Flicking through a number of old magazines passed to me by a friend here in Telford, I came across a supplement published by The Railway Magazine in December 1990, “Eric Treacy: The Classic Years.” [1]
The Rt. Revd. Eric Treacy MBE, LLD, Lord Bishop of Wakefield from 1968 until 1976, died on Appleby Station on 13th May 1978. He left behind a large collection of railway photographs, taken over more than four decades.
In 1932, he was ordained deacon in the Church of England and priest a year later, serving as curate at Liverpool parish church from 1932 to 1934. [4] Wikipedia tells that “he took up railway photography, being inspired by visiting Liverpool Lime Street and getting to know his parishioners who worked on the railway. His photographic work appeared in various magazines during the 1930s.” [3]
His railway photography “was interrupted by the Second World War when he served as Military Chaplain. On 12th March 1940, he was commissioned as Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class (equivalent to captain). [5] On 10th May 1945, it was announced that Treacy had been Mentioned in Despatches ‘in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North West Europe’. [6] He was promoted to a Chaplain to the Forces 3rd Class (equivalent to major). On 24th January 1946, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).” [7][3]
In 1946 Treacy published his first book which contained images of L.M.S. locomotives. [8] On demobilisation he became Rector of Keighley and in 1949 was appointed Archdeacon of Halifax. [9] In 1961, he became Bishop of Pontefract [3] and in 1968, Treacy became Bishop of Wakefield. [1: p2]
The Railway Magazine Supplement comments that Treacy was “a devout man of the church as well as a talented lineside photographer (and frequent footplate passenger!) his atmospheric work never failed to portray his passionate love of railways, quickly establishing him as one of Britain’s foremost railway photographers.” [1: p2]
By 1935, “he was sending work regularly to The Railway Magazine signed ‘Rev E. Treacy, 2 Edge Lane, Liverpool’, showing London Midland & Scottish trains, many of them still worked by former London & North Western Railway locomotives, around that great city. Shap was an early discovery, and he spent many hours walking the fells and awaiting Anglo-Scottish expresses as they slogged their way to the summit. The zenith of his work undoubtedly came with the Stanier Pacifics, and to those who remember, it is virtually impossible to think of Eric Treacy without also the thunderous reminder of a ‘Princess Royal’ or ‘Coronation’ Pacific unleashing its full fury against that formidable climb with 15 bogies and more in tow.” [1: p2]
Lorna Hogger says that “Treacy befriended drivers and firemen in his congregation and often persuaded them to make smoke effects for his pictures. … He took time to plan his photographs days in advance, checking the weather and position of the sun at the time the train was due, and coming to know the locations well. Treacy rarely took unplanned shots, the equipment and large glass negatives being too expensive for acting on impulse.” [8]
Lorna Hogger also tells us that Treacy “joined the Railway Photographic Society in 1935, but unlike many of his peers he described his pictures as ‘emotional rather than technical’, enabling him to create stunning landscapes. This is evident in the photograph below which shows a goods train crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct.” [8]
The Railway Magazine Supplement continues: “No less atmospheric were his photographs of departures from major stations: think of Treacy, and sooty masterpieces of ‘Royal Scot’ or ‘Patriot’ 4-6-0s getting to grips with heavy trains at the foot of the deep rock cuttings out of Liverpool Lime Street come to mind, or perhaps an A4 Pacific trying to find its feet at the head of an Edinburgh-bound express at Kings Cross.” [1: p2]
The Railway Magazine Supplement concludes: “Throughout the transformation of the ‘Big Four’ to British Railways, and into modernisation when diesel locomotives began appearing on major routes, Treacy was there, and his legacy of ‘Deltics’ at Leeds or ‘Peaks’ on trans-Pennine services have all the richness and imagination of his steam photos.” [1: p2]
Photograph albums of Treacy’s work include:
Canon Eric Treacy; My Best Railway Photographs: No.1 L.M.S.; Ian Allan Ltd, London, 1946.
Eric Treacy; Roaming the Northern Rails; Ian Allan Ltd, London, 1976.
Eric Treacy; Roaming the East Coast Main Line; Ian Allan Ltd, London, 1977.
Eric Treacy; Lure of Steam; Ian Allan, London, 1969, 1980.
Eric Treacy; Glory of Steam; Ian Allan, London, 1981 (reprint?)
G. Freeman Allen; Great Railway Photographs by Eric Treacy; Peerage Books, London, 1982.
P.B. Whitehouse & G. Freeman Allen; Eric Treacy: Railway Photographer; David and Charles, Newton Abbott, 1983.
P.B. Whitehouse & J. Powell; Treacy’s Routes North; 1985.
P.B. Whitehouse & J. Powell; Treacy’s British Rail; 1990.
Eric Treacy; Portrait of Steam; 1991(reprint).
Eric Treacy; The Best of Eric Treacy; Atlantic Transport Publishers, 1994.
David Jenkinson & Patrick Whitehouse; Eric Treacy’s L.M.S.; Oxford Publishing Company, 1988.
References
Eric Treacy: The Classic Years; in The Railway Magazine (supplement), December 1990.
An unattributed article about these LNWR units was carried in the August 1922 issue of The Railway Magazine. From 6th February 1922 a ‘reversible’ or ‘push-and-pull’ train was in use for working locally between Manchester (Victoria) and Atherton.
Courtesy of Mr. Ashton Davies, M.Β.Ε., General Superintendent (Northern Division) of the LNWR, The Railway Magazine was able to illustrate and describe the equipment of the train employed:
“The train normally consists of a tank engine adapted to run with two bogie coaches, but can be increased to four or six coaches when the volume of traffic calls for further accommodation. The vehicles adapted for use in this way are arranged in pairs, providing nine third-class compartments in one vehicle, seating 108 passengers, while the composite carriage has two first-class and four third-class compartments seating 64 passengers, together with luggage and driver’s compartments. There is thus total accommodation for 172 passengers for each unit pair of vehicles. The length over buffers of each coach is 57 ft. 7 in. and the width over the body is 9 ft. The engine is a 2-4-2 radial tank, the diameter of the coupled wheels being 5 ft. 8 in. and of the radial wheels 3 ft. 7 in. Cylinders are 17.5 in. diam. and 26 in. stroke: boiler pressure is 180 lb. per square inch; length over buffers, 37 ft. 2 in. When the train is made up to six coaches the total length over buffers is 382 ft. 8 in. In one direction the engine is operated as with an ordinary steam train, but in the other direction the driver operates the engine from the driver’s compartment at the rear end of the train.” [1: p128]
A General View of a Two-Coach Train ‘Unit’ with the Driver’s Control Compartment Leading. [1: p128]
The locomotives used on the push-pull services in the old Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway area of the then very new combined company were Webb’s 2-4-2T locos. [4]
The LNWR 4ft 6in Tank was a class of 220 passenger 2-4-2T locomotives manufactured by the London and North Western Railway in their Crewe Works between 1879 and 1898. The ‘4ft 6in’ refers to the diameter of the driving wheels. “The design was an extension of the earlier 2234 2-4-0T built from 1876 which became known as ‘Chopper Tanks’. They had been designed for working local passenger trains. From 1909 many locomotives of the class were fitted for Push-Pull working, giving the nickname of ‘Motor Tanks’. … Withdrawals started in 1905: 118 were scrapped in the years up to 1923 grouping, leaving 90 to be passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. They were allocated power class 1P, and assigned the numbers 6515–6600 and 6758–6761; although only 37 survived long enough to receive them: withdrawals restarted in 1924, and when the last was withdrawn in June 1936, the class became extinct. None were preserved.” [5]
The 2-4-2T engines were not the only locos adapted by the LNWR for push-pull working. From 1914 onwards some of the LNWR Webb ‘Coal Tanks’ “were fitted with push-pull ‘motor train’ equipment with the first so equipped being 576 and 597 which were then deployed on the Brynmawr to Ebbw Vale service. The system used by the LNWR involved the use of mechanical rods and linkages which ran beneath the axles of the locomotives. By 1921, the company was operating 30 branches by this method with many being worked by ‘Coal Tanks’. As a result, 55 locomotives had been equipped with the necessary equipment.” [2]
Webb built his class of 500 0-6-0 coal locomotives between 1873 and 1892 for slow freight work. Between 1881 and 1897 he built 300 0-6-2Ts which were tank engine versions of his of the 58320 class. These tank engines became known as ‘Coal Tanks’. “They had the same cheaply produced cast iron wheels and H-section spokes as the tender engines. A trailing radial truck supporting the bunker was added also with two similarly cast iron wheels. … They were almost entirely built of Crewe standard parts, including the radial rear axle. … Most were relieved of freight duties when the extent of their appalling brakes (initially made of wood) were uncovered, and some were fitted for motor train working.” [3]
The Interior of the 2-4-2T Locomotive Cab, Showing Regulator Fittings, Steam-Driven Air Compressor, etc. [1: p129]
The Railway Magazine article continues:
“The engine and train are fitted with the automatic vacuum brake. A compressed-air apparatus is installed to operate the regulator handle on the engine, when the driver is controlling from the driver’s compartment.
The regulator handle is shown connected to a rod by means of a French pin; the other end is coupled to an operating air cylinder by means of a bell crank lever. The operating cylinder contains two pistons, one larger than the other; both are mounted on the same piston rod. The chamber between the two pistons is directly connected to an auxiliary reservoir, to which air pressure is supplied through a back pressure valve, so that a sufficient air pressure is always available. The underside of the large piston can be put in communication with the main reservoir or the atmosphere under the control of the driver’s compressed air valve. When air pressure is supplied to the underside of the large piston it is placed in equilibrium, and the air pressure from the auxiliary reservoir then forces up the small piston, and opens the regulator. When the air pressure on the underside of the large piston is destroyed, by opening the driver’s compressed-air valve to atmosphere and closing the air supply from the main reservoir, the air pressure from the auxiliary reservoir forces down the large piston and shuts the regulator. By manipulating the driver’s compressed air valve any desired opening of the regulator may be obtained. … Movement of the regulator on the engine is repeated to the driver by an electrical indicator fixed over the look-out window in the driver’s compartment. The vacuum and pressure gauges are placed on each side of the electrical indicator in the driver’s compartment, above the observation window. A pneumatic whistle is provided to give warning on the road.
A special feature of this train is the driver’s ‘safeguard’ in the event of the driver becoming incapacitated when driving alone from the rear. If he releases his hold of the brake handle in this condition it will act as an ’emergency handle’, immediately shutting the regulator and applying the brake.” [1: p129]
Following the 1923 grouping, the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) became responsible for this fleet of push-pull fitted 2-4-2T and 0-6-2T Locomotives. The LMS took the decision to adopt the Midland Railway’s vacuum-worked push-pull equipment instead of the LNWR system.
As we have already noted, withdrawals of the 2-4-2T locos started as early as 1905: 118 had gone before the 1923 grouping, 90 were passed to the LMS. “They were allocated power class 1P, and assigned the numbers 6515–6600 and 6758–6761; although only 37 survived long enough to receive them: withdrawals restarted in 1924, and when the last was withdrawn in June 1936, the class became extinct. None were preserved.” [5]
In all, 65 of the ‘Coal Tanks’ (0-6-2Ts) received the LMS vacuum-worked push-pull fittings, “12 of them formerly having had the mechanical type. … The use of push-pull equipped ‘Coal Tanks’ was long-lived with the last one running on the Bangor to Bethesda branch as late as 1951.” [2]
References
‘Reversible’ Steam Train, London & North Western Railway; in The Railway Magazine, London, August 1922, p128-129.
More images of Sowerby Bridge Railway Station can be found here [67] and here. [68]
Just beyond the eastern station limits Fall Lane bridges the line – two views from the bridge follow.
The view East from Fall LaneThe view West from Fall Lane
To the East of Sowerby Bridge the line crosses the River Calder again.
Another extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905, published in 1907 shows Calder Dale Grease Works, Copley Bridge and Copley Viaduct. The Sowerby Bridge, Halifax and Bradford line leaves the main line at this point. [25]The bridge and Viaduct as they appear on Google Maps satellite imagery in 2024. [Google Maps, October 2024]
An image of Copley Viaduct can be seen here. Just beneath the viaduct, at the left of the linked photograph, a train is crossing Copley Bridge on the line we are following. [61]
The Manchester and Leeds Railway then crosses the Calder once again and enters Greetland Station. The second arm of the Sowerby Bridge, Halifax and Bradford line joins the mainline just before (to the Northwest of) Greetland Station.
