Tyldesley Loopline
Encyclopedia
The Tyldesley Loopline was the London and North Western Railway
's Manchester and Wigan Railway line from Eccles
to the junction west of Tyldesley station
and its continuance south west via Bedford Leigh
to Kenyon Junction
on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
. The line opened on September 1st 1864. Stations were at Worsley
, Ellenbrook
, Tyldesley
, Leigh
and Pennington
on the line to Kenyon Junction.
received Royal Assent
in July 1861 and the first sod was cut
at Worsley by the Earl of Ellesmere
in the September. During construction, a Roman road
was uncovered at Worsley. The railway was just over 16 miles long with 88 bridges, a sandstone
cutting at Parr Brow Tyldesley and a 22 arch viaduct which took the railway through Leigh and over the Bridgewater Canal
. The work was expected to have been completed by May 1863 but lasted until the summer of 1864.
at Chowbent
, Hindley Green
and Platt Bridge
opened on the same day.
A branch line leaving the Tyldesley to Eccles line at Roe Green
with stations at Walkden
, Little Hulton
and Plodder Lane was authorised in 1865 and opened in 1870. This was extended to Great Moor Street
in Bolton in 1874. Monton Green station
between Eccles station
and Worsley station
opened in 1877 to serve new housing. In 1876 Bedford Leigh was renamed Leigh & Bedford and in 1914 was again renamed to Leigh. Chowbent was renamed Howe Bridge in 1901.
Stations on the line became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, and the London Midland Region of British Railways
on nationalisation in 1948.
, and the many collieries that were being developed in the area, was the chief motivation for building a railway in the area and the railway's supporters included many local colliery owners and industrialists. These included the Earl of Ellesmere
owner of the Bridgewater Collieries
, the Fletchers of Fletcher, Burrows and Company
and millowner Caleb Wright
. Collieries linked to the railway include Astley and Tyldesley Collieries
' St George's
, Nook
and Gin Pit Collieries
which were connected at Jackson's sidings, Bedford Colliery
in Leigh was connected at Speakman's sidings on the Pennington branch and the Shakerley, Yew Tree and Cleworth Hall Collieries belonging to the Tyldesley Coal Company
had a connection at Green's Sidings to the east of Tyldesley station and Ramsden's Shakerley Collieries
had their own sidings. Mosley Common
Colliery was connected at Ellenbrook and mines connected to the Bridgewater Collieries system including Sandhole joined the line between Roe Green and Worsley at Sanderson's Sidings.
on the 5th May 1969 and Leigh, Tyldesley, Monton Green and Worsley stations were closed.
The former trackbed which passes through the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
area was reserved in the Unitary Development Plan in case the rail route could be reinstated. The current proposal for the Leigh-Tyldesley area is a guided bus
route along the former trackbed joining the A580
East Lancashire Road close to Roe Green but this not universally popular. Salford City Council has used the trackbed of the railway for recreational purposes turning it into a rail trail.
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
's Manchester and Wigan Railway line from Eccles
Eccles railway station
Eccles railway station serves the town of Eccles in the City of Salford district of Greater Manchester.The station is next to the M602 motorway and is 400 metres away from the Eccles Metrolink station...
to the junction west of Tyldesley station
Tyldesley railway station
Tyldesley railway station is a closed railway station in Greater Manchester. It was situated within the historic county of Lancashire.-History:...
and its continuance south west via Bedford Leigh
Leigh (Greater Manchester) railway station
Leigh railway station, originally named Bedford Leigh and later Leigh and Bedford, is a closed railway station located in Bedford, Leigh, Greater Manchester...
to Kenyon Junction
Kenyon Junction railway station
Kenyon Junction was a junction railway station at Kenyon on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Bolton and Leigh Railway near Culcheth in Warrington, England. It was situated within the historic county of Lancashire. The station opened in 1831 and closed to passengers on 2 January 1961...
on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
. The line opened on September 1st 1864. Stations were at Worsley
Worsley railway station
Worsley railway station was opened in 1864 to serve the town of Worsley in Greater Manchester. The Tyldesley Loopline and all its stations closed in 1969 as a result of the Beeching Axe.-History:...
