the control of the Society. Hopefully these constraints will have been reduced by the date of the AGM..
Society drawings, Manchester Archives’ drawings, photographic collection and other archives
The cataloguing group had been making good progress on the nondrawing printed documentary archives
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Treasurer’s report
“Taken all in all, with membership stable, our income remains very healthy indeed...”
Noel Coates
A very interesting year for the finances of the Society; I had expected us to receive less than last year because sales of our publications would be affected by the lack of exhibitions to put ourselves in front of the public but, such is the power of the internet, sales of our wares have continued fairly well – though it’s fair to say that certain items no longer attract buyers because the potential purchaser hasn’t a chance to assess the quality of the book, something which exhibitions do allow (nor is there personal persuasion!). If one subtracts the bequest received last year from the final income figure then it matches this year’s total figure of £48,480. However, one then has to consider the £3000+ amount received from members taking up the offer to buy the LiverpoolManchester Atlas at a discount. Taken all in all, and with membership remaining about the same, our income remains very healthy indeed.
The pandemic has meant that assessing the printed stock we have can only be a partial one. Events have dictated that we move into hiring permanent storage so a better account can be kept of what assets we have in stock
The Business Reserve account was increased by £10,000 in line with the Trustees’ thinking to allow for the printing and posting of four Magazines and two LYR Focus journals for a couple of years should the worst happen.
The accounts have been handed to our Independent Examiners for scrutiny; their testimonials are sent to the Charity Commissioners in our Annual Report to them. I must thank the two gentlemen concerned for the professional manner in which they approach the fulfilment of their post. It is possible to send all documents electronically now which is a further small saving in time and effort to me.
Another method of comparing years is to look at what percentage of our income is membership: for the financial year 2019-2020 it was 63% (removing the bequest) whereas this last year income from membership was 68%. That a third of our income is from other sources (donations represent a further 9% of total income whilst Gift Aid is 14%) suggests our publications and offers are not doing as well at around 10% but our exposure has been limited.
Looking forward to the next financial year and our spending, our plans and the Budget are very much in line with previous years, but income for them will have to be balanced by a slight increase in UK membership subscription to £36 (International £47). This is partly to allow for the fact that we now have to pay for the storage facility for our publications – around £2000 per annum. It is hoped that members will ratify the increase for 2022 at the AGM.
Outgoings were less than last year at £37,238, so we were, once again, able to raise our bank account balances to a collective £52,370, higher than last year’s by £7000. Added to this is the fact that the Editor is holding on to £3900 more than last year pending payment of the next major publication. The budget allowed for printing and distribution of a major work which did not materialise in time for this accounting period so the money is carried forward in the bank account balances.
Accounts:
1 July 2020 - 30 June 2021
RECEIPTS 2020/2021
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|Item|£|
|Subscriptions|30940.00|
|Donations - via Membership Officer|2127.00|
|Donations - for Archives/conservation|388.20|
|Donations - General|1498.00|
|Sales - pre-loved items|464.00|
|Bank Interest|2.47|
|Gift Aid|6842.54|
|Sales - Publications, Binders etc|1089.70|
|Sales - Signal Box book Part One|145.25|
|Sales - Signal Box book Part Two|110.25|
|Sales - Introduction to LYR|91.50|
|Sales - Manchester Victoria booklet|130.50|
|Sales - LMS Central Division Miscellany|53.00|
|Sales - Last Levers on the Fylde|225.25|
|Royalty payments|30.00|
|Sales - Drawings/Photos etc.|49.00|
|Sales - Members book offers|3960.40|
|Sales - Sale of members artefacts|333.00|
|Total|48480.06|
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The items of greatest expenditure are the usual ones – printing, postage costs and advertising but archive purchase has risen to over £7,300. Whilst one cannot predict just what is going to appear on sale, when something does turn up we have to be able to go for it. Expenditure on meetings and travel have been reduced to almost nil this financial year as the restrictions caused by the epidemic have remained. Committee meetings are held by Zoom but there is an annual fee for this which is a fraction of the previous costs and there’s the chance for specific groups to have a joint face-to-face discussion whenever required at no extra cost! The value for money is a delight to any Treasurer’s ears.