Greetland Station shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905. Top-left the second arm of the triangular junction with the Sowerby Bridge, Halifax and Bradford line can be seen joining the Manchester and Leeds Railway. Bottom-right, the Stainland Branch leaves the main line just before the main line bridges the River Calder once again. [26]The same location in the 21st century. Greetland Station is long gone and the branch South (the Stainland Branch has also been lifted. [Google Maps, October 2024]Greetland Railway Station in 1962, just before closure. The camera is positioned at the Northwest end of the station. [28]
Greetland Railway Station “was originally opened as North Dean in July 1844. It was subsequently changed to North Dean and Greetland and then to Greetland in 1897. Situated near the junction of the main Calder Valley line and the steeply-graded branch towards Halifax (which opened at the same time as the station), it also served as the junction station for the Stainland Branch from its opening in 1875 until 1929. It was closed to passenger traffic on 8th September 1962.” [27]
Looking West from the A629, Halifax Road which sits over the line adjacent to the West Portal of Elland Tunnel. [Google Streetview, July 2024]
Rake says that the line then approaches “Elland Tunnel, 424 yards, in length, and, after leaving Elland Station, pass[es] through a deep cutting, from which a large quantity of stone for the building of the bridges was obtained.” [1: p471]
To the East of Elland Railway Station the railway is carried above the River Calder, passing Calder Fire Clay Works. Further East again, “the railway is carried across a steep and rugged acclivity, rising almost perpendicularly from the river. … The viaduct consists of six arches of 45ft span each, and leads directly to Brighouse, originally the nearest station to Bradford.” [1: 472]
The view from the South of the bridge which carries the railway over Park Road (A6025), Elland. Elland Station stood above this location and to the left. [Google Streetview, July 2024]
From Elland, the line runs on through Brighouse
Brighouse Station and Goods Yard as shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905. [31]The view West from Gooder Lane Bridge towards Cliff Road Bridge Elland. [Google Streetview, May 2023]The view East across Brighouse Railway Station from Gooder Lane. [Google Streetview, May 2023]Brighouse Railway Station (originally called ‘Brighouse for Bradford’). [1: p472]
Embedded link to Flickr. The image shows B1 No. 61034 Chiru at Brighouse Station on 2nd April 1964. The locomotive is arriving at the station from the East with a local passenger train. The locomotive had only recently been transferred to Wakefield from Ardseley. It was withdrawn at the end of 1964. The photograph looks Southeast through the station. [32]A much later photograph of Brighouse Railway Station (2006) which looks Northwest through the station from platform 1, (c) Ian Kirk and authorised for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 2.5). [33]
To the East of the passenger facilities at Brighouse there were a significant array of sidings. The first length of these can be seen on the OS Map above. Around 75% of the way along these sidings Woodhouse Bridge spanned the lines. Much of the area has been redeveloped by modern industry. The next four images relate to that bridge.
Woodhouse Bridge in 1905. [69]Woodhouse Bridge in 2024. [69]Looking West from Woodhouse Bridge in 2023. [Google Streetview, August 2023]Looking East from Woodhouse Bridge in 2023. [Google Streetview, August 2023]
Leaving Brighouse Station, the railway is joined, from the North, by the Bailiff Bridge Branch (long gone in the 21st century).
Immediately to the East of Brighouse Station Goods Yards, the Bailiff Bridge Branch joined the Manchester and Leeds Railway. [62]Approximately the same area in the 21st century as shown on the OS map extract above. The line of the old Bailiff Bridge Branch is superimposed on the satellite image. [Google Maps, October 2024]
A little further to the East, in the 21st century, the line passes under the M62 and enters a deep cutting before, at Bradley Wood Junction, the Bradley Wood Branch leaves the line to the South (still present in the 21st century).
Looking West from the M62 in July 2024Looking East from the M62 in July 2024Bradley Wood Junction as shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905. [70]Much the same area in the 21st century. [70]
“Beyond [Bradley Wood Junction] the Calder is crossed by a viaduct of two arches of 76 ft. span each. this is succeeded by an embankment, along which the line continues down the valley. [It] again cross[es] the Calder by a viaduct similar to that just referred to.” [1: p472] The line was widened to the South side to create a four-track main line and single span girder bridges were positioned alongside the original structures.
At the first crossing of the River Calder mentioned immediately above, the original two arches of the stone viaduct can be seen beyond the more modern girder bridge in this photograph, (c) Uy Hoang. [Google Streetview, September 2022]The same bridges as they appear on Google Maps satellite imagery in 2024. [Google Maps, October 2024]
In between the two bridges across the River Calder, was Cooper Bridge Station.
Cooper Bridge Station as it appears on the 1905 25″ Ordnance Survey. [34]The Station at Cooper Bridge is long gone in the 2st century, but the bridges remain. The station sat over the road at this location with platform buildings between the rails of the left edge of this image. This photograph is taken from the North on Cooper Bridge Road. [Google Streetview, July 2024]The second of the two crossings of the River Calder mentioned above. This photograph, taken from the Southwest, shows the girder bridge with the stone-arched 2-span bridge beyond, (c) Uy Hoang. [Google Streetview, September 2022]This view from the North East and from under an adjacent footbridge shows the stone-arched 2-span structure, (c) Uy Hoang. [Google Streetview, September 2022]
Rake’s journey along the line seems not to focus so closely on the remaining length of the line. Various features and a number of stations seem to have been missed (particularly Cooper Bridge, Mirfield, Ravensthorpe, Thornhill, Horbury & Ossett). It also seems to suggest that the line goes through Dewsbury Station. Rather than rely on Rake’s commentary about the line, from this point on we will provide our own notes on the route.
At Heaton Lodge Junction, the LNWR Huddersfield & Manchester line joined the Manchester & Leeds line with the LNWR Heaton & Wortley line passing beneath. The Manchester & Leeds line ran on towards Mirfield Station passing the large engine shed before entering the station over a long viaduct which once again crossed the River Calder.
Just to the East of Mirfield Station was Cleckheaton Junction and then Wheatley’s Bridge over the River Calder. A bridge then carries Sand Lane over the railway.
Looking West from Sands Lane Bridge back towards Mirfield. [Google Streetview, May 2023]Looking East from Sands Lane Bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2023]
Soon after this the line encountered Dewsbury Junction which hosted Ravensthorpe (Ravensthorpe and Thornhill) Station.
Dewsbury Junction and Ravensthorpe Station. [39]Looking West from Calder Road towards Mirfield. [Google Streetview, May 2023]The view East from Calder Road showing Ravensthorpe Station with the Manchester & Leeds line heading away to the right of the picture. [Google Streetview, May 2023]
Thornhill Railway Station was a short distance further East just beyond the junction where the Ravensthorpe Branch met the main line at Thornfield Junction.
Thornfield Junction, Goods Yard and Station as shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905. [40]Thornhill Station opened with the Manchester & Leeds Railway and only closed on the last day of 1961, a short time before Beeching’s closure of of Dewsbury Central. [37]The same station looking East towards Wakefield, Normanton etc. In the background is the bridge of the ex-Midland branch from Royston to Dewsbury (Savile Town), closed 18/12/50, (c) Ben Brooksbank and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [38]The view West from Station Road in the 21st century, through what was Thornhill Railway Station. {Google Streetview, March 2023]The view East from Station Road in the 21st century. The bridge ahead carries Headfield Road over the railway. [Google Streetview, March 2023]The view West from Headfield Road Bridge towards the site of the erstwhile Thornhill Railway Station and Station Road. [Google Streetview, October 2022]The view East from Headfield Road Bridge. [Google Streetview, October 2022]
East of Thornhill Station were Dewsbury West and Dewsbury East junctions which together with Headfield Junction formed a triangular access to Didsbury Market Place Station. This was a busy location which sat close to Dewsbury Gas Works, Thornhill Carriage and Wagon Works and Thornhill Lees Canal Locks and a canal branch. Just off the North of the map extract below was a further junction giving access to the GNR’s Headfield Junction Branch, before the line crossed the River Calder and entered Dewsbury Market Place Station and Yard and terminated there.
This extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905 shows the triangular junction which provided access to Dewsbury Market Place Station and a series of Goods Yards and Sheds. Headfield Road is on the left side of this image. [41]A similar area in the 2st century as it appears on Google Maps satellite imagery. [Google Maps, October 2024]
Dewsbury was very well provided for by both passenger and freight facilities. In its railway heyday the Midland Railway, the London & North Western Railway, the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway all had access to the town. A computer drawn map showing the different lines can be found here. [42]
Continuing along the line towards Wakefield and Normanton, the next feature of note is the junction for Combs Colliery’s Mineral Railway at Ingham’s Sidings. Nothing remains of this short branch line.
Ingham’s Siding ran South, crossing the Calder & Hebble Navigation to reach Comb’s Colliery. [43]
Further East the line continues in a straight line East-southeast to cross the River Calder once again. It then passes the Calder Vale and Healey Low Mills at Healey and runs Southeast to Horbury and Ossett Station.
The bridge over the River Calder adjacent to Calder Vale and Healey Low Mills. [Google Streetview, April 2023]The bridge over the River Calder at Calder Vale and Healey Low Mills is in the top-left of this map extract from the 1905 25″ Ordnance Survey. This area was chosen by British Rail in the 1960s for a large marshalling yard. [46]British Railways developed a large marshalling yard in the 1960s at Healey Mills. The yard was opened in 1963 and replaced several smaller yards in the area. It was part of the British Transport Commission’s Modernisation plan, and so was equipped with a hump to enable the efficient shunting and re-ordering of goods wagons. The yard lost its main reason for existence through the 1970s and 1980s when more trains on the British Rail system became block trains where their wagons required less, or more commonly, no shunting. Facilities at the site were progressively run down until it closed completely in 2012. [46][47]Healey Mills Marshalling Yard in April 1982, (c) Martin Addison and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [48]Looking Northwest from Storrs Hill Road Bridge in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, March 2023]Looking Southeast from Storrs Hill Road Bridge in the 21st century through the throat of the old marshalling yard. [Google Streetview, March 2023]Horbury & Ossett Railway Station. [44]The site of Horbury & Ossett Railway Station in the 21st century. [Google Maps, October 2024]Looking Northwest from Bridge Road, A642 towards Storrs Road Bridge. Horbury and Ossett Railway Station goods facilities were on the left. [Google Streetview, July 2024]looking Southeast from Bridge Road. the passenger facilities were on the Southeast side of Bridge Road with the platform sat between the running lines. [Google Streetview, July 2024]
“Horbury and Ossett railway station formerly served the town of Horbury. … The station was opened with the inauguration of the line in 1840, on the west of the Horbury Bridge Road, to the south-west of the town. Later a new, more substantial structure was built just to the east. … British Railways developed a large marshalling yard in the 1960s at Healey Mills immediately to the west of the original station. … [The station] closed in 1970. Almost all that remains is the old subway which ran under the tracks. Ossett is now the largest town in Yorkshire without a railway station. Proposals to open a new one are periodically canvassed, perhaps on part of the Healey Mills site.” [45]
A little further East is Horbury Fork Line Junction where a mineral railway runs South to Harley Bank Colliery and the Horbury & Crigglestone Loop leaves the Manchester to Leeds line.
Horbury Fork Line Junction on the 1905 25″ordnance Survey. The junction sat just to the West of Horbury Tunnel. That tunnel has since been removed. [49]The same location in the 21st century. The tunnel sat to on the East side of the present footbridge which is just to the left of the centre of this image. This image is an extract from the NLS’ ESRI satellite imagery. [49]
These next few photographs show views of the line from a series of three overbridges to the East of Horbury Fork Line Junction.
The view West from Southfield Lane Bridge. [Google Streetview, October 2022]The view East from Southfield Lane Bridge. [Google Streetview, October 2022]The view West from Dudfleet Lane Bridge towards Southfield Lane Bridge. [Google Streetview, October 2022]The view East from Dudfleet Lane Bridge towards Millfield Road Bridge. [Google Streetview, October 2022]The view West from Millfield Road Bridge towards Dudfleet Lane Bridge. [Google Streetview, October 2022]The view East from Millfield Road Bridge. [Google Streetview, October 2022]
The next significant location on the line is Horbury Junction.
