3. Trip to the ELR-12.10.19

THE ARCHIVE FILES > Archive-2019 > 69. Trip to Manchester-10-13.10.19 > 3. Trip to the ELR-12.10.19
As I had received a birthday present in the form of a steam train ride gift experience, my wife and I decided to combine a visit to the East Lancashire Railway with a few days in Manchester. We had a nice day out on the railway enjoying unlimited travel. The trains, in particular, the steam services, were very busy with standing room only on one train making it more like a commuter service than a leisure trip! We travelled to and from Bury on the Metrolink from Piccadilly close to our hotel.
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Images 1-15 of 15 displayed.

3003, Piccadilly-Bury, Bury Interchange Metrolink tram 3003 has just arrived at Bury Interchange station and is already displaying its return destination. My wife and I travelled on this tram from Piccadilly station, from zone one to zone four. This was a fascinating journey that crossed Manchester and out through its suburbs that took just over half an hour. Keywords: 3003 Piccadilly-Bury Bury Interchange
33035, 11.05 Rawtenstall-Heywood, Bury Bolton Street station 33035 arrives at Bury Bolton Street station leading the 11.05 Rawtenstall to Heywood service. Whilst class 33s were always associated with the Southern Region, they did work as far as Manchester during their time on the Cardiff to Crewe services during the 1980s. Keywords: 33035 11.05 Rawtenstall-Heywood Bury Bolton Street station
80080, 11.30 Heywood-Rawtenstall, Bury Bolton Street station Former British Railways Standard class 4 2-6-4T number 80080 arrives at Bury Bolton Sreet leading the 11.30 Heywood to Rawtenstall service. There were a lot of passengers waiting to board what was already a very busy train. The front three coaches were in use for a dining experience so effectively out of use for other passengers. Also, another coach was reserved for a coach party so that left everybody else to cram into the remaining four coaches. We struggled to find a seat and some passengers were forced to stand. Whilst it is encouraging to see heritage lines enjoying such good patronage visitors do pay premium prices for the experience, so, then to be treated like a weekday commuter might not go down too well! Keywords: 80080 11.30 Heywood-Rawtenstall Bury Bolton Street station
80080, 11.30 Heywood-Rawtenstall, Ramsbottom station Having alighted from this train, the 11.30 Heywood to Rawtenstall, at Ramsbottom it is seen waiting to leave to continue its journey. It is being led by class 4MT 80080 that operates on the East Lancashire Railway being owned by the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley. Ramsbottom has been very well restored giving a great feeling of a small LMS station. As well as the buildings seen here it also has a lovely signal box that controls wooden gates via a traditional 'ships wheel'. The footbridge that I am standing on was installed following removal from Dinting's BR station. Keywords: 80080 11.30 Heywood-Rawtenstall Ramsbottom station
33035, 12.15 Heywood-Rawtenstall, Rawtenstall station Having reached the end of the line, 33035 has come to a halt at Rawtenstall with the 12.15 from Heywood. My wife and I had travelled on this train from Ramsbottom. This is the northern limit of the ELR and with no prospect of any extension through the town, this will be as far as it goes. However, the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) has identified that the ELR should consider operating commuter services to the link with the national network beyond its current southern limit of the line at Heywood. Keywords: 33035 12.15 Heywood-Rawtenstall Rawtenstall station
33035, running round, Rawtenstall station 33035 is seen running round at Rawtenstall ready to work the return train to Heywood. It will run down towards the level crossing and return towards me under the water tower. This manoeuvre is controlled by the signalman in Rawtenstall West signal box that can be seen in the background. Dominating the scene is the late nineteenth century Hardman's Cotton Mill. It is a grade two listed structure and currently in use split into small industrial and office units. Keywords: 33035 running round Rawtenstall station
33035, 13.55 Rawtenstall-Heywood, Rawtenstall station 33035 has backed on to the stock ready to work the 13.55 to Heywood at Rawtenstall station. My wife and I took this train back to Bury where I stayed on to Heywood whilst she sampled the delights of Bury's shops! 330035 is a familiar locomotive to me from my formative railway years during the 1980s. It was a regular performer on Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol/Cardiff Central services and I have a particularly good picture of it climbing Upton Scudamore bank past Dilton Marsh in January 1984, the image will be uploaded to my site in the future! Keywords: 33035 13.55 Rawtenstall-Heywood, Rawtenstall station