ASSETS & LIABILITIES 2020/2021
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|PAYMENTS 2020/2021|ASSETS & LIABILITIES 2020/2021|
|Item|£|Assets|£|
|Officers’ operational expenses|Cash in Deposit Account|30106.92|
|Secretary|Officers’ operational expenses|Nil|Cash in Current Account|22265.32|
|Membership Officer|510.76|Cash in PayPal Account|47.49|
|Treasurer|6.90|Funds with Treasurer|29.68|
|Publication Sales Officer|1233.37|Funds with Editor|3933.45|
|Sub total|1751.03|Cash Total|56382.86|
|Sub total|21.03 Ds|
|General expenses|General|expenses|bo|Stock & Equipment|£|
|Donations|100.00|Stock of publications, books, binders,|6500.00|
|Publications storage unit rental charge|240.00|CDs etc. - trade value|
|Adverising & recruitment|3188.00|Photo scanners for general use (to be|68.87|
|written off over 3 years)|
|Trustee expenses|24.39|
|Archives purchased|7326.82|
|Public Liability Insurance|151.20|Liabilities|£|
|Trustee Liability Insurance|256.28|Items not yet drawn on|Nil|
|AGM notices & reports|342.00|
|AGM Minutes|200.00|
|Contact & Services leaflet etc|100.00|
|Membership forms & cards|1254.00|
|Membermojo subscription|250.00|Budget:|
|Website leases & Domain names|297.89|
|Website transaction charges - Shopify & Stripe|329.76|1 July 2021 - 30 June 2022|
|Website transaction charges - PayPal & Square|429.32|BUDGET & FUNDING 2021/2022|
|Friends of the NRM|80.00|Budget|£|
|Sub total|Sub|total|14569.66|14569.66|Print 4 Magazines|6000.00|
|Print 2 Journals|3700.00|
|Other expenses|Other|expenses|Print BR Miscellany|7000.00|
|Members book offers|2768.14|Replenish publications|3000.00|
|Reprint publications stock|600.00|Publication store rental|2000.00|
|Return sales income of Members effects|333.00|Postage of Magazines|5000.00|
|Zoom subscription|111.55|Postage of Journals & books|5000.00|
|I Mech E research associateship|196.00|PayPal, Shopify & Square charges|800.00|
|Project work on Membership database|250.00|Website maintenance|800.00|
|Website development|600.00|General expenses|1500.00|
|Additional computer equipment|103.93|AGM expenses including printing|700.00|
|Sub total|Sub|total|4962.62|4962.62|Contact Leaflet (annual)|300.00|
|Postage (Membership & Publication Sales)|2200.00|
|Publications|Publications|Publicity & Recruitment|3500.00|
|Supplements and order forms|120.00|Committee expenses|500.00|
|Magazine 284 - print|1500.00|Exhibition expenses & development|500.00|
|Magazine 285 - print|1770.00|Insurances|500.00|
|Magazine 286 - print|1711.00|Sub|Sub total|total|43000.00|43000.00|
|Magazine 287 - print|1495.00|Archive purchase (see Notes to Accounts - 2)|4000.00|
|LYR Focus 84 - print|1740.00|Virtual Museum scanning (see Notes to Accounts - 3)|3000.00|
|Sub total|8336.00|Total|50000.00|
|Postage, labels & equipment|Postage,|labels & equipment|ee|Source of Funds|£|
|Stationery etc|165.50|Subscriptions 860 members @ £36 (Int £47)|31000.00|
|Travel & delivery|178.05|Donations and Interest|1000.00|
|Miscellaneous licences (see Notes to Accounts - 1)|120.00|Publications sales surplus|4000.00|
|Publication pack & postage - Magazine 284 - 287|5708.63|Gift Aid|6000.00|
|Publications pack & postage - LYR Focus 84|1419.40|Sub|Sub total of receipts|total|of|receipts|42000.00|42000.00|
|Other postage|27.60|
|Sub total|7619.18|From Current Account|8000.00|
|Total payments|37238.49|Total|50000.00|
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Note to the Accounts:
The front cover of a booklet from the Society Collection published at the end of 1913 which gives a host of statistical information about the railway in what proved to be the final year of normal operation before the Great War.