Horbury Junction on the 1905 25″ordnance Survey. Horbury Junction Ironworks sat in-between the Manchester and Leeds Railway and the. There was a Wagon Works just off the South edge of this image. The line heading South from Horbury Junction was the L&YR line to Flockton Junction and beyond. [50]The same location in the 21st century as shown on the ESRI satellite imagery provided by the NLS.. [50]
Industrialisation in the immediate area of Horbury Junction began “in the early 1870s with the construction of Millfield Mill, followed by the Horbury Ironworks Co. In 1873, Charles Roberts bought a site for a new factory at Horbury Junction and moved his wagon building business from Ings Road, Wakefield to Horbury Junction. Before that, the area of Horbury Junction was a quiet backwater with a corn mill and a ford across the Calder for farm traffic.” In reality, a beautiful pastoral area of countryside was changed forever with the coming of the Railway, Millfield Mill, the Wagon Works and the Ironworks.” [51]
In the 21st century, just beyond Horbury Junction, the line is crossed by the M1.
In the 21st century, just beyond Horbury Junction (on the left of this extract from Google Maps), the line is crossed by the M1. [Google Maps, October 2024.
Horbury Junction seen, looking Southwest from the M1. [Google Streetview, July 2024]Looking Northeast from the M1. [Google Streetview, August 2024]Green Lane Underpass seen from the North. This underpass sits just to the East of the modern M1. [Google Streetview, October 2008]
Following the line on to the Northeast, it next passes through Thornes.
The railway bridge at the centre of Thornes in 1905. [52]The same location in the 21st century. The now quadruple line is carried by two separate bridges. [52]Thorne Bridge seen from the South in June 2024. [Google Streetview, June 2024]
Northeast of Thornes, the Manchester and Leeds Railway ran at high level into Kirkgate Joint Station in Wakefield.
Thornes Lane BridgeA638, Ings Road BridgeThe bridge carrying the line over Kirkgate. [All three images from Google Streetview April 2023]The Manchester and Leeds Railway enters this extract from the 1905 25″ Ordnance Survey bottom-left, To the North of it id the GNR Ings Road Branch. To the South of it is a Goods Yard with access to Wakefield’s Malthouses and Mark Lane Corn Mill. [53]The same area in the 21st century. The rail lines remain approximately as on the map extract above. Wakefield Kirkgate Station (top-right) is somewhat reduced in size. Much of the built environment is different to that shown on the map above. This image is another extract from the ESRI satellite imagery. [53]
Wikipedia tells us that once it was opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1840, Kirkgate station was “the only station in Wakefield until Westgate was opened in 1867. The railway station building dates from 1854. … Some demolition work took place in 1972, removing buildings on the island platform and the roof with its original ironwork canopy which covered the whole station. A wall remains as evidence of these buildings. After this, Kirkgate was listed in 1979.” [72]
Kirkgate Station was refurbished in two phases between 2013 and 2015. [72]
East of Kirkgate Joint Station in 1905. The landscape in Primrose Hill is dominated by the railway. The line exiting to the South of this extract is the L&YR Oakenshaw Branch which crosses the River Calder and runs past the station’s Engine Sheds. [54]the same area in the 21st century, much of the railway infrastructure has disappeared and is beginning to be taken over by nature. [54]
Just to the East of Wakefield Kirkgate Station were Park Hill Colliery Sidings.
Much the same area in the 21st century. The Midland’s lines South of Goosehill have gone, the footbridge remains but the large area of sidings to the Northeast of the Junction have also gone. [56]Park Hill Colliery Sidings and the River Calder in 1913. [55]The same location in the 21st century. [55]
And beyond those sidings a further crossing of the River Calder.
The three arched stone viaduct across the River Calder. This photograph is taken from Neil Fox Way and looks Southeast towards the bridge. [Google Streetview, June 2024]
Just a short distance further along the line, at Goosehill, the Manchester and Leeds Railway (by 1905, The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) joined the North Midland Railway (by 1905, The Midland Railway)
Goosehill Bridge and Junction witht he Midland Railway entering from the bottom of the extract and the Manchester 7 Leeds entering from the bottom-left. [56]Immediately to the Northeast of the last extract from the 1905 25″ Ordnance Survey, the Midland’s lines can be seen heading Northeast with branches off to the North and West. The branch heading away to the West is the St. John’s Colliery line running to wharves at Stanley Ferry. That to the North runs through the screens and serves St. John’s Colliery itself. [57]The same area in the 21st century. The roadway crossing the railway and heading off the satellite image to the West runs to a large opencast site. [57]Looking Southwest from the bridge carrying the access road to the opencast site. [Google Streetview, May 2023]Looking Northeast from the bridge carrying the access road to the opencast site. [Google Streetview, May 2023]Looking Southwest from the Newlands Lane Bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2023]Looking Northeast from Newlands Lane Bridge. [Google Streetview, May 2023]
From this point on the traffic from the Manchester and Leeds Railway ran on North Midland (later Midland) Railway metals, via Normanton Railway Station and then passing Silkstone and West Riding Collieries, and on towards Leeds, approaching Leeds from the Southeast. Normanton Station appears on the map extract below.
An smaller scale extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905 which shows Normanton and its railway station. St. John’s Colliery and Gooshill Junction are just of the extract on the bottom left. [58]Looking Southwest from Altofts Road Bridge through the site of Normanton Railway Station. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
Rake’s last words on a journey along the railway are these: “Just previous to reaching Wakefield, the railway is carried over a viaduct of 16 arches, and, quitting that station it enters a deep cutting, and crosses the Vale of Calder for the last time, a little to the east of Kirkthorpe. Here was the most important diversion of the Calder, by which the cost of building two bridges was saved. … The line terminated by a junction with the North Midland Railway, a mile to the north of which point was situated the Normanton Station, where the York and North Midland, and by its means, the Leeds and Selby and Hull and Selby Railways united with the former lines. The remainder of the journey to Leeds, 9 miles, was traversed on the North Midland Railway.” [1: p472]
Rake goes on to talk about the gradients of the railway which “were considered somewhat severe. Starting from Manchester, the line ascends to Rochdale, 10 miles, over a series of inclinations averaging about 1 in 155; from Rochdale to the summit level, 6½ miles, the ascent is 1 in 300; the total rise from Manchester being 351 ft. From the summit level plane, which extends for 1 mile 55 chains, to Wakefield, a distance of 30 miles, the line descends for the first six miles on a gradient of 1 in 182, after which it is continued by easy grades of an average inclination of 1 in 350. Below Wakefield a comparatively level course is maintained to the junction with the North Midland Railway, the total fall from the summit being 440 ft. The curves were laid out so as not to be of a less radius than 60 chains. The gauge adopted on the Manchester and Leeds Railway was 4 ft. 9 in., to allow a in. play on each side for the wheels. … The rails were of the single parallel form, in 15 ft. lengths, with 3 ft. bearings, and were set in chairs, to which they were secured by a ball and key, as on the North Midland Railway. The balls, (3/4 in. diameter), were of cast iron, and fitted into a socket formed in one side of the stem of the rail; the key, which was of wrought iron, was 8 in. long (and 5/8 in. wide at one end, from which it tapered to 3/8 in. at the other end). … Stone blocks were used where they could be obtained from the cuttings, and were placed diagonally, but sleepers of kyanised larch were used on the embankments, the ballasting being of burnt and broken stone.” [1: p472-473]
It is interesting to note that the tramway/tramroad practice of using stone blocks as sleepers was in use when this railway was first built!
Rake continues: “The Manchester terminal station was located between Lees Street and St. George’s Road, and was entirely elevated on arches. The passenger shed was covered with a wooden roof, in two spans, and the whole length of the station was 528 ft. The passenger platform was approached by a flight of 45 steps from the booking-office on the ground floor. [1: p473]
Early signals on the Manchester and Leeds.Railway which became part of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway network. [64]
“The signals were of the horizontal double disc or spectacle form which, when revolved to the extent of a half circle, caused both discs to be invisible to the driver and indicated all right, the lamp above showing, when illuminated, green; the colour shown by the lamp when both discs were crosswise to the line being red.” [1: p473]
Rolling Stock
“The carriages consisted of three classes, The first class, in three compartments, upholstered, and fitted with sash windows painted blue; second-class, in three compartments, but open at the sides and furnished with wooden sliding shutters painted yellow; and carriages termed ‘mixed’, in which the middle compartment was for first-class, and each of the ends was for second-class passengers. There was also a carriage of novel construction, built according to the plan of the chairman of the company and used at the opening of the line. The under-framing was of the usual construction, but the body was unique. The floor was considerably wider than ordinary, and the sides curved outwards until they joined a semicircular roof, the greater part of which was fitted with wire gauze to give air, but capable of being instantaneously covered with waterproof material, by the action of an inside handle, so that sun and rain could be shaded out at pleasure. The sides were fitted throughout with plate glass, and ranges of seats occupied the floor, having passages on either side. Tents were also contrived in the sides which closed at will by spring action. The effect of the interior was said to resemble the interior of a conservatory! These carriages were in each case mounted on four wheels, with a perforated footboard of iron running the whole length of the body, in substitution for the lower tier of steps in use on other railways at the time.” [1: p473-474]
I have produced Rake’s description of this ‘unusual carriage’ as I have found it impossible to imagine what it looked like from Rake’s word-picture.
At the end of 1840, “an improved form of third-class carriage was constructed, in which each wheel was braked; the brake levers were attached to the axle-boxes and, consequently, when applied by the guard. who sat on the roof, did not bring the body of the carriage down on to the springs, The buffing springs were placed in front of the headstocks, and a flat iron bar attached to the buffer worked in brackets on the sole bar. The doors were fitted with latches on the outside, which were fastened by the guard when the passengers were inside.” [1: p474]
An improved third class carriage. Looking back from a 21st century perspective, these carriages seem to be not much better than the wagons used to carry livestock. This is borne out by Rake’s notes below. It was, however, a significant improvement on the open wagons, having a roof, glass windows and brakes. Contrary to what Rake appears to say below, Wells suggests that these covered third class wagons did have seating. [1: p474][75: p85]
“The windows and the doors being fixed, no passenger could open the door until the guard had released the catch. Roof lamps were not provided in these coaches, which were painted green. … The third-class carriages. or rather, wagons, were provided with four entrances, to correspond with the “pens” into which they were sub-divided by means of a wooden bar down the centre, crossed by another bar intersecting the former at right angles in the middle of its length. There were no seats, and the number of passengers for which standing room could be found was limited solely to the to the bulk Stanhope or ‘Stan’ups’, as they were derisively termed. The contrivance of pens was said to be due to a determination to prevent respectably dressed individuals from availing themselves of the cheaper mode of conveyance, in which there was little to distinguish them, it was complained, ‘from the arrangements for the conveyance of brute beasts which perish’. The company’s servants were strictly enjoined “not to porter for wagon passengers‘!” [1: p474]
Rake’s illustration of an early Manchester and Leeds Railway first class coach. [1: p474]
Further details of Rolling Stock on the Railway can be found in Jeffrey Wells book about the line. [75: p81-85]
Locomotives
Rake tells us that the locomotives were all mounted on 6 wheels and purchased from Sharp, Roberts & Co., Robert Stephenson & Co., and Taylor & Co. They all had 14 in. diameter, 18 in. stroke cylinders and 5 ft. 6 in. diameter driving wheels. Jeffrey Wells provides a more comprehensive, tabulated, list of those early locomotives. [75: p79-80]
A typical 0-4-2 Locomotive of 1839/1840. [76]An early (1834) R. Stephenson & Co. 0-4-2 locomotive of very similar design to those supplied to the Manchester and Leeds Railway 9c0 Public Domain. [77]
The first three 0-4-2s were made by Robert Stephenson & Co., and that company supplied plans and specifications for its locomotives which meant that The Manchester and Leeds Railway could have the same design manufactured by other firms of the Company’s choice. The first 12 locomotives built for the Manchester and Leeds in 1839 were all to Stephenson’s 0-4-2 design. Wells tells us that of these locomotives, the first three (Nos. 1 -3) were called Stanley, Kenyon and Stephenson and were built by R. Stephenson & Co. They were supplied to the Railway in April and May 1839. [75: p79]
The next three locomotives (Nos. 4-6) were supplied by Sharp Bros., Manchester. Lancashire and Junction were supplied in May 1839 and York in July 1839. Nos. 7, 9 and 10, named respectively, Rochdale (16th July), Bradford (6th September) and Hull (7th September)came from Naysmith & Co., Patricroft. Nos. 8, 11, 12 (Leeds, Scarborough and Harrogate) were supplied by Shepherd & Todd by September 1839. [75: p79]
Wells comments that No. 1, ‘Stanley’ “was named after Lord Stanley, Chairman of the House of Commons Committee who supported the Manchester and Leeds Railway Bill in 1836. … Other Stephenson designs followed: 19 engines, numbered 15 to 40, of the 2-2-2 wheel arrangement were delivered between October 1840 and April 1842. These were recommended by Stephenson to work the eastern section of the line, between Sowerby Bridge and Wakefield, thus gradually removing the [Manchester and Leeds Railway’s] reliance on North Midland Railway motive power which had at first prevailed from late in 1840.” [75: p80]
R. Stephenson patented 2-2-2 locomotive No. 123 ‘Harvey Combe’ built 1835, from Simm’s ‘Public Works of Great Britain’, 1838. This locomotive is of a very similar design to those supplied by various manufacturers to the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1840-1842. These were given the Nos. 15-40 and were supplied by Charles Tayleur & Co., Rothwell & Co., Laird Kitson & Co., Sharp Bros., Naysmith & Co., and W. Fairburn & Co., (c) C. F. Cheffins, Public Domain. [78]
He continues: “Once again several manufacturers were involved in the supply of these locomotives. Goods engines were represented by a further batch of 0-4-2s; 13 were delivered (Nos 33 to 46) between April 1841 and June 1843, the three manufacturers involved being R. Stephenson & Co., Haigh Foundry, Wigan, and William Fairbairn & Co. of Manchester. … Three standard Bury-type 0-4-0s were the last engines to be delivered (Nos 47 to 49) the first two bearing the names West Riding Union and Cleckheaton respectively. All three were completed between November 1845 and January 1846 by the firm of Edward Bury of Liverpool.”
