East Lancs line to Bury

[Philip]

Should the East Lancs railway between Clifton and Bury be a candidate for reopening?

I don't know of any major structural problems in the way, but it would mean a quicker service into Manchester for Radcliffe and Bury than the Metrolink offers. With a newly built spur it could also provide an alternative route to the Calder Valley line beyond Castleton.

 

[JonathanH]

Should the East Lancs railway between Clifton and Bury be a candidate for reopening?

I don't know of any major structural problems in the way, but it would mean a quicker service into Manchester for Radcliffe and Bury than the Metrolink offers. With a newly built spur it could also provide an alternative route to the Calder Valley line beyond Castleton.

The usual answer to these questions is no (although that is a bit mean). What capacity is there to add new routes into Manchester?

Metrolink provides a frequent link into Manchester for Bury which trades speed for frequency. What case could be established for a route that simply extracts passengers from another one?

With regard to the Calder Valley, the congestion issues appear to be worse on the west side of Manchester Victoria than the east side.

I see that this route branches off the Mamchester to Bolton line at Clifton and is now the 'Irwell Sculpture Trail'. It doesn't appear on the OS map as having a clear run through Radcliffe. I'm not really sure what it adds other than the more direct route into the congested Salford Crescent area.

 

[Ianno87]

No capacity whatsoever to take the required trains through Salford Crescent, and served very little new population than existing rail services.

Frankly, it’s better off and more useful as a cycle route.

 

[Sm5]

Why ?

Theres not much left of it…

The school covers the junction for 50+ years, after which Radcliffe the Spring lane cutting was filled in 40+ years ago, Pilkington way covered the old station a decade ago, mcDonalds covers a little bit more.
Afterwards it serves absolutely no where, just fields, until you reach the M60, which took the embankment, leaving a decaying viaduct thats been unstable for 70 years, before arriving at a station served by only 1 train a day…

I cant quite see why it was built at all, its not as if there wasnt any other way of reaching Bury or Accrington.. via Bolton, Crumpsall and Heywood already.

A short stretch of the Bolton line is still in situe, as the rails were used to feed DC power to the 3rd Rail on the Bury line from a Generator situated on the Bolton line, a hang over of the grand plan to electrify all these local lines before WW1…I dont think the rails were ever removed.

only use I could see would be an A-Road feeder from the Clifton M60 junction to Radcliffe Pilkington Way if it were ever needed.

 

[Philip]

The usual answer to these questions is no (although that is a bit mean). What capacity is there to add new routes into Manchester?

Metrolink provides a frequent link into Manchester for Bury which trades speed for frequency. What case could be established for a route that simply extracts passengers from another one?

With regard to the Calder Valley, the congestion issues appear to be worse on the west side of Manchester Victoria than the east side.

I see that this route branches off the Mamchester to Bolton line at Clifton and is now the 'Irwell Sculpture Trail'. It doesn't appear on the OS map as having a clear run through Radcliffe. I'm not really sure what it adds other than the more direct route into the congested Salford Crescent area.

Valid points. There is another potential use I didn't mention; in conjunction with the line from Clifton to Patricroft being restored, as a freight route from Calder Valley and Yorkshire to the WCML at Winwick, without having to go through Manchester. How much capacity this would ease through Victoria/Castlefield I'm not sure.

 

[S&CLER]

Why ?

Theres not much left of it…

The school covers the junction for 50+ years, after which Radcliffe the Spring lane cutting was filled in 40+ years ago, Pilkington way covered the old station a decade ago, mcDonalds covers a little bit more.
Afterwards it serves absolutely no where, just fields, until you reach the M60, which took the embankment, leaving a decaying viaduct thats been unstable for 70 years, before arriving at a station served by only 1 train a day…

I cant quite see why it was built at all, its not as if there wasnt any other way of reaching Bury or Accrington.. via Bolton, Crumpsall and Heywood already.

A short stretch of the Bolton line is still in situe, as the rails were used to feed DC power to the 3rd Rail on the Bury line from a Generator situated on the Bolton line, a hang over of the grand plan to electrify all these local lines before WW1…I dont think the rails were ever removed.

only use I could see would be an A-Road feeder from the Clifton M60 junction to Radcliffe Pilkington Way if it were ever needed.

It was built first, I believe, by the Manchester, Bolton and Bury, a canal company which contemplated conversion to a railway, but actually built a parallel line instead; and the other lines to Bury came later. It makes a nice walk and would be best left as it is.

 

[Sm5]

Valid points. There is another potential use I didn't mention; in conjunction with the line from Clifton to Patricroft being restored, as a freight route from Calder Valley and Yorkshire to the WCML at Winwick, without having to go through Manchester. How much capacity this would ease through Victoria/Castlefield I'm not sure.

I think Skipton-Colne would eat that business case first, theyve been trying for years to reinstate it.
Even if such a need existed, a simple run round at Hellifield would suffice, or just carry on to Carnforth and join the WCML there.

 

[zwk500]

Valid points. There is another potential use I didn't mention; in conjunction with the line from Clifton to Patricroft being restored, as a freight route from Calder Valley and Yorkshire to the WCML at Winwick, without having to go through Manchester. How much capacity this would ease through Victoria/Castlefield I'm not sure.

The problem with 'If A, B and C are built' schemes is that either all parts have to be built pretty much at the same time, or parts A and B have to be able to realise enough benefit without part C because once the line is built it'll start costing money in upkeep, so you'd better have some way of covering that cost until your network effect is able to kick in.

 

[6Gman]

Valid points. There is another potential use I didn't mention; in conjunction with the line from Clifton to Patricroft being restored, as a freight route from Calder Valley and Yorkshire to the WCML at Winwick, without having to go through Manchester. How much capacity this would ease through Victoria/Castlefield I'm not sure.

I'm confused. How do you get from the Calder Valley and Yorkshire to the WCML?

Are you suggesting Castleton - Bury - Radcliffe area - Clifton Jn - Patricroft?

If so, there seem to be a whole list of problems.

EDIT. Clifton Jn to Patricroft rang a bell, and now I remember why! It closed as long ago as 1953 because of Clifton Hall Tunnel (also known I think as Black Harry Tunnel), which collapsed causing 5 fatalities, and which was still receiving remedial work in the 2010s! Of all the lines of closed railways on a UK map this would be high up the list of "most difficult to do" !