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Miscellaneous licences refer to the rights to use maps, photos etc in our publications.
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The amount spent depends on what becomes available in any one year.
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Includes the policy decision to use reserves to fund parts of the Virtual Museum project.
The report of the Independent Examiners will be available at the Annual General Meeting and confirmed in the minutes of that meeting.
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The L&YR Society
Registered Charity No.1098492
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The 70th Annual General Meeting of The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society will be held on Saturday 9th October 2021 at Embsay with Eastby Villiage Institute, Main Street, Embsay, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6RE, starting at 10.00am.
The L&YR Railway Society PARTNERS IN EXCELLENCE
www.lyrs.org.uk e: membership@lyrs.org.uk
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70th Annual General Meeting and Members’ Day, 9th October 2021 Agenda, Report and Accounts
Your L&YR Society
E> - The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society . No. 288 CENTRAL CENTRAL DIVISION DIVISION MISCELLANY ~~-~~ BR DAYS ~~Ma~~ A ~~LaZME~~ F scavcany A PORTRAIT OF THE L&Y’S LINES AND PROPERTY ~~-~~ wr Days inside this issue… £6.50 IN THE BRITISH RAILWAYS PERIOD 1947 - 1966 NOEL COATES AGM & Members' Day – see page 3 Water shortages on the Fylde 1910 – see page 10 Horwich Works in the 1970s Part 2 – see page 14 eH ee Ee NG Of WYK oF Sere[eee] Nigel Thornley - A Tribute from the Chairman p.3 2 SECRETARY'S COLUMN • 3 NIGEL THORNLEY, AGM & MEMBERS' DAY 2021 4 RYBURN IN P4 • 6 DIA.84 CARRIAGE IN 7mm • 8 ASPINALL 0-6-0ST IN EM 10 ASK ASPINALL • 12 ARCHIVE ACQUISITIONS • 14 HORWICH WORKS IN THE 1970s 20 HORWICH HERITAGE TRAIL • 22 MARTHOLME GREENWAY & THE NORTH LANCS LOOP 24 REMAINS OF THE RISHWORTH BRANCH • 26 LANKY TODAY ~~—~~ 30 WRITE TO REPLY • 34 BOOK REVIEW • 35 MEMBERSHIP NEWS, HIGHFLYERS SPRING 2021 The _The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society Society < ~~q~~ Publications Modelling
ee Preservation News ~~TaseePee ~oe teers VICTORIA Archives
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Agenda
The 70th Annual General Meeting of The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society will be held on Saturday 9th October 2021 at Embsay with Eastby Villiage Institute, Main Street, Embsay, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6RE, starting at 10.00am (note the earlier starting time), 9-30am for tea and coffee. After the meeting there will be a lunch at The Elm Tree Inn at a cost of £10 per head and in the afternoon a trip on the Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. Full details can be found in Magazine 288 .
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Officers’ reports (continued):
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To sign the attendance register and receive apologies
ix Publications Officer
- To remember those members who have died during the past twelve months
x Questions for the Publications Officer xi Information Officer xii Questions for the Information Officer xiii Chairman
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To receive and approve the minutes of the 2019 AGM
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To deal with matters arising
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Officers’ reports:
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i. Future of the Society Working Party (FSWP) xiv Questions for the Chairman
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ii Questions for the Chairman of the FSWP 6. To approve the Officers’ reports and the iii Secretary Annual Report & Accounts
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iv Questions for the Secretary 7. To appoint Trustees for 2021/22
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v Treasurer 8. To appoint two Independent Examiners of the vi Questions for the Treasurer Society’s accounts vii Membership Officer 9. To confirm the level of subscription for 2022 viii Questions for the Membership Officer 10. Any other business
The following Trustees are offering themselves for re-election:
Ron Tinker (Life President), Graham Smith (Chairman), Noel Coates (Treasurer), Martin Nield (Secretary), Ken Carter (Membership Officer), Roger Mellor (Publications Officer), Chris Leach (Information Officer), Mike Fitton, David Carter, Robin Pennie, and Barry Steventon.