And finally. …
Rake concludes his article, the first to two about the line in The Railway Magazine (I currently only have access to this first article) with two short paragraphs. The first reflects on policing: “There were no police on the railway, the whole of the platelayers being constituted as constables on the completion of the first section of the line; and, we are afterwards told, that ‘the vigilance resulting from the pride these men take, in being thus placed in authority, had been found to supersede the necessity of any more expensive system of surveillance.'” [1: p474]
The second notes that: “The directors [were] very anxious to complete the railway as far as Rochdale, at the earliest possible time, and on the 4th July, 1839, it was opened through that town to Littleborough, a distance of about 14 miles, the event ‘exciting a most extraordinary degree of local interest and wonder’ we are told.” [1: p474]
References
Herbert Rake; The Manchester and Leeds Railway: The Origin of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway; in The Railway Magazine, London, December 1905, p468-474
Jeffrey Wells; The Eleven Towns Railway: The Story of the Manchester and Leeds Main Line; Railway & Canal Historical Society, Keighley, West Yorkshire, 2000.
An article in the Railway Magazine in December 1905 prompted a look at the Manchester and Leeds Railway. For a number of years my parents lived in sheltered housing in Mirfield which is on the line. Looking at the line as it appeared in 1905 and again in the 21st century seemed a worthwhile exercise! Part 1 of this short series provides a short history of the line and takes us from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge.
The featured image at the head of this article shows the Manchester & Leeds Railway locomotive ‘Victoria’, in about 1878-80. This locomotive was designed by Edward Bury and built at his works in Liverpool. It was one of a batch of 0-4-0 engines ordered in 1845, and later converted to an 0-4-2 wheel arrangement (c) Public Domain. [65]
In his first article in 1905, about the Manchester and Leeds Railway which was accompanied by a series of engravings included here, Herbert Rake wrote that on 11th September 1830 a committee tasked with improving communications between Leeds and Manchester, emboldened by the success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, decided to hold a meeting to form a new railway company.
On 18th October 1930, the decision was taken. A board of directors was appointed, a survey was authorised and work was undertaken to prepare for an application to Parliament. It was based on a junction with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Oldfield Lane, Salford and at St. George’s Road, Manchester.
The route from Manchester to Sowerby Bridge was easily agreed, that from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds was more difficult to agree. The Bill prepared for Parliament focused on the Manchester to Sowerby Bridge length of the planned line and was presented on 10th March 1831. Opposition from the Rochdale Canal Company and others and then the dissolution of Parliament halted the progress of the Bill.
Resubmission was agreed on 8th June 1830 but once again failed in its progress through Parliament. In the end, the project was revised, the company was reorganised, and the capital fixed at £800,000 in £100 shares in a meeting in October 1935.
Rake tells us that this “new project abandoned the Salford junction line, but embraced a deviated extension beyond Sowerby Bridge, along the lower portion of the Vale of Calder, past Dewsbury and Wakefield, to Normanton, thence to Leeds, in conjunction with the North Midland Railway. … [The line was] intended to form a central portion of a great main line running east and west between Liverpool and Hull.” [1: p469-470]
The prospectus noted a few important facts, particularly:
The population density with three miles either side of the proposed line was 1,847 persons per square mile. The average for England was 260 persons per square mile.
Within 10 miles of the line there were 29 market towns, twelve with a population greater than 20,000.
Within 20 miles of the line there were 48 market towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
Rake tells us that “The Act of Incorporation received the Royal Assent on the 4th July 1836, and authorised a joint stock capital to be raised of £1,000,000, with an additional amount by loan of £433,000.” [1: p470]
Construction commenced on 18th August 1837. On 14th February 1838 it was decided to apply to Parliament for an Act authorising branch lines to Oldham and Halifax.
Late in 1838, “a modification of the original plan for effecting a junction of the Manchester and Leeds Railway with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was proposed, by an extension of both to a joint terminus within 500 yards of the Manchester Exchange. … The Act of Parliament for this and other purposes received the Royal Assent on the 31st July 1839, authorising the sum of £866,000 to be raised for the purpose of constructing the Oldham and Halifax branches, for making a diversion in the railway at Kirkthorpe, for enlarging the station in Lees Street, and for constructing the line to join the Liverpool and Manchester extension.” [1: p470]
Rake explains that the railway ran through Miles Platting where the Ashton and Stalybridge branch diverges. At Middleton the Oldham branch connected to the main line. Mill Hills embankment (maximum height 75 feet) carries the line towards Blue Pits Station where the Heywood line joins the main line. The line runs on through Rochdale, Littleborough and Todmorden Vale before running in cutting (maximum depth 100 feet) to Summit Tunnel.
During construction, “Six contracts were awarded between the Manchester terminus and the Summit Tunnel and were progressing satisfactorily by August 1838.” [6]
The West Portal of Summit Tunnel is approached from Manchester through a deep cutting. [1: p469]The same portal of Summit Tunnel in 20th century steam days. [3]
When built, Summit Tunnel was the longest in the world. It opened on 1st March 1841 by Sir John F. Sigismund-Smith.
“The tunnel is just over 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long and carries two standard-gauge tracks in a single horseshoe-shaped tube, approximately 24 feet (7.2 m) wide and 22 feet (6.6 m) high. Summit Tunnel was designed by Thomas Longridge Gooch, assisted by Barnard Dickinson. Progress on its construction was slower than anticipated, largely because excavation was more difficult than anticipated. … It … cost £251,000 and 41 workers had died.” [4]
Rake noted that the tunnel is “14 shafts were necessary, and the strata of rock shale and clay was of so treacherous a character that the brick lining of the roof, which is semi circular, consists in places of no less than 10 concentric rings.” [1: p471] He also comments that: the tunnel entrance is if an imposing Moorish design; 1,000 men were employed with work continuing day and night.
Beyond the tunnel, the railway “entered a cutting in silt, which required piling to secure a foundation. Continuing onwards, we pass through the Winterbut Lee Tunnel, 420 yds. in length, and across a viaduct of 18 arches, one of which is of 60 ft. span we then proceed over the Rochdale Canal, on a cast iron skew bridge 102 ft. in span, at a height of 40 ft. above the surface of the water.” [1: p471]
“Tenders for work on the eastern section were advertised in 1838. … Contractors then worked fastidiously under the threat of heavy penalties should they over-run the set time limits. They were also forbidden to work on Sundays.” [6]
At Todmorden, “the railway is carried over almost the entire breadth of the valley by a noble viaduct of nine arches, seven of which are each of 60 ft. span, and two of 30 ft., at a height of 54 ft. above the level of the turnpike road.” [1: p471]
Quitting Todmorden, where the Burnley branch diverges, the line enters Yorkshire, passes through Millwood Tunnel (225 yards), Castle Hill Tunnel (193 yards), and Horsefall Tunnel (424 yards) and then arrives at Eastwood Station. Some distance further on is Charlestown. Afterwards the railway “crosses river, road, and canal, by a skew bridge of three arches, the canal being separately spanned by an iron bridge.” [1: p471]
Looking back West from Cross Stone Road across the western portal of Millwood Tunnel. [Google Streetview, April 2023]Looking East from the corner of Phoenix Street and Broadstone Street, above the eastern portal of Millwood Tunnel. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
These next few images give a flavour of the line as it travels towards Hebden Bridge.
Lobb Mill Viaduct sits alongside the A646, Halifax Road between Castle Hill Tunnel and Horsefall Tunnel. [Google Streetview, June 2023]Looking Southwest along the line towards Todmorden from E. Lee Lane. [Google Streetview, April 2023]A little to the Northeast, Duke Street passes under the railway. This view looks West from Halifax Road [Google Streetview, June 2023]Eastwood Railway Station as it appears on the 1905 25″ Ordnance Survey. [63]Thye approximate location of Eastwood Station as it appears on Google Maps satellite imagery in 2024. [Google Maps, October 2024]A little further Northeast, this is the view Northwest along Jumble Hole Road under the railway. [Google Streetview, June 2011]The view Northwest from he A646, Halifax Road along the Pennine Way Footpath which passes under the railway at this location. [Google Streetview, June 2023]Again, looking Northwest from Halifax Road along Stony Lane which runs under the railway. [Google Streetview, June 2023]The view Southwest along Oakville Road which runs next to the railway. [Google Streetview, April 2023]The view Northeast from the same location on Oakville Road. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
A short distance Northeast, the railway “crosses river, road, and canal, by a skew bridge of three arches, the canal being separately spanned by an iron bridge.” [1: p471] The location is shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905 below.
The bridge mentioned above, as it appears on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1905. [11]The same location shown on Google Maps satellite imagery in 2024. [Google Maps, October 2024]Looking Northeast along Halifax Road, the three arches of the viaduct are easily visible. Beyond it there is a girder bridge which Rake does not mention. [Google Streetview, June 2023]
A little further East Stubbing Brink crosses the railway.
Looking West along the railway from Stubbing Brink Bridge. [Google Streetview, April 2023]The view East along the line from Stubbing Brink. [Google Streetview, April 2023]
The line next passes through a short short tunnel (Weasel Hall Tunnel (124 yards)) and arrives at Hebden Bridge Station.
After Hebden Bridge Station, the line proceeds along the South bank of the River Calder, through two small stations (Mytholmroyd and Luddenden Foot) and by a number of riverside mills.
East along the line towards Luddendenfoot, Brearley Lane bridges the line.
Looking West from Brearley Lane Bridge towards Mytholmroyd Station. [Google Streetview, July 2009]Ahead to the East, the line curves round towards the location of Luddendenfoot Railway Station. [Google Streetview, July 2009]Luddenden Foot Railway Station. The station closed on 10th September 1962. The site has been developed since 2007 and the northern half is now occupied by the Station Industrial Park, which is accessible via Old Station Road. Two gate pillars from the original station flank the entrance to the road. [14][17]The location of the erstwhile Luddendenfoot Railway Station as seen from Willow Bank, (c) Matt Thornton. [Google Streetview, February 2021]Looking Southeast from Willow Bank. The arch bridge visible ahead carries Jerry Fields Road over the line, (c) Matt Thornton. [Google Streetview, February 2021]
To the Southeast, Ellen Holme Road passes under the line.
Ellen Holme Road passess under the railway to the Southeast of the old Luddendenfoot Railway Station. [Google Streetview, June 2023]
Passing other mills and traversing a deep cutting the line enters Sowerby Tunnel, (645 yards) and reaches Sowerby Bridge Station.
We complete this first part of the journey along the Manchester and Leeds Railway here at Sowerby Bridge Railway Station.
References
NB: These references relate to all the articles about the Manchester and Leeds Railway.
Herbert Rake; The Manchester and Leeds Railway: The Origin of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway; in The Railway Magazine, London, December 1905, p468-474
Railway World magazine in early 1965 carried a two part article about Horwich Locomotive Works.
I always take note of articles about the Works when I find them as my paternal grandfather worked there in the early years of the 20th century, before the great depression when eventually he moved his family to Stapleford in the Derby/Nottingham area and where he took a job at the Loco Works in Derby as a blacksmith.