, Ellenbrook
Ellenbrook railway station
Ellenbrook railway station was a railway station in Ellenbrook, Worsley, then within the historic county of Lancashire, England, on the Manchester and Wigan Railway line....
, Tyldesley
Tyldesley
Tyldesley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies an area north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, east-southeast of Wigan and west-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, Leigh
Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....
and Pennington
Pennington railway station
Pennington Station was a railway station at Pennington, Leigh, Greater Manchester, England on the Bolton and Leigh Railway. It was situated within the historic county of Lancashire....
on the line to Kenyon Junction.
Construction
The London and North Western Railway BillBill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
in July 1861 and the first sod was cut
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
at Worsley by the Earl of Ellesmere
Earl of Ellesmere
Earl of Ellesmere, of Ellesmere in the County of Shropshire , is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1846 for the Conservative politician Lord Francis Egerton. He was granted the courtesy title of Viscount Brackley, of Brackley in the County of Northampton, at the same...
in the September. During construction, a Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
was uncovered at Worsley. The railway was just over 16 miles long with 88 bridges, a sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
cutting at Parr Brow Tyldesley and a 22 arch viaduct which took the railway through Leigh and over the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
. The work was expected to have been completed by May 1863 but lasted until the summer of 1864.
Development
Stations between Tyldesley and WiganWigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
at Chowbent
Howe Bridge railway station
Howe Bridge railway station, originally Chowbent station, is a closed railway station in Atherton, Greater Manchester. It was situated within the historic county of Lancashire.-History:...
, Hindley Green
Hindley Green
Hindley Green is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. The village lies to the east of Hindley and is centred on the A577 Atherton Road to its boundary with Leigh.-History:...
and Platt Bridge
Platt Bridge
Platt Bridge is a settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester England, two miles south of Wigan town centre along the spine of the A573 road. Historically part of Lancashire, the area is now a residential suburb of Wigan. The first mention of Platt Bridge in documents...
opened on the same day.
A branch line leaving the Tyldesley to Eccles line at Roe Green
Roe Green
Roe Green is a suburb of Worsley in the metropolitan borough of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It was anciently a hamlet built around the ancient village green...
with stations at Walkden
Walkden
Walkden is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It is west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester....
, Little Hulton
Little Hulton
Little Hulton is a village—effectively a suburb—within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Bolton, west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester...
and Plodder Lane was authorised in 1865 and opened in 1870. This was extended to Great Moor Street
Bolton Great Moor Street railway station
Bolton Great Moor Street railway station was the first railway station in Bolton, opened on 11 June 1831 by the Bolton and Leigh Railway. Originally named simply Bolton, it was renamed Bolton Great Moor Street in October 1849...
in Bolton in 1874. Monton Green station
Monton Green railway station
Monton Green railway station is a closed station in Eccles.Opened on 1 November 1887, Monton Green was the first station on the London and North Western Railway's Manchester and Wigan Railway, which connected Eccles with Wigan and the Tyldesley Loopline which connected Tyldesley, Leigh and Kenyon...
between Eccles station
Eccles railway station
Eccles railway station serves the town of Eccles in the City of Salford district of Greater Manchester.The station is next to the M602 motorway and is 400 metres away from the Eccles Metrolink station...
and Worsley station
Worsley railway station
Worsley railway station was opened in 1864 to serve the town of Worsley in Greater Manchester. The Tyldesley Loopline and all its stations closed in 1969 as a result of the Beeching Axe.-History:...
opened in 1877 to serve new housing. In 1876 Bedford Leigh was renamed Leigh & Bedford and in 1914 was again renamed to Leigh. Chowbent was renamed Howe Bridge in 1901.
Stations on the line became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, and the London Midland Region of British Railways
London Midland Region of British Railways
The London Midland Region was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to Euston Station and later from Stanier...
on nationalisation in 1948.