Any other nominations must be received by the Secretary no less than 21 days before the meeting and be compliant with clause 4.4 of our Constitution.
Secretary’s report
“We have not been able to meet in person, but hopefully can do so from this autumn onwards...”
Martin Nield
out a licence for this product which means we can continue to use it in future if required.
Despite the restrictions on ordinary life over the past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Society has continued operating normally as far as possible: publications have been produced, new members have joined us and further archive material has been added to our collections. What we have not been able to do is meet in person, but hopefully we will be able to do so from this autumn onwards.
members were able to enjoy it than usually attend meetings.
Our plan for 2022 is to have our usual three meetings – a Spring Meeting, a Lanky Day Out and the AGM and Members’ Day – with a 1922 theme to mark the centenary of the amalgamation of the L&YR with the LNWR. However we still need an Events Officer to organise these.
In the absence of our usual events, Noel Coates produced a Virtual Lanky Day Out which took the form of ‘ A Trip to Blackpool ’ starting at Bacup and running via Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Preston and Lytham. It has been a great success and attracted more than 190 views, meaning many more
Our four Modelling Co-ordinators – Barry Steventon for Gauge 1; Peter Fitton for 7mm scale; Dave Carter for 4mm scale and Sam Kennion for 2mm scale – have continued their work throughout the year and we are very grateful to them for that.
There was no Annual General Meeting in 2020; I contacted the Charity Commission and discovered that we were allowed not to have an AGM in the circumstances, provided existing Trustees remained in post and meaning that we could not change the level of subscriptions.
The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society
L ANK Y D AY OUT A trip from Bacup to Blackpool
The title page and a slide from Noel’s video presentation which is available through the Home Page of the website - www.lyrs.org.uk
Four committee meetings and various other meetings were held on the video conferencing platform Zoom and it has proved very effective. We have taken
Written and narrated by NOEL COATES
Chairman’s review
“The quality of our publications remains, in my humble opinion, second to none...”
Facit way it is then: Bacup 801 feet above sea level; Britannia, two miles uphill is 965ft, then it’s downhill all the way...
Graham Smith
Well, it finally looks like the fog of Covid is lifting and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The vaccination programme seems to be well on the way to doing its job and our freedoms are slowly being restored.
Another year has flown by and, as I remarked last year in my review, the day-to-day workings of our Society have been relatively unaffected by events that seem to have turned the rest of our lives completely upside down.
Our finances remain sound, as no doubt Noel Coates will be pointing out in his Treasurer’s Report.
The quality of our publications remains, in my humble opinion, second to none. The Publications Team set themselves very high standards and we see that in the quality of the publications they produce. Believe me they are their own biggest critics! A big thank you needs to be said to Roger Mellor and the rest of the team for their outstanding work
this year. I must single out Magazine for a special mention here; not only has it increased in size to accommodate articles from members, but the quality of the articles sent in has been quite outstanding. So another Thank You, not only to Martin Nield, Gavin Clark and the rest of the team for continuing to do such a professional job, but to all of you who have taken the time and gone to the trouble of sending in an article.
Membership levels are also pretty steady at round about the 900 mark; always a good sign that we are doing something right!
Certainly, on the face of it everything in the garden appears to be rosy. We are getting back to normal. So why am I still full of apprehension for the future? Is this ‘new normal’ going to be the old normal or will it be different? I do not know.
Are we going to be able to have our Spring Meeting, our Lanky Day Out and our AGM just as we did pre-
Covid? Will members be able to mingle and meet up with friends at these events, something which I feel is so important for our Society? I do not know. Perhaps we will all have to book in on some sort of app that we have on our mobile phones – if, of course, we have one!
Will we be able to attend shows, galas and exhibitions with our exhibition stands? Or, more to the point, will there be any exhibitions, galas, and shows as we knew them for us to attend? Will our volunteers be happy to come back and be on the stands, putting themselves on the front line so to speak? I do not know.
I do not want to paint a bleak picture here because I am the eternal optimist, but I am apprehensive because I do not know the answers to any of the questions I have just posed.
I just hope that the light at the end of the tunnel I mentioned earlier is not an express train coming the other way.
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Membership Officer’s report
“As a Society we should rightly be proud of our efforts over recent years...”