An article about the Works 18″ internal railway can be found here. [7]
The two-part article in Railway World was written by John Marshall and carried in the January and February copies of the magazine. This present article is substantively based on John Marshall’s work and sections of this article in “italics” come directly from Marshall’s article of 1965. [1]
“On 6th May 1964, Stanier 2-8-0 No. 48756 left Horwich works after a general overhaul, since when, the great works of the former Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway has been occupied entirely with rolling stock and road vehicles. The history of Horwich works goes back to 1884. When the main locomotive works of the L&YR opened under Sir John Hawkshaw in 1846, was on a very cramped and inconvenient site at Miles Platting, Manchester, almost surrounded by slums in the town.” [1: p22]
On 27th April 1873, “a serious fire caused considerable damage to the workshops but the pressure of work was such that the shops had to be rebuilt. It was during this period that ten Ramsbottom Newton class 2-4-0 engines were bought from the L.N.W.R. Repairs to locomotives were also carried out at the old East Lancashire Railway shops at Bury and smaller repairs were undertaken at several locomotive sheds, and it was therefore difficult to achieve any standardisation of work.” [1: p22]
During the 1870s, the L&YR was in a bad shape. “Train services were slow and unpunctual, and stations, carriages, services, goods and locomotive depots alike were some of the worst in the country. … The wretchedness of the railway was a popular theme upon which both counties of the roses were absolutely unanimous. By the early ‘eighties all this was being changed and it was now the turn of the locomotive works. Expansion at Miles Platting was not possible; a quarter of the machinery and other equipment there was out of date and ill-fitted to cope with work on the larger locomotives of W. Barton Wright. The obvious solution was to build a new works on a different site.” [1: p22]
After retiring because of ill health as Locomotive Superintendent of the LNWR in 1871, John Ramsbottom returned to railway work in 1883 and “became connected with the L&YR as a consulting engineer. At the L&YR directors’ meeting on 19th March 1884, he stated that locomotives could no longer be repaired satisfactorily at Miles Platting works and that it was essential to find a new site for the works. He recommended that in selecting a site the principal considerations should be the price of labour, a good supply of cheap water, cheap coal and a fairly central situation to avoid long runs by light engines. Various sites were suggested and Ramsbottom and Barton Wright were instructed to examine them and report back to the next meeting. Wright was also asked to ascertain the rates of wages in locomotive workshops in different parts of the country.” [1: p23]
At the next board meeting on 21st May 1884 it was noted that an estate in Horwich was about to be auctioned. The board authorised a maximum spend of £65,000. The purchase was secured for £36,000.
The site “was centrally situated and within easy reach of Bolton and Manchester. On 14th February 1870, a branch railway had been opened into the town from Blackrod, on the Bolton to Preston line. Horwich, at the foot of Rivington Pike at the western extremity of the Pennines, had a population of 3,761 in 1881.” [1: p23]
On 26th September 1884, Ramsbottom submitted drawings showing ground levels and locations for various buildings/workshops. The question of a curved connection from the Bolton direction was raised. “Plans were prepared and the ‘Fork Line’ was authorised by Parliament on 16th July 1885.” [1: p23]
Horwich Railway Station was close to the centre of Norwich and only a short distance from the proposed location of the Loco Works. The 25″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of the 20th century. [2]
Work on the site required the legal closure or diversion of several footpaths. The Thirlmere Aqueduct, planned by Manchester Corporation, had to be diverted at L&YR expense.
Ramsbottom’s plans of the locomotive and wagon works and offices “showed that the locomotive works would occupy nearly 20 acres and accommodate 112 engines; the wagon works would have occupied about 14 acres, for 1,008 wagons, but they were not in fact built. In January 1885 Wright’s detailed elevation of the office building was approved; this included a clock tower which was later omitted.” [1: p23]
Contractors began work on 9th March 1885; “a siding was constructed to bring materials onto the site and a powerful crane and locomotive were soon at work. By August the excavations for the foundations of the erecting shop were almost complete. The next stage involved the removal of a hill on “old Hart’s Farm” containing some 450,000 tons of earth. To carry out this job in one year meant the removal of 1,500 tons daily, and a force of 350 men and boys, two steam navvies, five locomotives and 130 tipping wagons were employed continuously; work continued at night under electric light. … The erecting shop … [was] a vast building 1,520ft long (well over a quarter of a mile) and 118ft wide with three bays running the whole length, the two outer ones being wider than the centre.” [1: p23-24]
A careful review of the equipment at the Miles Platting and Bury works was undertaken showing that only around 50% was suitable for the new works.
In September 1885, the disposal of surplus land to the northeast of the works began, “Some plots were … reserved, including sites for a hotel and a a bowling green but the rest was … sold for building. … Victoria Road and several streets leading from it were laid out by the company; the names chosen for the various streets … [included] Ramsbottom, Hawkshaw, Fairburn, Stephenson, Webb, Gooch, Brunel, Smeaton, Brindley, Telford, Armstrong and Siemens. … A letter was received the Bishop of Salford offering, one penny a square yard for a plot of land for a church, but the Companyhad already requested fourpence a square yard for a Wesleyan Chapel site.” [1: p24]
“Work on the office block, the boiler shop, the smithy, forge and foundry, a large store shed and a large water tank. The new gasworks was erected at this time. … Work on the Horwich fork line began on 21st September! it was opened for goods traffic on 20th June 1887, and for passengers on 1st July with an improved service between Horwich and Bolton and Manchester.” [1: p24]
This extract from the 25″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of the 20th century shows the Horwich branch with both curves in place from the mainline and with the connection into the loco works evident as well. [2]
On W. Barton Wright’s retirement in October 1887, in his place came J.A.F. Aspinall from Inchicore in Ireland to become Chief Mechanical Engineer. At the time of his appointment Aspinall was only 35 years of age.
He persuaded the Company to introduce a premium apprentice scheme and to fund a Mechanics Institute at Horwich. He also urged the immediate purchase of locomotives as prices at the time were relatively low. Based on his assessment of average mileage per locomotive in various railway companies he demonstrated that the L&YR needed a stock of 1,114 locomotives against an existing complement of 963. The shortage of engines was resulting in over use, engines becoming neglected and breakdowns being too frequent.
As an emergency measure, “Aspinall ordered 30 6ft 4-4-0s of Barton Wright’s design, but with Joy’s valve gear, from Beyer Peacock and from the same firm he ordered two small locomotives, at £250 each, for the 18in gauge internal railway system at the works. A third, ordered in 1887, cost £300. Aspinall quickly showed his concern for the well-being of the workers at Horwich. He was dissatisfied with the way the houses were being built and arranged for better supervision of the work. He also arranged for a local doctor to attend to accidents in the works until a permanent arrangement could be made.” [1: p24]
As construction work on the fitting, painting and erecting shops was nearing completion it was possible to “take in the first six locomotives for repair. They included the Barton Wright 4-4-0 No. 865 Prince of Wales, built by Dübs in 1885 and named in honour of a royal visit to Preston.” [1: p24]
The large office block, 323ft long and 58ft wide was brought into use on 19th February 1887 Beyer Peacock supplied two 18in gauge locos by 7th April and they were set to work in the erecting shop.
The foundry was completed next and work began here on 12th April. “The first castings were small engraved iron paper weights which were presented to the L&YR directors as a memento of the occasion. With the opening of the foundry Henry Albert Hoy, at that time manager at Miles Platting, was appointed works manager at Horwich and on Aspinall’s recommendation his salary was increased from £225 to £300, to become £400 in two years.” [1: p25]
Aspinall submitted further plans to the directors meeting on 27th September 1887, for a “further nine shops at an estimated cost of £26,738. For the whole of the work to be transferred from Miles Platting at an early date, it was necessary to start the brass foundry and copper shop at once and to cover in the space between the foundry and the forge to form the steel foundry. Of the shops proposed, the board sanctioned the erection of the tin and copper-smiths shop, the brass foundry, telegraph shop, steel foundry and an extension of the foundry for rail chairs.” [1: p25]
By the end of 1887, Miles Platting workshops were closed, “a few months later the shops at Bury were also closed, and all locomotive repair work was transferred to Horwich. The Miles Platting shops were converted into carriage sheds and the Bury shops used for stores.” [1: p25]
Horwich Locomotive Works as shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey from the turn of the 20th century. [2]
In January 1888, “work was started on the first order for new locomotives. This consisted of 10 2-4-2 tank engines of Aspinall’s design, the famous “radials”; the first one No. 1008, left the works on 20th February 1889, the second following in about three weeks. Because the steel foundry was not ready, the wheels and tyres were obtained from Germany, but the other parts of the engines were built entirely at Horwich. The tenth was completed during the following August.” [1: p25]
Work began on the first of the numerous Aspinall 0-6-0s in January 1889. The first order was for 10 engines, the first being completed in September and the last on 27th March 1890. Marshall’s article lists “the building dates of … all batches of locomotives built at Horwich until locomotive work ceased. Between 1891 and 1900 Aspinall rebuilt 230 of Barton Wright’s 4ft 6in 0-6-0s into saddle tanks for shunting. This released an equal number of serviceable tenders, hence the large number of locomotives built without tenders during this period.” [1: p25]
A table showing the building dates of all the batches of locomotives built at Horwich. The table was provided by John Marshall in his article in Railway World. [1: p26]
The Mechanics Institute building was opened in December 1888. Courses in electricity, mechanics, mathematics and machine drawing were introduced. There was a staff of 5 teachers with 90 students per week. “Fees were nominal, but if a student attended less than 21 classes in each subject, the charge was doubled.” [1: p26] The Institute was extended by the addition of a public hall to seat 900 people, a library, reading rooms and class rooms which were opened in October 1895.
By 1892 “the works were in full operation and by this time Horwich had become a fair-sized town, the census of 1891 recorded a population of 12,850, and this continued to grow. Social and recreational amenities were provided by the company including a large dining hall with accommodation for 1,100 men, and a large recreation ground laid out with two bowling greens, tennis courts, a cricket ground and a children’s playground. … A cottage hospital was built and accidents could thus be attended to promptly. To serve the new population the company had about 70 shops erected along Chorley New Road. On 13th April 1900, the Bolton Corporation electric tram service was extended to Horwich and on 19th May a route was opened via Victoria Road and through the main street of the old town, but this was closed in December 1907. There is no doubt that the trams were the cause of the later reduction in the train service to Horwich from Bolton.” [1: p26]
Marshall described the Works soon after they opened: … “The main entrance in Chorley New Road is attractively laid out with gardens and lawns, and beyond, at right angles to the road and the rest of the works, stands the office block. A wide corridor runs down the centre giving access to various offices including the drawing office. This is a long room occupying much of the north-west side of the building. Connected to the office at the far end and conveniently accessible by road and rail is the general store, 198ft long and 111ft wide, arranged on two storeys with a gallery round the four sides leaving the centre open to the roof.” [1: p62]
Marshall goes on to write about the 18in gauge internal railway which linked the stores with every part of the works, the length of track amounting to 74 miles. Eight 0-4-0 steam locomotives worked the system; Robin, Wren and Dot built in 1887, by Beyer Peacock and the others built at Horwich: Fly and Wasp in 1891, Midget and Mouse in 1899 and Bee in 1901. They had no works numbers and do not figure in the tabulated list of new engines above.. They had wheels of 16 in dia. and cylinders 5in dia. by 6in stroke.
He then returns to his description of the Works: … “The boiler shop is 439ft long and 111ft wide and its three bays are traversed by 12 ton and 20 ton capacity overhead cranes. For tapping stay holes Aspinall designed a multiple stay-tapping machine worked by ropes and pulleys. Boilers are rivetted up at the end of the shop in two Tweddle rivetting towers designed by Fielding and Platt. The whole of the machinery and equipment is arranged so that the progress of the work from the entry of the plates to completion proceeds step by step through the shop with no doubling-back or crossing to other machines. From the boiler shop we enter the boiler shop smithy, the same width and 120ft long. This is equipped with fires and hydraulic flanging presses for flanging firebox backs, tube plates, throat plates, ashpans and other pressings. The presses and rivetting towers use water at a pressure of 1,500 lb/sq in.” [1: p62]
Marshall’s narrative goes on to the next section of the building, the forge. It was the same width and 452ft long, and contained a series of Siemens regenerative furnaces for reheating. Among the machines were a 35 ton duplex hammer, one 8 ton and two 5 ton hammers. Beyond the forge, in the same row of buildings, was the steel foundry, 150ft long and 135ft wide, the iron foundry 212ft long and 111ft wide and the chair and plate foundry 124ft long and 128ft wide.
