User:Nempnet/sandbox/rly

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original at Liverpool and Bury Railway see also Manchester and Southport Railway

Liverpool and Bury Railway
LOPR and LBR diverge.
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleLancashire
North West England
Service
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)Northern Trains
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in
(1,435 mm)
standard gauge

The Liverpool and Bury Railway was formed by an Act in 1845 to link Liverpool and Bury via Kirkby, Wigan and Bolton.

the line opening on 20 November 1848.


Formation and opening[edit]

In the 1840s travel by rail between Bolton and Wigan was possible but time consuming, and it depended on using the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) who effectively had a monopoly on travel not only between Liverpool and Manchester but also to the industrial towns of the north west, Wigan via a connection on the North Union Railway, Bolton via a connection on the former Bolton and Leigh Railway.[1] Local industrialists formed the Bolton, Wigan and Liverpool Railway Company in 1844 with the intention of breaking the L&MR monopoly, in 1845 they decided to include Bury in their plans and applied for parliamentary powers, these were granted on 31 July 1845 and the Liverpool and Bury Railway was formed.[act 1][1][3]

The Act provided for a line starting near the Borough gaol in Liverpool to a junction with the Bolton and Preston Railway (B&PR) near Lostock.[a][5]

Two branches were included in the Act, one from near Upholland to Ormskirk and a branch from the Manchester and Bolton Railway at Bolton to a junction with the Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway at Bury.[b][5]

This second branch to Bury was already authorised to be extended onto Heywood where it connected with the Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR) forming a route through to Rochdale by a M&LR Act of 30 June 1845.[act 2][5]

The Liverpool and Bury Railway was acquired on 27 July 1846 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway[act 3] who needed no persuasion in acquiring a route to Liverpool. At the same time as the amalgamation Act was passed, the railway also had authorised an extension into Liverpool to a station near Exchange Square, the extension was not allowed to pass within 15 ft (4.6 m) of the Borough gaol and a 700 ft (210 m) wall was to be erected to prevent railway passengers seeing into the gaol.[act 4][10]

The Manchester and Leeds Railway amalgamated with others to become the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway on 9 July 1847, [act 5][3]

The line running from a temporary terminus at Liverpool Great Howard Street to the junction near Lostock, and the branch from Bolton to Bury were opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway on 20 November 1848, the section between Lostock and Bolton had been open since the 1841 opening of the Bolton and Preston Railway.[10][12]

The final section of the route from Bury to Heywood was opened by the L&YR on 1 May 1848.[13]

Construction[edit]

A contract for building the whole line, less the viaduct required at Liverpool, was let on 5 November 1845 to William McCormick and William Dargan, the Liverpool viaduct contract was not let until 11 March 1846 and that went to William McCormick in conjunction with S. & J. Holmes, the line was to be complete by 1 July 1847 with penalties for lateness and bonuses for early completion. Work started at once and along the whole line and by May 1846 there were about 3,500 men and 200 horses at work.[10]

There were some considerable civil engineering aspects to the line, the Liverpool viaduct was over a 1 mi (1.6 km), had 117 brick arches 30 ft (9.1 m) high and contained over 26 million bricks. On 23 March 1847 twenty-one of the arches collapsed, setting back the work and adding expense.[14][15] Walton tunnel whilst 1,149 yd (1,051 m) long presented no problems as it was dry. Upholland tunnel at 959 yd (877 m) went through coal measures and rock and proved to be very wet and troublesome requiring pumping.[14]

At Rainford the line went for 2 mi (3.2 km) over a moss (similar to Chat moss which the Liverpool and Manchester Railway had to cross) which had to be excavated to a depth of 26 ft (7.9 m). There was a 2 mi (3.2 km) long and 40 ft (12 m) high embankment at Pemberton, 65 ft (20 m) long bridges were needed to cross the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, at Kirkdale and again near Wigan, Wigan was approached via a timber viaduct consisting of forty-five 30 ft (9.1 m) spans and the NUR's Springs branch also needed a timber viaduct 25 ft (7.6 m) high to cross it. Further along the line a 700 ft (210 m) long viaduct crossed the river Croal and the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal, the Tonge valley was crossed by an 86 ft (26 m) high viaduct and at Bury there was a stone viaduct of five spans of 73 ft (22 m) each.[14]