Ken Carter
are joining a progressive and great Society. I think you will agree with me that in 2020 we have built on past achievements and I look forward with enthusiasm to a future of continued success and a return to further increases in membership.
will enable us to produce even more and better publications and services.
Perhaps the best way to judge the success of our Society is through its ability to attract new members and retain existing ones. Increases in membership do not happen automatically, it is only through the efforts of all officers and members that we are able to recruit new people, and as a Society we should be rightly proud of our efforts over recent years especially during the Covid pandemic.
For the last 27 years I have been proud to be the Membership Officer and my enthusiasm for the position has not diminished. In fact I would say it has increased over the years as we have increased our membership: it is exciting and rewarding not only to me, but to all those who help with recruitment. Due to Covid we have not been able to attend shows for the past two years, but we have tried to make potential members aware of our existence through our successful advertising and marketing.
I am pleased to report that although there has been a very slight decrease in membership, we ended the membership year in a good position which will give us a springboard to move forward once the Covid situation improves.
After recruitment, membership retention is our second highest aim and, as no doubt a small number of you will have found out, I do not let anyone leave the Society without asking why anyone would want to leave such a brilliant Society as ours. Unfortunately each year some have no choice and some are called to a higher Society and we are sad for their going, so each year we are required to recruit more new members so we can progress and expand the Society which
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|||
|---|---|
|Membership Year|to Dec 2020|
|Ordinary members|860|
|Corporate members|31|
|Honorary members|14|
|Total|905|
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We have a wonderful story to tell when talking to prospective new members. Our look, our publications, our friendliness, our 71 years of researching the L&YR and our increasing membership tells everyone what we have achieved and that they
Publications Officer’s report
= “ Magazine continues to be an outstanding success story and has grown to 36 pages...”
Roger Mellor
Work will resume on LYR Goods Workings as soon as possible. Work is continuing on other titles with Chris Littleworth (Manchester Victoria Signalling combined with an updated version of Tom Wray’s history of the station) and Peter Taylor (LYR Arc Roofed Carriage Stock diagrams) both making good progress on their projects.
This has been a very frustrating year in many ways, but with significant highlights.
It was with great sadness that we learned of the sudden and unexpected death of our friend and colleague Nigel Thornley who was an unsung hero of the Society - not well known to members but very much appreciated by those of us who worked with him. Two immediate changes have had to be made; Martin Nield has taken over keeping the Events page of the website updated, and we have had to rent secure storage space for our publications stock and exhibition stands.
An elderly member of my family became ill in November of last year, was infected with Covid whilst in hospital, and is now back home with an extensive care package. This meant the time I could devote to publications was very limited over a four month period. At the same time, Gavin Clark had to temporarily stand down from Magazine duty due to extreme day job pressure and I have taken back the layout and typesetting work until he can return later this year.
Also complete and ready for publication next year is a booklet on the LYR / LNWR Amagamation which took place in 1922, and this will be free to members.
We now have a unit in Leeds near to Sales Officer, Barry Steventon’s house and by the time you read this we expect to have moved all our stock from Nigel’s factory. Our new unit will cost us around £2000 per annum - our stock had been stored free of charge by Nigel for around twenty years - not to mention the A3 scanner which I use for our publications - it cost over £2000 and was donated by Nigel.
Magazine continues to be an outstanding success story. I talked in my last report about increasing the page count from 24 to 28, and recent issues have grown again to 36 pages of high quality articles such as Peter Wood’s authoratitive series on Taylors Bridge and Gauxholme Viaduct and Howard Bolton’s splendid recollections of Horwich in the 1970s. Thanks to them and all our contributors and authors - keep ‘em coming!
This has meant work has stopped on the LYR Goods Workings book for the time being and it has been replaced in the programme by a 192 page hardback, Central Division Miscellany - BR Days which Noel had prepared some time ago and he and I had been working on the layouts - so it was a quick win that got a book to members at short notice.
Another frustration has been lack of progress on making the available
material accessible through the Virtual Musem. Our appointed website builder and his wife were blessed with a new daughter late last year but she has had health problems involving Great Ormond Street Hospital and his time has understandably been taken up with looking after his family.