“In 1899 two 2 ton Tropenas Converters were installed in the steel foundry which [was] fitted also with Siemens Martin regenerative melting furnaces and facilities for annealing steel castings. The iron foundry and the steel foundry form[ed] a continuous building in three bays traversed from end to end by overhead 12 ton electric cranes. The ground on the north side of the iron and chair and plate foundries [was] at a higher level and from here the melting furnaces and cupolas [were] charged. In the iron foundry [were] produced railway castings of every type.” [1: p62]
The next row of buildings were narrower, only 47ft wide; “first [was] the tinsmith’s shop, 92ft long, next the motor shop, 153ft long, where electric motors and other equipment [were] maintained; the coppersmith’s shop, 89ft long and the brass foundry, 164ft long. … The central power station, next in the line, produce[d] electricity for the entire works and [was] 32ft long. The adjoining boiler house contain[ed] a battery of Lancashire Boilers, some fitted with underfeed mechanical stokers and Green’s Economisers, and others with forced draught grates for burning inferior fuel. In the fettling shop castings from the foundries [were] dressed. The carriage & wagon wheel shop, 200ft long, [was] equipped with lathes for turning and boring wheels, and presses for pressing tyres on to wheels for forcing wheels on to axles.” [1: p62]The middle row of buildings has a uniform width of 111ft. Opposite the stores is the paint shop, 234ft long, uniformly lit without glare by a north light type roof and maintained at an even temperature of 55 to 60 deg. F. by hot water
Plan of Horwich Locomotive Works in 1961. [5]
The middle row of buildings was uniformly 111ft wide: “Opposite the stores [was] the paint shop, 234ft long, uniformly lit without glare by a north light type roof and maintained at an even temperature of 55 to 60 deg. F. by hot water pipes laid along the engine pits. The shop accommodate[d] about 20 engines on six rows of pits 2ft deep, and include[d] a store from which all colours, oils, varnish and other materials [were] issued and a plant for mixing paints. It was the custom to spend about three weeks painting a new L&YR engine. After the filling and priming operations three coats of paint were applied followed by three coats of varnish.” [1: p62-63]
The testing shop occupied the next 27ft of the building. It was “equipped with a vertical 100 ton Buckton hydraulic testing machine using water at a pressure of 1,000 lb/sq in. Also working at the same pressure [was] a 100 ton horizontal chain testing machine. There [were] machines for preparing test specimens, a steam hammer and appliances for testing oil and springs. The chain smithy occupie[d] the last 28 ft of the building, and beyond it [was] a chain annealing furnace, Between this and the next shop, the yard [was] spanned by a large gantry used for handling boilers and other heavy items. … The millwright’s shop, 143ft long, maintain[ed] the various types of machines used on the railway. Adjoining this [was] the pattern makers’ and joiners’ shop, 164ft long, fully equipped with woodworking machinery and for saw maintenance.” [1: p63]
The fitting and machine shop sat at the centre of the Works. It was 508ft long. “Four 5 ton electric jib cranes travel[led] along the centre of the two outer bays and serve[d] the machines on each side. The end of the building [was] occupied by the points & crossings shop, 72ft long, and signal shop, 128ft long. … Some 150yd beyond the signal shop [was] the bolt shop, 60ft long, and the smithy, 212ft long. Among the equipment here [were] 11 double and 27 single hearths, steam hammers and drop stamps.” [1: p63]
“The fourth row of buildings beg[an] with the engine shed, alongside the paint shop. The heavy machine shop, 360ft long and 48ft wide contain[ed] machines for straightening frame plates, and slotting, radial arm drilling machines and the means for making built-up crank axles. Beyond [was] the spring smithy, 153ft long, where spring plates [were] made. … Finally there [was] the enormous erecting shop … with room for 90 engines and 30 tenders. Access [was] by the ends and by two traversers 32ft wide. The shop [was] divided into five sections each equipped with four 40 ton capacity overhead travelling cranes, two on each side. The total area of the works [was] 81 acres of which the area covered by workshops [was] 17 acres.” [1: p63]
Aspinall was appointed General Manager of the L&YR in June 1899, by then, 677 locomotives had been built at Horwich. He was succeeded by H. A. Hoy, under whom a further 220 locos were built. Hoy was succeeded by George Hughes in 1904. Hughes was an internal appointment and he remained at Horwich until he retired in 1925. “The 1,000th locomotive to be built at Horwich. No. 15, one of the Hughes 0-4-0 Railmotor locomotives, Works No. 983, appeared in March 1907. … During the 1914-18 war Horwich works was engaged in manufacturing military equipment of all types. On 1st January 1922, the L&YR was amalgamated with the LNWR. and George Hughes became CME of the combined company. When the LMS was formed a year later, Hughes was appointed CME of the entire system. … For the next three years [Horwich] this became the CME’s headquarters for the whole of the LMS.” [1: p63]
Change occurred after Hughes retired in 1925. The LMS began centralising activities. “The telegraph shop, signal shop, points & crossings shop, forge, and steel foundry were closed and the work transferred elsewhere. The spring smithy was transferred to the general smithy and the original building became a tube and bar store. In about 1927, the high level boiler house was closed down. During the great depression in 1931, locomotive building was suspended after completion of a batch of 15 standard 0-6-0 tanks on 15th October and locomotive work was confined to repairs. From 1932, after the closure of Newton Heath carriage works, the electric multiple-unit trains on the Liverpool-Southport-Crossens and Manchester-Bury-Holcombe Brook services were taken to Horwich for repair, and occupied the north western end of the erecting shop, this section becoming known as the car shop.” [1: p63-64]
Part of the Works was used between 1939 & 1945 for the manufacture of armoured fighting vehicles and shells. “From May to November 1943, 33 American 2-8-0 engines passed through the erecting shop for some 30 modifications, chiefly the fitting of a Gresham & Craven combination injector and graduable steam brake valve, the overhaul of part of the motion and the fitting of hand brake gear to the tender. … In June 1943 locomotive building was resumed with a batch of Stanier 2-8-0s and tenders.” [1: p64]
“The last steam locomotive to be built at Horwich was B.R. Standard Class 4 2-6-0 No. 76099 which left the works on 27th November 1957. On 20th August 1958 work began on a series of 350 h.p. 0-6-0 diesel shunting locomotives. The last of these, No. D4157, was completed on 28th December 1962.” [1: p64]
Marshall tells us that, “after the war a mechanised foundry was built in the shop which was originally the forge. The casting of chairs was transferred to the new foundry. A typical year’s work during this period included 20 new locomotives, 350 heavy repairs and 240 light repairs to locomotives, and repairs to 200 boilers and 90 electric vehicles, and the general production work of castings, etc. With the closure of Gortonworks in 1963 the manufacture of points and crossings began again at Horwich. During 1963 the number of locomotives for repair declined and the erecting shop was invaded by wagons, many of them the result of the running down of Earlestown works, and the last locomotives entered the shop in April 1964.” [1: p64-65]
“Altogether, some 50,000 locomotives [were] repaired in 76 years, an average of over 680 a year.” [1: p65]
Marshall concludes his articles by noting that Horwich Works were a place of training and development for a number of significant people in the history of railways in the UK: Sir Nigel Gresley, R.E.L. Maunsell, George Hughes and Sir Henry Fowler, and others of significance to railway history around the world, for instance J.P. Crouch, who became CME of the Argentine Central and Rupert Fawker, CME of the Sudanese Railways.
The Works were also an important place of employment for generations of people in Horwich. Inevitably, economic conditions varied over the years, families had to travel around the country to find other work when redundancies occurred.
My paternal grandfather and grandmother found alternative work and a new home in the Midlands. I guess that there were many like them, both in the 1930s and in subsequent generations right through to the eventual closure of the Works for whom redundancy brought family trauma, a loss of dignity and a sense of hopelessness. People who felt trapped in their circumstances, swept along by a tide of events over which they had little or no control. People who had to find a new route through life for themselves and their families and who showed the same courage and commitment in their own circumstances as those who were prime movers in the development of Horwich Locomotive works in the late 19th century.
An aerial view of Horwich Locomotive Works, seen from the Southeast. [4]A closer aerial view of Horwich Locomotive Works, seen from the Northwest. [4]
Of additional interest relating to Horwich Locomotive Works is a short note in The Railway Magazine of September 1909 entitled “The Lancashire & Yorkshire Locomotive Stud.” …
“The usual summer convention of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers which this year was held at Liverpool, after a long interval, will be remembered as a railway convention, particularly as a Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway one. Firstly, because Mr. J. A. F. Aspinall, the chairman of the meeting and president of the Institution, is the General Manager of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway; secondly, because the principal paper was contributed by Mr. Geo. Hughes, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway; and lastly, because of the visit paid to the Horwich Works.” [8]
“Mr. George Hughes’ paper was entitled “Locomotives Designed and Built at Horwich, with some Results.” In it he stated that formerly there were in service on the Lancashireand Yorkshire Railway 29 types of passenger engines and 26 types of goods engines, the total stock being 353 passenger and 647 goods engines. There are now 1517 locomotives, of which 1,052 have been built at Horwich. About 1,100 are in steam daily. Mr. Aspinall, while chief mechanical engineer, had adopted the policy of reducing the number of types, introduced standardization, and, wherever possible, interchangeability. The number of types had now been considerably reduced. Experience with the Druitt-Halpin thermal storage tank had shown that where stopping places were frequent on rising gradients it led to distinct economy, the saving varying from 4 to 12 per cent. Experiments were now being carried out with a super-heater, the results of which would be communicated at a later date. The average life of boilers on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway for the three years ended December, 1908, was 14 years, representing an average mileage of 356,268. Copper fire-boxes ran from 150,000 to 275,000 miles, while over a period of 20 years it was found that the life of cylinders varied from 8 to 14 years. With the more severe modern conditions of service the solid type crank axle had been supplanted by the built-up pattern.” [8]
References
John Marshall; Horwich Works – Parts 1 & 2; in Railway World, Ian Allan, January & February 1965.
The featured image above is a picture of the Pilling Pig. It was shared by Mandy Sharpe on the Visions of Trains and Tracks of the North West of England Facebook Group on 19th August 2017. Permission to include here applied for. [6]
One of six postcards produced by Dalkeith. This card shows the full length of the line. [16]
In the past, I have written two articles about the Garstang to Knott End Railway, those articles can be found on these two links:
Reading some back copies of Railway Bylines, I came across an article in the March 2002 edition of the magazine about this short rural line. The article was written by R. Supwards with photographs by Douglas Robinson.
The line had a hesitant start and always struggled financially, but it remained independent until being taken over by the LMS at the Grouping but lost its passenger service in 1930. It was closed to goods traffic beyond Pilling at the end of 1950. In the summer of 1963, the line beyond Garstang Town was closed. The remainder of the branch did not last long. It was closed by the end of August 1965.
A ‘Cauliflower’ 0-6-0 locomotive in LMS colours sits at Knott End before setting off towards Pilling and Garstang. This image was shared by Steve Scott on the Visions of Trains and Tracks of the North West of England Facebook Group on 27th August 2017. Permission to use here has been applied for. [7]One of six postcards produced by Dalkeith. The station at Knott End is shown from two different angles on the right of the card. The station layout is shown on the left. [16]
Supwards’ article highlighted the different locomotives used on the line: “until about 1950 the engine was usually a ‘Cauliflower’ 0-6-0 from Preston.” [1: p196] These were followed by “Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0s, with the line being worked on the ‘one engine in steam’ principle. On weekdays the ‘Pilling Pig left Preston (North Union Yard) a little before midday and returned from Pilling at 3.10pm, whereas on Saturdays it left Preston at 7.37am and started back from Pilling at 10.17am. The return trips went to Farington Junction in Preston.” [1: p196]
By the mid-50s, the Ivatt locos were replaced by ex-L&YR 0-6-0s, which in turn were soon replaced by ex-LNWR 0-8-0 locomotives and then, by the late 1950s, Stanier Black 5 4-6-0s.
Supwards’ also records enthusiasts visits to the line. The first he records was on 1st May 1954 (when a joint Stephenson Locomotive Society/Manchester Locomotive Society tour visited Pilling as part of a tour of several ‘goods only’ lines in the area, hauled by 2-6-4T No.42316). [1: p196]
Another railtour took place on 29th May 1958 (a Manchester Locomotive Society brake van trip, which comprised a single brake van attached to the usual branch working in the care of an LMS Black 5 Class 4-6-0 locomotive, No. 45438). [1: p196] By that time Black 5s were the standard motive power on the line and remained so until its closure. [1: p196/198]
Various sites along the length of the branch line. This is another of the six postcards produced and sold by Dalkeith. [16]The Pilling Pig crossing the canal bridge at Nateby near Garstang in the mid-20th century. This image was shared on the Visions of the Trains and Tracks of the North West of England Facebook Group by Ian Gornall on 21st September 2021. It is used by kind permission from Ian Gornall. [3]
Supwards’ short article is supported by a series of photographs taken by Douglas Robinson which are not reproduced here for copyright reasons.