The line opened for goods traffic a month later than passengers whilst a wagon hoist was installed at Liverpool.[16]

Description[edit]

As the Act to extend the railway into Liverpool had already been authorised before the line was finalised the initial terminus near the Borough gaol was always known to only be of a temporary nature.[act 4] Liverpool Borough Gaol was however the terminus when the line opened. From Borough Gaol most of the line opened at the same time, it was double-tracked throughout.[16]

From the joint L&YR/ELR station at Borough Gaol/Great Howard Street the joint line ran northwards through Bootle Lane (later became Kirkdale) to Walton Junction where the ELR line to Ormskirk and Preston which was under construction branched off, the line to Bury veering eastwards, immediately after the junction was Preston Road (which later became Rice Lane) then Simonswood (which later became Aintree then Fazakerley) to Kirkby. Rainford was next followed by Pimbo Lane (later became Upholland) and Upholland which only lasted a short time until 1852 before being replaced by Orrell just over 1 mi (1.6 km) further along the line, then came Pemberton and into the first Wigan station.[17][18]

The 3 miles (4.8 km) through Wigan were built in conjunction with the Manchester and Southport Railway as they would both be using it. There were two stations on this section, Wigan and Hindley.[19][20]

Shortly after Hindley the line veered northwards at what would later become Crow Nest Junction when the Manchester and Southport Railway finished its line to Manchester in 1888.[21] Westhoughton came next and then to Lostock Junction where the line met the existing North Union Railway (former Bolton and Preston Railway) line into Bolton Trinity Street.[22]

Darcy Lever was the first station after Bolton, then Bradley Fold, Black Lane and Bury Knowsley Street

At Bury the line made an end-on connection with the extension from Heywood that had opened on 1 May 1848

Another station was opened later, on 1 June 1863, at Ince.[23]


https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232416000/view https://maps.nls.uk/view/102344096


The line ran from Liverpool Exchange first using a joint line with Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway before branching off to proceed via Kirkby then Wigan Wallgate and Bolton to Bury Knowsley Street.

Mergers[edit]

In 1846 the line merged with the Manchester & Leeds Railway being eventually finished after the merger to form the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR).[24] The portion of the line west of Crow Nest Junction eventually formed part of the LYR's 37-mile (59.5 km) Liverpool to Manchester route via a junction with the Manchester and Southport Railway at Wigan. From 1858 the line was connected to the Skelmersdale Branch and the St. Helens Railway at Rainford Junction. A short tunnel was bored through a hill between Upholland station and Orrell station.

The line today[edit]

With the exception of the section from Bolton to Bury (closed on 5 October 1970, along with the continuation through to Castleton) the line is still in use, though Liverpool Exchange station closed in 1977 being replaced by Liverpool Moorfields in Merseyrail's Link Tunnel.[25] In 1946 one of the Victorian timber bridges on the line was replaced with the Adam Viaduct, the first prestressed concrete railway bridge in the United Kingdom.[26]

The line from Liverpool city centre to Kirkby is electrified with a DC third rail forming a part of Merseyrail's Northern Line. At present, services from Kirkby onwards are operated by diesel trains though there are plans for the Merseyrail electrified line to be extended towards Wigan with a new terminus at Headbolt Lane. Long-term aspirations are to extend Merseyrail to Wigan on this line.[citation needed] The Wigan to Bolton section meanwhile is used by Manchester Airport to Southport and Southport to Manchester Victoria local services.[27]

In January 2019, Campaign for Better Transport released a report identifying the line between Bolton and Bury which was listed as Priority 2 for reopening. Priority 2 is for those lines which require further development or a change in circumstances (such as housing developments).[28]

In March 2020, a bid was made to the Restoring Your Railway fund to get funds for a feasibility study into reinstating the line between Bolton and Bury. This bid was unsuccessful however a resubmitted bid for the second round was successful. [29] [30]

by an Act in 1845 to link Liverpool and Bury via Kirkby, Wigan and Bolton upholland to orskirk branch?