We are working on a short term solution which Chris Leach and I have reported on in Magazine , and we hope to have up and running soon. Andrew Wright has done a magnificent job in preparing material for uploading - we just need a platform to put it on.
Finally, my usual thanks to all the publications team, ten regulars at the last count - they do a great job and we are lucky to have such talented people in the Society.
Above right: Roger Markland’s artistic skills have graced Magazine on three occasions with prints being available to members.
Right: Taylors Bridge, Todmorden, in the 1960s.
Information Officer’s report
“The enquiry service has still been very active, with requests for information, drawings and photos...”
Chris Leach
Several enquiries from Colin Irwin (Steamchasers); Closure dates of goods facilities on ex-L&Y stations; Rail chairs at Horwich works; Photos of the 0-8-0 compound coal engines; Shed allocations at Bacup and Wakefield in LMS days; Photos of Poulton No 3 box and Poulton station frontage; Holmfirth goods shed interior photos; L&Y locos in the late 1920’s’ Thomas Brassey and the L&Y; Ewood goods shed; Several family history enquiries; Heckmondwike cutting ownership; Netherton station details; Manchester Victoria buildings layout; 2-4-2T GA drawings; Manchester & Leeds Railway “logo” for a TV drama programme on the Brontes; Brinscall station photos; L&Y loco classes around Leeds Huddersfield and Bradford; Agecroft loco shed; Silkstone branch
The Information Group has again been constrained in most of its potential activity thanks to the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic which were exacerbated by other issues affecting a variety of group members and factors external to the Society. However, the enquiry service has still been very active, with more than 60 requests for information, drawings and photos. The following are just a few examples of some of the many enquiries that have come in over the last year:
in our collections at the Manchester Archives, but work on this stopped after the lockdown came into force.
Unfortunately, the major project to digitise the great majority of our drawings collection, together with many of the L&YR drawings in the Manchester Archives own collection, has made no further progress. Attempts to push forward on this have been made more difficult because of the pandemic lockdown, but we hope to report some action soon..
Request for photos from David Joy of the line between Rochdale and Summit tunnel; L&YR clocks; Northorpe North Road station; Pug drawings; Meltham branch photos for member whose garden ends at the Butternab tunnel entrance; Butler Street goods station, Preston; Goods traffic on the Middleton Branch; 1960’s track diagram for St Anne’s; Information on the Middleton Branch; Details about Horwich station; Emigrant trains on the L&Y; 0-8-2 banking engine drawings; 1875 accident at Middleton; Drawings for 0-6-0s and LBL carriages; Loco steam pressure gauges on the L&Y;
Virtual Museum of the
Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway
- local archive research project Project Officer Robin Pennie, assistant John Bulmer and their team have again been constrained by pandemic lockdown, coupled with several other issues outside the control of the Society. Hopefully these constraints will have been reduced by the date of the AGM..
Society drawings, Manchester Archives’ drawings, photographic collection and other archives
The cataloguing group had been making good progress on the nondrawing printed documentary archives
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Treasurer’s report
“Taken all in all, with membership stable, our income remains very healthy indeed...”
Noel Coates
A very interesting year for the finances of the Society; I had expected us to receive less than last year because sales of our publications would be affected by the lack of exhibitions to put ourselves in front of the public but, such is the power of the internet, sales of our wares have continued fairly well – though it’s fair to say that certain items no longer attract buyers because the potential purchaser hasn’t a chance to assess the quality of the book, something which exhibitions do allow (nor is there personal persuasion!). If one subtracts the bequest received last year from the final income figure then it matches this year’s total figure of £48,480. However, one then has to consider the £3000+ amount received from members taking up the offer to buy the LiverpoolManchester Atlas at a discount. Taken all in all, and with membership remaining about the same, our income remains very healthy indeed.
The pandemic has meant that assessing the printed stock we have can only be a partial one. Events have dictated that we move into hiring permanent storage so a better account can be kept of what assets we have in stock
The Business Reserve account was increased by £10,000 in line with the Trustees’ thinking to allow for the printing and posting of four Magazines and two LYR Focus journals for a couple of years should the worst happen.