An excellent book about the line was written by Dave Richardson, published by the Cumbrian Railways Association. [4]
The Pilling Pig: A History of the Garstang & Knott End Railway. [4]
There is a superb set of photographs of the branch collated by Paul Johnson on smugmug.com. [5]
Locomotives
As promised in an earlier article about this line, here are some details of the locomotives that served the line in its early years before it was absorbed by the LMS. The basic details come from the Wikipedia article about the line: [8]
1870: Black, Hawthorn 0-4-2ST Hebe
“The line opened on December 5, 1870, running with a single locomotive, Black Hawthorn 0-4-2ST Hebe, passengers boarding any point along the line by request. … In 1872, Hebe broke down, with all services suspended, and soon the company was in rent arrears. The locomotive was repossessed, and for the next three years only occasional horse-drawn trains were run.” [9]
1874: Manning Wardle 0-4-0ST Union
“Services resumed in 1875 using a new locomotive, Manning Wardle 0-4-0ST Union.” [9]
In the late 1870s, Farmer’s Friend, was given the nickname ‘Pilling Pig’ “because of the squeal made by its whistle. This name became colloquially applied to all of the line’s locomotives and even the railway itself.” [9] This locomotive was operational until 1900. [11]
Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST ‘Farmer’s Friend’. This is an extract from one of six postcard images printed and sold by Dalkeith. [16]
1885: Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST Hope
This locomotive had larger cylinders than Farmer’s Friend (13×20 in rather than 11×17 in) but operated at the same boiler pressure (120 psi). [12]
1897: Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST Jubilee Queen
Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST ‘Jubilee Queen’. This is another extract from one of six postcard images printed and sold by Dalkeith. [16]
This locomotive had larger cylinders than Hope (15×20) and operated at a higher boiler pressure (140 psi). [12]
1900: Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST New Century
This is an enlarged extract from one of the six Dalkeith postcard images. It shows ‘New Century‘ at Garstang Engine Shed. [16]
This loco was a sister loco to Jubilee Queen, and is recorded by Wells [14] as having been purchased at the same time.
1908: Manning Wardle 0-6-0T Knott End
Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST ‘Knott End’. This is a third extract from one of six postcard images printed and sold by Dalkeith. [16]
This locomotive had 14×20 in cylinders and operated at 150 psi. [12]
1909: Manning Wardle 2-6-0T Blackpool
Manning Wardle 2-6-0T ‘Blackpool’. This is a fourth extract from one of six postcard images printed and sold by Dalkeith. [16]
This loco had 16×22 in cylinders, operated at 150 psi, and had larger diameter driving wheels (48 in). It was fitted with Isaacson’s patent valve gear. [12][13][14] It was Works No. 1747. Isaacson, together with Edwin Wardle and Charles Edward Charlesworth took out payments for the valve gear in 1907 (patents No’s. 17533 and 27899 of 1907). Atkins is quoted by steamindex.com as saying that “The 2-6-0T was rare on British standard gauge railways. The only other was on the Wrexham, Mold and Connahs Quay Railway – a rebuild from an 0-6-0.” [15]
Other Rolling Stock
Railmotor
In 1920, just a couple of years before the line was absorbed by the new LMS, a railmotor was hired by the G&KE from the LNWR. It was still running on the line in March 1930 when the passenger service ceased. [22: p22] It looked after the majority of passenger services on the line. “Seating 48 third class passengers, this vehicle originally operated in LNWR colours, but was later repainted in LMS red with the number 10698.” [22: p24-25] The last passenger service actually ran on Saturday 29th March, although the formal closure took effect before traffic started on Monday 31st March 1930. [22: p25]
Ex-LNWR Railmotor, LMS No. 10698, paused at Nateby whilst working a passenger service between Knott End and the main line at Garstang & Catterall. No. 10698 was renumbered as 29988 in 1933 and became the last of its type in service running through the war until withdrawal in 1948. (c) Knott End Collection. The photograph is used here by kind permission and can be accessed on the Railscot website, here. [23]
Coaches
The six postcards published by Dalkeith [16] include one showing coaching stock on the line. It is shown below:
Another of the Dalkeith postcards. as with the other postcard images, this appears to be a reproduction is of a Garstang & Knott End Railway poster from 1908. [16]
When the full line was completed to Knott End, eight bogie coaches were supplied by Birmingham Carriage and Wagon Co. Ltd. Since the bogie coaches had no guards compartment they originally worked with the goods brake vans, but in 1909 two new passenger brake vans were introduced.
After the removal.of passenger service from the Garstang to Knott End (G&KE) Railway, it seems that one or two items of rolling stock were transferred to the Wanlockhead branch of the Caledonian Railway in the 1930s. That line was originally the ‘Leadhills and Wanlockhead Light Railway’. [17] A thread on the Caledonian Railway Association Forum [18] explores what is known by members of that Forum.
Apparently, “In the early 1930s a composite coach with end roofed platforms was transferred from the Garstang and Knott End Railway to the Wanlockhead branch. Its LMS number was 17899.” [18]
It appears that “a G&KE 4 wheeled passenger brake van transferred at the same time.” [17]
It was scrapped at the same time as the bogie coach when the Wanlockhead line closed in 1939.[20]
There was an article about the construction, in 7mm/ft (O Gauge), of the two carriages in Model Railway News in October 1959. That article is produced in full below. [19]
A three-page article by N.S. Eagles in Model Railway News, October 1959 features his models of the two coaches. [19]3D images of the two coaches produced for 3D printing. [20]
Apparently, 6 of the 8 G&KE coaches “fetched up at the LMS Carriage depot at Slateford, where they were used as offices and stores until at least 1959.” [17]
Wagons
One of the postcards in the Dalkeith series shows wagons used on the line. One of these is covered above. There were two dedicated coaching brake wagons. In the image below the goods wagons are in grey and the coaching brake in deep red. [16]
The goods wagons on the line are featured on this last image, another of the Dalkeith postcard images. [16]
Drawings of G&KE Railway wagons can be found here. [21]
References
R. Supwards and Douglas Robinson; A Pig of a Job; in Railway Bylines; The Irwell Press, March 2002, p196-200.
Frank K. Walmesley; The Garstang & Knot-End Railway; in The Railway Magazine Volume 22, December 1959, p859–864
Jeffrey Wells; The Pig and Whistle railway: a Lancashire backwater; in BackTrack Volume 7, September 1993, p257–265; a summary is provided on steamindex.com: https://steamindex.com/backtrak/bt7.htm#1993-5, accessed on 9th December 2023.
Philip Atkins; Blackpool – Britain’s most obscure locomotive; in Backtrack Volume 10, January 1996, p40-42; a summary is provided on steamindex.com: https://steamindex.com/backtrak/bt10.htm#10-40 accessed on 9th December 2023.
The ‘Modern Tramway’ reported in January & February 1963 on a relatively short lived experiment on Blackpool’s trams. The Marton route was an inland route through Blackpool which complemented the promenade route. It is route ‘C’ on the featured image above. [11]
The two articles were written by F.K. Pearson who suggested that his articles could perhaps have been entitled, ‘The Experiment That Didn’t Quite …‘ [1]
The Marton Route opened in 1901 but by 1938 it was approaching the end of it’s useful life, needing relaying and requiring a new fleet of 15 trams. A decision to undertake the work was deferred by Blackpool Town Council. War intervened and the existing trackwork was patched up to last a few more years.”By the time relaying could be considered again, technical progress had rendered the 1938 plan out of date, and the Marton route was chosen for one of Britain’s most interesting public transport experiments, the only attempt ever made to provide a tram service which by its sheer frequency, comfort and riding qualities could compete not just with the bus but with its future competitor, the private car.” [1: p14] Pearson’s article reports on that experiment, how near it came to success. and where it eventually failed.
Pearson continues:
“The story begins with the acquisition in 1945 by Crompton Parkinson Ltd. of a licence to manufacture in Britain certain equipment similar to that in the American PCC-car, the patents of which were held by the Transit Research Corporation in the USA. The experiments which followed were aimed at producing a vehicle which in silence, comfort, performance and soothness of riding would outshine any existing public service vehicle and rival that of the best private car. Blackpool already had modern trams, plenty of them, designed for the straight, open, track on the Promenade where even orthodox cars could give a smooth and quiet ride, but what was promised now was a tram with silent ‘glideaway’ performance even on grooved street track with frequent curves These route conditions, frequently met with in other towns, existed in Blackpool only on the Marton line, and Mr. Walter Luff the Transport Manager, made no secret of the fact that he hoped to persuade the Town Council to let him use the Marton route for a large-scale experiment that might have considerable repercussions on the future of tramways elsewhere in Britain; in short, to make it a show-piece.
The question of relaying the route was reopened as soon as the war ended, and the Town Council asked for comparative estimates for trams, buses and trolleybuses. Mr. Luff reported that to keep trams would cost £136,380 (£61,360 for new track £75,000 for 15 new cars), buses would cost £56,940 including road reinstatement and depot conversion, and trolleybuses would cost £87,360. He made no secret of his belief that the experiments then in progress would result in a vehicle superior to be existing tram, bus or trolleybus, and the Town Council, wishing to await the outcome of the trials, postponed a decision and asked that the track be patched up for a few more months.
The first objective of the new equipment was silent running on grooved street track. This was achieved by using resilient wheels with rubber sandwiches loaded in shear between the tyre and the wheel hub, which would absorb small-amplitude vibrations arising from irregularities in the track instead of transmitting them through the springing to the rest of the car, and in the process would achieve virtual silence. Furthermore, the resilient wheel allows slight lateral flexibility and reduced side friction between flange and rail, eliminating the usual scrub on curves and incidentally reducing flange wear to an extent which eliminated the need for re-turning the tyre profile between successive re-tyrings. These rubber-sandwich wheels could be unbolted and changed like those of a bus, necessitating a newly-designed inside-frame truck (type H.S. 44) produced by Maley & Taunton, Ltd., who also designed and supplied a “silent” air-compressor to eliminate another source of noise. The experimental trucks were placed under car No. 303, and on 26th April 1946, the B.B.C. took sound-recordings on street track on this and an older car, with the microphone only three feet from the wheels.
With the old-type car the noise was considerable but with No. 393 it was practically nil.
Another traditional source of tramcar noise is the straight spur-gear drive, and this was replaced in the new truck by a right-angle spiral bevel drive, completely silent in operation, and requiring the two motors to be placed fore-and-aft in the truck. In many towns this alone would have led to a remarkable reduction in noise level, but Blackpool also knows how to keep spur gears quiet, and one wonders whether a right-angle drive (less efficient mechanically) can be justified by noise reduction alone. However, these and similar gears had been developed to such a pitch of efficiency for motor vehicles by their manufacturers (David Brown, Ltd.) that their use in a tram presented little difficulty. The technical and metallurgical problems had long since been overcome, and the only question was that of expense.
The other main objective was complete smoothness of acceleration and braking with private-car performance, and for this experiments were carried out by Crompton Parkinson, Ltd., using Blackpool car No. 208 to which the experimental trucks were transferred from No. 303 later in 1946. All four axles were motored, giving a possible initial acceleration rate of 3.5 mph. per second, and a smooth rate of change was achieved by arranging the motors in permanent series-parallel pairs and feeding them through a resistance having 94 steps instead of the usual eight. This resistance, mounted on the roof for ease of ventilation, was built around a circular steel frame with contacts on a rotating arm, turned by a small pilot motor, and the master control was by a joystick control by which the driver could select the rate of acceleration or braking required. Acceleration was automatic, for if the lever were left in a constant position the traction motors would accelerate or decelerate at constant current, yet it could also be varied by moving the stick, which explains the trade-name “Vambac” (Variable Automatic Multi-notch Braking and Acceleration Control) used for this equipment. Although inspired by that of the American PCC-car, it differed in several important respects, notably in that it enabled the car to coast. A car with this equipment, operating at the limit of its potential, was expected to consume about 4.5 units per car per mile (about 2.5 times the Blackpool average), but provision was also made to give a lower performance comparable to that of older trams if the two had to provide a mixed service on the same route. This reduced performance later became the Blackpool standard.” [1: p14-15]
Two pages from Newnes Practical Mechanics which give details of the type H.S. 44 bogies produced by Crompton Parkinson Ltd. and Maley & Taunton, Ltd. [4]
It transpired that the complete car was ready to begin trials in December 1946, and the Town Council were very soon invited for a demonstration. The track was now in an awful condition requiring a relay or abandon decision.
