East Lancashire Railway
East Lancashire Railway is a 12.5-mile (20 km) heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire.
There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, Burrs Country Park, Summerseat and Ramsbottom, with the line crossing the border into Rossendale serving Irwell Vale and Rawtenstall. Before closure, the line terminated at Bacup.
Passenger services between Bury and Rawtenstall were withdrawn by British Rail on 3 June 1972.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 of the line 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.
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.
The remainder of the extension includes a long section at 1 in 85, rising towards Heywood, as the preserved railway line climbs out of the Irwell valley.
The heritage line is now just over 12 miles (19 km) long and has a mainline connection with the national railway network at Castleton, just beyond Heywood. The ELR is planning to extend the running line to Castleton in the future, with a new cross platform interchange being the preferred option.
Options for providing an interchange station at Castleton between East Lancashire Railway and National Rail services are currently being explored. Plans for the new station are supported by Rochdale Borough Council, which hopes to fund it by adjacent land development.
A rail connection with the Metrolink line also exists, just south of Bury, at Buckley Wells. This was formerly the connection to the Electric Car Shops, where the Class 504 EMU sets were maintained, and was created when BR services were diverted to Bury Interchange in 1980.
Read MoreThere are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, Burrs Country Park, Summerseat and Ramsbottom, with the line crossing the border into Rossendale serving Irwell Vale and Rawtenstall. Before closure, the line terminated at Bacup.
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 of the line 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.
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.
The remainder of the extension includes a long section at 1 in 85, rising towards Heywood, as the preserved railway line climbs out of the Irwell valley.
The heritage line is now just over 12 miles (19 km) long and has a mainline connection with the national railway network at Castleton, just beyond Heywood. The ELR is planning to extend the running line to Castleton in the future, with a new cross platform interchange being the preferred option.
Options for providing an interchange station at Castleton between East Lancashire Railway and National Rail services are currently being explored. Plans for the new station are supported by Rochdale Borough Council, which hopes to fund it by adjacent land development.
A rail connection with the Metrolink line also exists, just south of Bury, at Buckley Wells. This was formerly the connection to the Electric Car Shops, where the Class 504 EMU sets were maintained, and was created when BR services were diverted to Bury Interchange in 1980.