The accounts have been handed to our Independent Examiners for scrutiny; their testimonials are sent to the Charity Commissioners in our Annual Report to them. I must thank the two gentlemen concerned for the professional manner in which they approach the fulfilment of their post. It is possible to send all documents electronically now which is a further small saving in time and effort to me.
Another method of comparing years is to look at what percentage of our income is membership: for the financial year 2019-2020 it was 63% (removing the bequest) whereas this last year income from membership was 68%. That a third of our income is from other sources (donations represent a further 9% of total income whilst Gift Aid is 14%) suggests our publications and offers are not doing as well at around 10% but our exposure has been limited.
Looking forward to the next financial year and our spending, our plans and the Budget are very much in line with previous years, but income for them will have to be balanced by a slight increase in UK membership subscription to £36 (International £47). This is partly to allow for the fact that we now have to pay for the storage facility for our publications – around £2000 per annum. It is hoped that members will ratify the increase for 2022 at the AGM.
Outgoings were less than last year at £37,238, so we were, once again, able to raise our bank account balances to a collective £52,370, higher than last year’s by £7000. Added to this is the fact that the Editor is holding on to £3900 more than last year pending payment of the next major publication. The budget allowed for printing and distribution of a major work which did not materialise in time for this accounting period so the money is carried forward in the bank account balances.
Accounts:
1 July 2020 - 30 June 2021
RECEIPTS 2020/2021
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|||
|---|---|
|Item|£|
|Subscriptions|30940.00|
|Donations - via Membership Officer|2127.00|
|Donations - for Archives/conservation|388.20|
|Donations - General|1498.00|
|Sales - pre-loved items|464.00|
|Bank Interest|2.47|
|Gift Aid|6842.54|
|Sales - Publications, Binders etc|1089.70|
|Sales - Signal Box book Part One|145.25|
|Sales - Signal Box book Part Two|110.25|
|Sales - Introduction to LYR|91.50|
|Sales - Manchester Victoria booklet|130.50|
|Sales - LMS Central Division Miscellany|53.00|
|Sales - Last Levers on the Fylde|225.25|
|Royalty payments|30.00|
|Sales - Drawings/Photos etc.|49.00|
|Sales - Members book offers|3960.40|
|Sales - Sale of members artefacts|333.00|
|Total|48480.06|
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The items of greatest expenditure are the usual ones – printing, postage costs and advertising but archive purchase has risen to over £7,300. Whilst one cannot predict just what is going to appear on sale, when something does turn up we have to be able to go for it. Expenditure on meetings and travel have been reduced to almost nil this financial year as the restrictions caused by the epidemic have remained. Committee meetings are held by Zoom but there is an annual fee for this which is a fraction of the previous costs and there’s the chance for specific groups to have a joint face-to-face discussion whenever required at no extra cost! The value for money is a delight to any Treasurer’s ears.
ASSETS & LIABILITIES 2020/2021
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|PAYMENTS 2020/2021|ASSETS & LIABILITIES 2020/2021|
|Item|£|Assets|£|
|Officers’ operational expenses|Cash in Deposit Account|30106.92|
|Secretary|Officers’ operational expenses|Nil|Cash in Current Account|22265.32|
|Membership Officer|510.76|Cash in PayPal Account|47.49|
|Treasurer|6.90|Funds with Treasurer|29.68|
|Publication Sales Officer|1233.37|Funds with Editor|3933.45|
|Sub total|1751.03|Cash Total|56382.86|
|Sub total|21.03 Ds|
|General expenses|General|expenses|bo|Stock & Equipment|£|
|Donations|100.00|Stock of publications, books, binders,|6500.00|
|Publications storage unit rental charge|240.00|CDs etc. - trade value|
|Adverising & recruitment|3188.00|Photo scanners for general use (to be|68.87|
|written off over 3 years)|
|Trustee expenses|24.39|
|Archives purchased|7326.82|
|Public Liability Insurance|151.20|Liabilities|£|
