2017

SD8010 : 6990 Witherslack Hall at Bury

taken 7 years ago, near to Fishpool, Bury, England

6990 Witherslack Hall at Bury
6990 Witherslack Hall at Bury
Great Central Railway’s preserved GWR Modified Hall Class locomotive 6990 “Witherslack Hall”, pulling a steam train from Heywood, approaches the Knowsley Street bridge at Bury whilst operating as a guest locomotive on the East Lancashire Railway. The locomotive was built at Swindon in 1948 and withdrawn from service in January 1966.
The East Lancashire Railway (ELR)

The East Lancashire Railway (ELR) is a heritage railway based in Bury. It is currently (as at July 2022) operating between Rawtenstall and Heywood, with intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street, Burrs Country Park, Summerseat, Ramsbottom and Irwell Vale, respectively.

The original East Lancashire Railway LinkExternal link opened in 1844, beginning as a railway from Clifton via Bury to Rawtenstall. It was later amalgamated with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Parts of the network remain in use today, and the section of the original line between Bury and Rawtenstall is now operated by the heritage railway.

After formal closure by British Rail in 1982, the line between Bury and Ramsbottom, via Summerseat was reopened on 25 July 1987 as a new heritage railway. In 1991 the service was extended northwards from Ramsbottom to reach Rawtenstall, via Irwell Vale and in 2003 an eastbound extension from Bury to Heywood was re-opened. To reach Heywood the extension had to cross over the 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 heritage line is now just over 12 miles long, and has a mainline connection with the national railway network at Castleton, just beyond Heywood. The ELR plans to extend the running line further into Castleton in the future, to where a new (and separate) platform named "Castleton Village" will be constructed adjacent to the main station itself (LinkExternal link Manchester Evening News).

The railway is run by volunteer members from the East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society (ELRPS). The railway is well known for its collection of diesel locomotives which reside on the railway, along with over 140 carriages, wagons and utility vehicles. It is open every weekend of the year and holds a number of themed events and galas throughout the year which include steam and diesel events amongst others, and also offers driver experience courses.

LinkExternal link East Lancashire Railway Website


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Bury [1142] · Street [519] · East Lancashire Railway [419] · Built [298] ·
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SD8010, 1716 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Saturday, 20 May, 2017   (more nearby)
Submitted
Saturday, 20 May, 2017
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 802 103 [100m precision]
WGS84: 53:35.3506N 2:17.9628W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 802 103
View Direction
East-southeast (about 112 degrees)
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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