East Lancs Railway
| East Lancashire Railway | |
|---|---|
60103 Flying Scotsman at Blackburn Road bridge, Ewood Bridge, heading towards Rawtenstall
|
|
| Locale | North west England |
| Terminus |
Rawtenstall and Heywood |
| Connections |
Network Rail (west of Heywood,via Castleton) Manchester Metrolink (south of Bury) |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | East Lancashire Railway |
| Built by | East Lancashire Railway (1844–1859) |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Operated by | East Lancashire Railway Company |
| Stations | 7 |
| Length | 12 miles 45 chains (20.2 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1846 |
| Closed | 17 March 1980 |
| Preservation history | |
| 31 March 1986 | Granted Light Railway Order (for public service) |
| 25 July 1987 | Re-opens and public service begins |
| 27 April 1991 | Extension to Rawtenstall |
| 6 September 2003 | Extension to Heywood |
| 13 October 2016 | New halt opened at Burrs Country Park |
| Headquarters | Bury Bolton Street |
The East Lancashire Railway is a 12 1⁄2-mile (20 km) heritage railway line in north west England which runs between Heywood and Rawtenstall with intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, Burrs Country Park, Summerseat, Ramsbottom and Irwell Vale.
Passenger services between Bury and Rawtenstall were withdrawn by British Rail on 3 June 1972. Coal services to Rawtenstall ended in 1980, and formal closure followed in 1982. The East Lancashire Railway Trust reopened the line on 25 July 1987. The initial service operated between Bury and Ramsbottom, via Summerseat. In 1991 the service was extended northwards from Ramsbottom to reach Rawtenstall, via Irwell Vale.
However, two original stations on the line, closed to passengers by BR in 1972, have not reopened. They are the former Ewood Bridge & Edenfield and the former Junction station of Stubbins. Rawtenstall is the practical northern limit of the line as the formation on towards Bacup has been lost immediately north of the station.
In September 2003, an eastbound extension from Bury to Heywood was re-opened. To reach Heywood the extension had to cross over the Manchester Metrolink line to Bury, at the site of the former Bury Knowsley Street station. This necessitated the construction of a new intersection bridge, with steeply graded approaches of 1 in 36 and 1 in 41 nicknamed The Ski Jump.
On 13 October 2016, the new Burrs Country Park station was officially opened by the Mayor of Bury, where locomotive no. 4472 Flying Scotsman pulled the first train to stop at the station with a bagpipe rendition of 'Scotland the Brave' signalling its arrival.
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Wikipedia