|Trustee Liability Insurance|256.28|Items not yet drawn on|Nil|
|AGM notices & reports|342.00|
|AGM Minutes|200.00|
|Contact & Services leaflet etc|100.00|
|Membership forms & cards|1254.00|
|Membermojo subscription|250.00|Budget:|
|Website leases & Domain names|297.89|
|Website transaction charges - Shopify & Stripe|329.76|1 July 2021 - 30 June 2022|
|Website transaction charges - PayPal & Square|429.32|BUDGET & FUNDING 2021/2022|
|Friends of the NRM|80.00|Budget|£|
|Sub total|Sub|total|14569.66|14569.66|Print 4 Magazines|6000.00|
|Print 2 Journals|3700.00|
|Other expenses|Other|expenses|Print BR Miscellany|7000.00|
|Members book offers|2768.14|Replenish publications|3000.00|
|Reprint publications stock|600.00|Publication store rental|2000.00|
|Return sales income of Members effects|333.00|Postage of Magazines|5000.00|
|Zoom subscription|111.55|Postage of Journals & books|5000.00|
|I Mech E research associateship|196.00|PayPal, Shopify & Square charges|800.00|
|Project work on Membership database|250.00|Website maintenance|800.00|
|Website development|600.00|General expenses|1500.00|
|Additional computer equipment|103.93|AGM expenses including printing|700.00|
|Sub total|Sub|total|4962.62|4962.62|Contact Leaflet (annual)|300.00|
|Postage (Membership & Publication Sales)|2200.00|
|Publications|Publications|Publicity & Recruitment|3500.00|
|Supplements and order forms|120.00|Committee expenses|500.00|
|Magazine 284 - print|1500.00|Exhibition expenses & development|500.00|
|Magazine 285 - print|1770.00|Insurances|500.00|
|Magazine 286 - print|1711.00|Sub|Sub total|total|43000.00|43000.00|
|Magazine 287 - print|1495.00|Archive purchase (see Notes to Accounts - 2)|4000.00|
|LYR Focus 84 - print|1740.00|Virtual Museum scanning (see Notes to Accounts - 3)|3000.00|
|Sub total|8336.00|Total|50000.00|
|Postage, labels & equipment|Postage,|labels & equipment|ee|Source of Funds|£|
|Stationery etc|165.50|Subscriptions 860 members @ £36 (Int £47)|31000.00|
|Travel & delivery|178.05|Donations and Interest|1000.00|
|Miscellaneous licences (see Notes to Accounts - 1)|120.00|Publications sales surplus|4000.00|
|Publication pack & postage - Magazine 284 - 287|5708.63|Gift Aid|6000.00|
|Publications pack & postage - LYR Focus 84|1419.40|Sub|Sub total of receipts|total|of|receipts|42000.00|42000.00|
|Other postage|27.60|
|Sub total|7619.18|From Current Account|8000.00|
|Total payments|37238.49|Total|50000.00|
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Note to the Accounts:
The front cover of a booklet from the Society Collection published at the end of 1913 which gives a host of statistical information about the railway in what proved to be the final year of normal operation before the Great War.
-
Miscellaneous licences refer to the rights to use maps, photos etc in our publications.
-
The amount spent depends on what becomes available in any one year.
-
Includes the policy decision to use reserves to fund parts of the Virtual Museum project.
The report of the Independent Examiners will be available at the Annual General Meeting and confirmed in the minutes of that meeting.
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The L&YR Society
Registered Charity No.1098492
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The 70th Annual General Meeting of The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society will be held on Saturday 9th October 2021 at Embsay with Eastby Villiage Institute, Main Street, Embsay, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6RE, starting at 10.00am.
The L&YR Railway Society PARTNERS IN EXCELLENCE
www.lyrs.org.uk e: membership@lyrs.org.uk
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29 Lower Cribden Avenue Rawtenstall Rossendale B84 6SW INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021 I have examined the financlal records of the nCaShIre and Yorksh1 Rallway Society for the year ended 30 June 2021 and can cfIrM that: 1) gross payments a £37,238.49 11) 8ross receipts are £48,480.06 These fi8ure5 are included in the Treasurer's report for the A8enda. Report and Accounts for the 70th Annual General Meeiin8. In my opinion. the Accounts set out thefein show a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Soc•ety as at 30th June 2021. Keith Walmsley Independent Examlnef 21 Sepiember 2021