2011

SD7916 : East Lancashire Railway, Ramsbottom Station

taken 12 years ago, near to Ramsbottom, Bury, England

East Lancashire Railway, Ramsbottom Station
East Lancashire Railway, Ramsbottom Station
The footbridge at the northern end of Ramsbottom Station. Ex-LMS Class 5MT 4-6-0 (a “Stanier Black Five”) number 45231, The Sherwood Forester, can be seen beyond the bridge. The locomotive, viewed here on "Santa Special" duty, first entered service in 1936.

LinkExternal link for a history of 45231
LinkExternal link (Archive LinkExternal link ) - ELR Santa Specials
The East Lancashire Railway (ELR) :: SD8010

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.
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
SD7916, 688 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Thursday, 22 December, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 23 December, 2011
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 7930 1684 [10m precision]
WGS84: 53:38.8590N 2:18.8772W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 7930 1684
View Direction
South-southwest (about 202 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image classification(about): Geograph
This page has been viewed about 206 times
You are not logged in login | register