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The Act said the junction was with the Bolton and Preston Railway but it had been acquired by the North Union Railway on 10 May 1844.[4]
  2. ^ The Act said the junction was with the Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway but it had recently, on 30 June 1845, amalgamated with the Blackburn, Burnley, Accrington and Colne Extension Railway to form the East Lancashire Railway.[2][6]

Acts of Parliament[edit]

  1. ^ An Act for making a Railway from Liverpool to Wigan, Bolton, and Bury, with several Branches therefrom.[2]
  2. ^ An Act for amending the Acts relating to the Manchester and Leeds Railway, and for making a Branch therefrom to Burnley, and for extending the Oldham and Heywood Branches.[7]
  3. ^ An Act to incorporate the Liverpool and Bury Railway Company with the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company.[8]
  4. ^ a b An Act for amending the Act relating to the Liverpool and Bury Railway, and for making Branches therefrom.[9]
  5. ^ An Act to enable the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company to make certain Branches, Extensions, and other Works, and to alter the Name of the Company.[11]


References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Marshall 1969, pp. 128–129.
  2. ^ a b "Local and Personal Act, 8 & 9 Victoria I, c. clxvi" (PDF). UK Parliament Parliamentary Archives. UK Parliament. 1845. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b Grant 2017, pp. 317–318.
  4. ^ Grant 2017, pp. 58–59.
  5. ^ a b c Marshall 1969, p. 129.
  6. ^ Grant 2017, p. 359.
  7. ^ "Local and Personal Act, 8 & 9 Victoria I, c. liv" (PDF). UK Parliament Parliamentary Archives. UK Parliament. 1845. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Local and Personal Act, 9 & 10 Victoria I, c. cclxxxii" (PDF). UK Parliament Parliamentary Archives. UK Parliament. 1846. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Local and Personal Act, 9 & 10 Victoria I, c. cccxii" (PDF). UK Parliament Parliamentary Archives. UK Parliament. 1846. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Marshall 1969, p. 130.
  11. ^ "Local and Personal Act, 10 & 11 Victoria I, c. clxiii" (PDF). UK Parliament Parliamentary Archives. UK Parliament. 1847. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  12. ^ Brown 2021, pp. 69–70.
  13. ^ Brown 2021, p. 73.
  14. ^ a b c Marshall 1969, p. 131.
  15. ^ "Accident at the works of the Liverpool and Bury Railway". The Liverpool Mercury. 26 March 1847. p. 6. Retrieved 8 May 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ^ a b Marshall 1969, p. 132.
  17. ^ Marshall 1969, p. 133.
  18. ^ Brown 2021, pp. 80–83, 96, 97, 116.
  19. ^ Marshall 1969, pp. 133 & 156.
  20. ^ Brown 2021, pp. 83–84.
  21. ^ Brown 2021, p. 84.
  22. ^ Brown 2021, p. 70.
  23. ^ Quick 2023, pp. 243, 255 & 487.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference grace was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ "Liverpool Exchange Station: We look back on this famous terminus 165 years after it opened". Liverpool Echo.
  26. ^ Historic England. "Adam Viaduct (1061327)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  27. ^ "Working Timetable Section CL" (PDF). Network Rail. 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  28. ^ [1] p.42
  29. ^ Restoring Your Railway Fund: bids received gov.uk
  30. ^ Restoring Your Railway Fund: Successful Bids gov.uk

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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