Collieries
CoalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, and the many collieries that were being developed in the area, was the chief motivation for building a railway in the area and the railway's supporters included many local colliery owners and industrialists. These included the Earl of Ellesmere
Earl of Ellesmere
Earl of Ellesmere, of Ellesmere in the County of Shropshire , is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1846 for the Conservative politician Lord Francis Egerton. He was granted the courtesy title of Viscount Brackley, of Brackley in the County of Northampton, at the same...
owner of the Bridgewater Collieries
Bridgewater Collieries
Bridgewater Collieries originated from the coal mines on the Manchester Coalfield in Worsley in the historic county of Lancashire owned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater in the second half of the 18th century. After the Duke's death in 1803 his estate was managed by the Bridgewater...
, the Fletchers of Fletcher, Burrows and Company
Fletcher, Burrows and Company
Fletcher, Burrows and Company was a coal mining company that owned collieries in Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. Gibfield, Howe Bridge and Chanters collieries exploited the coal mines of the middle coal measures in the Manchester Coalfield...
and millowner Caleb Wright
Caleb Wright
Caleb Wright was a mill owner and Liberal politician in Lancashire, north-west England.He was one of thirteen children of William Wright, bookmaker of Tyldesley, near Manchester. At the age of nine he began work as a "piecer" in a local cotton mill. The only education he received was by attending...
. Collieries linked to the railway include Astley and Tyldesley Collieries
Astley and Tyldesley Collieries
The Astley and Tyldesley Collieries Company formed in 1900 owned coal mines on the Lancashire Coalfield south of the railway in Astley and Tyldesley, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England...
' St George's
St George's Colliery
St George's Colliery, Back o't' Church, was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield after 1866 in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England...
, Nook
Nook Colliery
Nook Colliery was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield after 1866 in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England....
and Gin Pit Collieries
Gin Pit Colliery
Gin Pit was a coal mine operating on the Lancashire Coalfield from the 1840s in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester then in the historic county of Lancashire, England...
which were connected at Jackson's sidings, Bedford Colliery
Bedford Colliery
Bedford Colliery, also known as Wood End Pit, was a coal mine on the Manchester Coalfield in Bedford, Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. The colliery was owned by John Speakman, who started sinking two shafts in about 1874 on land at Wood End Farm in the northeast part of Bedford, south of the...
in Leigh was connected at Speakman's sidings on the Pennington branch and the Shakerley, Yew Tree and Cleworth Hall Collieries belonging to the Tyldesley Coal Company
Tyldesley Coal Company
Tyldesley Coal Company was a coal mining company formed in 1870 in Tyldesley, on the Manchester Coalfield in the historic county of Lancashire, England that had its origins in Yew Tree Colliery, the location for a mining disaster that killed 25 men and boys in 1858.-History:Yew Tree Farm covered...
had a connection at Green's Sidings to the east of Tyldesley station and Ramsden's Shakerley Collieries
Shakerley Collieries
Ramsden's Shakerley Collieries was a coal mining company operating on the Manchester Coalfield from the mid 19th century in Shakerley, Tyldesley in the historic county of Lancashire, England.-History:...
had their own sidings. Mosley Common
Mosley Common
Mosley Common is a suburb of Tyldesley at the far-eastern edge of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England.It was anciently a hamlet in the east of the township of Tyldesley cum Shakerley, in the ancient parish of Leigh...
Colliery was connected at Ellenbrook and mines connected to the Bridgewater Collieries system including Sandhole joined the line between Roe Green and Worsley at Sanderson's Sidings.
Closure
The Tyldesley Loopline closed following the Beeching AxeBeeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
on the 5th May 1969 and Leigh, Tyldesley, Monton Green and Worsley stations were closed.
The former trackbed which passes through the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
area was reserved in the Unitary Development Plan in case the rail route could be reinstated. The current proposal for the Leigh-Tyldesley area is a guided bus
Guided bus
Guided buses are buses steered for part or all of their route by external means, usually on a dedicated track. This track, which often parallels existing roads, excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of reliable schedules on heavily used corridors even during rush hours.Guidance systems...
route along the former trackbed joining the A580
A580 road
The A580 is a primary A road in England that connects Walton, near Liverpool and Salford, near Manchester and known officially as Liverpool-East Lancashire Road. Locally, the road is shortened to the "East Lancs". The road was designed and built to provide better access to the Port of Liverpool for...
East Lancashire Road close to Roe Green but this not universally popular. Salford City Council has used the trackbed of the railway for recreational purposes turning it into a rail trail.