Bury South signal box (L&Y, 1910) The rear of Bury's South signal box is seen from the passing train complete with a collection of S & T equipment scattered about on the ground. This is the original 1910 Lancashire and Yorkshire box in its as-built location that was closed by BR in 1980. The ELR re-opened the box in 2004 with a hybrid frame created from Wigan S & T store (fifty levers) and Hadfield (fifteen levers). The box controls all the sidings and lines to the south of Bury station and access to the line that leads up to the heritage line's convergence with NR metals at Hopwood ground frame. Keywords: Bury South signal box
33035, running round, Heywood station Having arrived at Heywood station with the 13.55 from Rawtenstall, 330035 runs round the stock. This image shows the steep gradient up to Heywood station and the camber of the track on the curve. Heywood marks the southern limit of the ELR's operations but just beyond the station the track continues through some gates and links with Network Rail metals at Hopwood ground frame. Keywords: 33035 running round Heywood station
33035, 15.15 Heywood-Rawtenstall, Heywood station 33035 performed well on the ELR throughout the day and looked to be in good restored condition but for rather faded hi-viz. ends as seen here at Heywood station. I am about to join the train for the short trip back to Bury Bolton Street as the 15.15 to Rawtenstall, the final down train of the day. In the background is the tower of the now named Pheonix Brewery dating from 1898. This was Bass brewery up until closure in the 1980s with it being taken over by Pheonix in 1991. It is interesting that Heywood's Morrisons store, in a nod to the town's heritage, has built a central tower very similar to the brewery's but on a much smaller scale. Keywords: 33035 15.15 Heywood-Rawtenstall Heywood station
08164, station pilot, Bury Bolton Street station 08164 'Prudence' is seen here at Bury Bolton Street station undertaking station pilot duties. It has shunted the stock removed from the earlier steam services associated with the dining train into platform one for cleaning purposes. When cleaning is complete, the stock will be moved to the carriage sidings. This class 08 is an early example being released from Darlington works in 1956 as 13232 to become D3232 in 1959 taking its TOPS number in 1974. Throughout its working life, it was based in the Hull area before moving to Gateshead from where it was withdrawn in 1986. Keywords: 08164 station pilot Bury Bolton Street station
3028, Bury-Piccadilly working, Bury Interchange Our tram from Bury back to Piccadilly waits under the A58 ring road bridge at Bury Interchange Metrolink station. We found the trams efficient, clean and quick with my wife commenting on both their acceleration and the speed that they get up to on certain sections of the largely downhill sections between Bury and Manchester. Keywords: 3028 Bury-Piccadilly working Bury Interchange
Former Manchester Central station After an evening out at a superb concert held in Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, we emerged to find the former Manchester Central station illuminated and looking very impressive. The station was opened in 1880 by the Cheshire Lines Committee eventually being closed by BR in 1969 in a very sorry state. The grade II listed structure was rebuilt during the 1980s by Manchester City Council to be opened as the G-MEX centre, a venue for conferences and concerts. Following the opening of the Manchester Arena at Victoria station in 1995, it was extensively re-modelled to become, once again, Manchester Central, a large venue for hosting national events such as political conferences and, of all things the X-Factor final! Keywords: Former Manchester Central station
Travelcard, zones 1-4 Our Metrolink travelcards allowed unlimited off-peak travel in all zones. At just under £5 these represent pretty good value considering the distances that zone four permits out as far as Bury, Rochdale, Altrincham and Manchester Airport. The trams are frequent, clean and now feature free on-board wi-fi but I did not sample this. Keywords: Travelcard zones 1-4
Tickets & voucher pack, ELR This was the main reason for our visit to the north-west. I was given a steam train ride experience voucher pack for my birthday back in May. It took until October for us to take advantage of it on the East Lancs. Railway! We had a good day out but found that the steam train services were too crowded. Whist I applaud the high levels of patronage they are obviously enjoying, they must be aware that some visitors may be put off if the services become more like a daily commuter train! Keywords: Tickets voucher pack ELR East Lancs Railway

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