“After considerable debate, the Transport Committee recommended that it be relaid, and the Town Council on 8th January, 1947, decided by the narrow margin of 25 votes to 21 to instruct the Borough Surveyor to proceed with the reconstruction of the track. Blackpool Town Council, then as now, included some shrewd business-men, and the fact that they were prepared to spend twice as much on keeping trams than would have been needed for buses is the most eloquent testimonial to car No. 208 and the impression which its revolutionary equipment and performance had made. For the first time, they realised, it was possible for a public service vehicle to offer a performance as good as the private car, and it was bound to be popular.
Work began straight away, using rail already in stock, followed by 600 tons of new rail and Edgar Allen pointwork to complete the job. Other traffic was diverted, with single-line working for the trams, and by the autumn of 1948 new Thermit-welded asphalt-paved track extended throughout the 3-mile route, save only for a short section held back until 1950 because of an anticipated new road layout. …
Meanwhile, the experiments with prototype car No. 208 continued, and by mid-1947 the car (specially equipped with fluorescent lighting) was ready for regular service, though frequently in demand for demonstration runs with visitors from other undertakings. The car was not used on Marton, for the Marton schedules were based on 78-seat instead of 48-seat cars, and for its first three years the new Marton track was traversed by the same cars that had worked the service since the mid-twenties, the gaunt, upright standard-type double-deckers, some of them with open balconies. These had no part in the Marton Experiment, and were due to disappear as soon as the heralded 15 new cars made their appearance.
At this point, compromises were made. Inflation meant that the planned new cars could no longer be obtained at anything like the estimated figure. Blackpool decided, for the sake of economy, to fit the new equipment to existing trams. Twelve surplus modern single-deckers were seen as suitable.
“These cars (10 to 21) had been built cheaply in 1939 for use during the holiday season only, with second-hand electrical equipment, wooden seats, no partition between driver and passengers, the minimum of interior lighting, waist-high sliding doors, and the upper half of the windows permanently open. … Scarcely had they entered service than war intervened and they were put in store, emerging in 1942 with full-length windows, doors and cabs for use on extra workings such as troop specials.
Late in 1947, the Corporation ordered 18 sets of H.S. 44 trucks and Vambac equipment, to enable them to equip sufficient cars to work the entire Marton service, including spares. Rigby Road Works set to work rebuilding the 10-21 series into a new silent-running fleet, soon to become known as the ‘Marton Vambacs’. … Internally, the cars were given soft fluorescent lights, comfortable seats upholstered in brown moquette, new floor-coverings, and tuneful bells. The first car, No. 21, appeared in December, 1949, and its lack of noise when running was quite uncanny, the only remaining sounds being the soft buzz of the “silent” compressor, the hissing of the motor brushes, the clicking of the accelerator contacts, and the sound of the trolley wheel. Even this latter was to have been eliminated in due course, for when the Marton overhead next needed renewal the round wire was to be replaced by grooved wire suitable for use with silent-running carbon skids, of the type used on trolleybuses.” [1: p17-18]
Pearson tells us that, “Conversion of the 12 cars, took just over two years, and during this period the “new” cars could be seen side by side with the older double-deckers. In the eyes of the tramway enthusiast, the “vintage” year of the Marton route was undoubtedly 1951, when about half the service was still in the hands of the venerable but never decrepit standard cars, and mingled with these like gazelles among heavier quadrupeds (a purist might say ‘octopeds’) were the first half dozen Marton Vambacs’.” [1: p18-19]
The map of Blackpool’s trams included in Pearson’s article. [2: p54-55]
In the second installment of the story, Pearson moves on from the Autumn of 1951 to the early months of 1952, when conversion of trams No.10-21 was complete. With No. 208, this meant that there were 13 tram cars serving the Marton route which had to be supplemented at times by older double-deckers. The Council’s resources were by this time dedicated to introducing Charles Roberts cars on the Promenade.
Two of the Marton Vambac trams in Blackpool South. The nearest Vambac Railcoach No. 208 was prototype test bed for the new type of controller & inside frame bogies. Behind is one of the twelve Marton Vambac’s, rebuilt from 1939-built sun saloons. This image was shared on the History of Blackpool Facebook Group on 6th February 2021 by Pete Dumville. [5]
From 1954, when the double-deckers had been withdrawn from service. The Marton route was worked by the 13 Vambac cars and, usually, three pre-war English Electric rail coaches.
It was unfortunate that rising crew costs began to become a significant issue for the Council.
“It may perhaps have been overlooked that the success of the PCC-cars on the street routes in the USA was nearly always coupled with one-man operation. … If passengers were satisfied with the new equipment, so we’re the platform staff.
The manufacturer’s claims were fully borne out, for the automatic acceleration and the provision of simple joystick and pedal control made the cars delightfully simple to drive, reducing fatigue to a minimum and eliminating some of the finer points of instructional training, since “notching up” no longer depended on the driver’s skill. However, it was rather curious to observe the use which different drivers made of the two braking systems, due, perhaps, to the admixture of pre-war and Vambac cars. The Vambac equipment provided a smooth and reliable brake effective down to a speed of less than two miles per hour, and was intended as the main service brake, the air brake being used only for the final stop, brake-shoe life being increased accordingly. This theory can be seen in everyday application on the Promenade, with the post-war cars, yet on the Marton Vambacs many drivers seemed to prefer the familiar air brake for service use, leaving what they termed the “stick brake” in reserve for emergencies. The smoothness of braking was thus dependent once again on the skill of the driver, and the smooth automatic deceleration purchased at such expense was wasted. Other drivers would use the Vambac brake to commence deceleration but would then change to air at a speed higher than intended by the designers for the final stop, and at least one journey made by the writer was marred by the Vambac deceleration being “interrupted” each time while the driver remembered to “put on the air.” One wonders why they were so fond of the air brake, but a possible reason lies in the fact that both terminal approaches were on slight gradients, where the air brake had in any case to be applied to hold the car on the grade, unlike the flat expanses of the Promenade.” [2: p51-52]
Another factor associated with the trial was that of maintenance of the tram cars.
“On the one hand, the provision of automatic acceleration and electric braking with minimum and controlled current peaks certainly eliminated the possibility of mishandling the electrical equipment, and must have reduced routine maintenance on the control gear, while the use of cardan shafts and totally-enclosed spiral bevel drives eliminated the troubles associated with the servicing of motor-suspension bearings and reduced the shopping periods. The service availability of the Vambac cars, judging from their daily appearances has been quite as high as that of the orthodox cars, and from this one can safely say that the new equipment must have been fully adequate in avoiding excessive servicing requirements. Moreover, while new and somewhat revolutionary equipment in any field has to cope with the burden of tradition on the part of older generation staff (human nature being what it is), this hurdle seems to have been surmounted with conspicuous success. On the other hand, obtaining spare parts must have been very awkward quite apart from the cost aspect for apart from Blackpool’s own 304-class cars no one else used the same equipment, despite all the hopes that were placed in it. In 1947 the potential British market for modern tramway equipment still included Leeds, Sheffield, Glasgow and Aberdeen, and anyone who had sampled the new equipment could be forgiven for seeing in it a germ of resurgence for tramways and a hope of further orders; but this was not to be. From this aspect, one begins to understand why the five extra sets of trucks and equipments were used as a source of spares rather than to equip further cars.” [2: p52, 54]
An interesting claim made for the new resilient-wheeled trucks was a saving in track costs. Although the track was abandoned before claims of a 30-year life could be tested, the track, “certainly stood up very well to 15 years’ life, and even at the end much of the track and paving was still of exhibition standard, Some of the sharper curves had been renewed, but this was only to be expected, for grooved rail generally lasts four times as long on straight track as on curves. On the sections with non-welded joints (usually) curves), there has been none of the usual deterioration of joints through hammer-blow … [found in] towns using heavy double-deck cars. The one unexpected phenomenon [was] the appearance of a few patches of corrugation.” [2: p54]
Pearson spent a short while alongside a corrugated stretch in Whitegate Drive, listening to sounds made by different types of car. He comments: “The passage of a Vambac car, even on the corrugations, was a process of exemplary quiet, but the occasional pre-war solid-wheeled car produced a roaring noise that told its own story.” [2: p54]
In his opinion, it was the “periodic traverse of the Marton tracks by these few pre-war solid-wheeled railcoaches (and by cars going to and from the Marton depot) that ha[d] given rise to the corrugations, and Whitegate. Drive residents who wrote to the papers in complaining terms can only have had these cars in mind. From the track aspect, it is therefore a pity that the original plan to equip 18 cars was not carried out, for the pre-war Blackpool cars, lacking track brakes, beget corrugations wherever they encounter solid foundations.” [2: p54-55]
A sequence of monochrome photos which were published as part of Pearson’s articles are shown below. The first four show something of the lifespan of the experiment. The following three show Marton Vambac trams at the various termini of the Marton Route.
“From the various engineering aspects – performance, silent running, case of control, routine maintenance, track wear, and availability – the Marton Experiment was therefore a success, even though it did not induce any other tramways to invest in similar equipment. The new equipment did all that the manufacturers claimed for it, and once the teething troubles were overcome ha[d] continued to function smoothly and efficiently for more than 10 years, with no further modifications of any importance. The Crompton Parkinson/Maley & Taunton Vambac/H.S.44 combination represented the ultimate development of street tramway practice in this country.” [2: p55]
Pearson considered that the VAMBAC trams had infinitely superior qualities both in riding and silence, so far as solid track was concerned. They were popular with the public – when abandonment was first proposed there was a significant outcry from customers who said that the VAMBAC trams were the finest transport service they had known. “Marton residents organised a massive petition to the Town Council for its retention, without any prompting from tramway-enthusiasts, in fact without their even knowing of it. The campaign was headed by Alderman J. S. Richardson, now the Mayor of Blackpool, and it is a sad coincidence that in his mayoral capacity Alderman Richardson himself had to preside at the closing on 28th October, 1962.” [2: p55]
It is Pearson’s view that the main reason for the failure of the experiment and the closure of the Marton tram route was the economic impossibility of two-man operation with only 48 seats per tram. While this was the main reason, there were at least three subsidiary factors: the cost of spare parts; the high energy cost of starting from rest; awkward relationships with other road users as visiting road users were no longer used to mixing with trams in their own communities.
He notes that crew costs in the 1960s accounted for an average of about 75% of a transport budget. Tram costs were higher than buses, the only way to offset that difference was to maximise the customer load-factor (this was effective on the Promenade) or to use tramway units of higher capacity than the largest available bus, so as to bring the cost per seat-mile down to a competitive figure. Had articulated cars been available that would have addressed the issue. “The 48-seat Marton Vambacs were below the minimum economic size … and throughout the experiment the route … had to be increasingly subsidised from the receipts of others. The Marton residents … enjoyed a superb service at considerably less than cost, and were naturally loth to lose it, but any suggestion of passing on the cost by raising the fares to a scale above that of the inland bus routes (as is done in summer on the Promenade) would clearly have been politically out of the question.” [2: p56]
Pearson’s own opinion, expressed in his article, is that the 12 year experiment proved that “revolutionary new concepts in tramway engineering [could] be applied to a normal street route as well as on the special field of the Blackpool Promenade, and Marton’s disappearance [was] a sad occasion for all who [saw] in the tramcar a still only partially-exploited form of transport. Looking back, it seems a repeat of a sadly familiar pattern; the engineering profession has delivered the goods, but the confused pattern of public transport in this country has never made full use of the potential made available by the engineers, electrical and mechanical, who gave practical expression to what [was], for most of us, still a composite dream.” [2: p56]
The Blackpool Trams website tells us that, “the first VAMBAC was withdrawn in 1960 as car 10 suffered accident damage and was scrapped soon after. The second VAMBAC withdrawn was 21 in 1961, which was withdrawn as a source of spare parts for the remaining trams, while 14 was also withdrawn for use as a driver training car. The writing was on the wall for the Marton Route, which had been isolated and lost it’s summer services to South Pier following the closure of the Lytham Road route in 1961, however, the remaining VAMBACS remained in use until October 1962 when the Marton route closed, with 11, 13, 15, 17 and 18 operating on the last day. The VAMBACS remained in Marton Depot and were joined by other surplus trams for scrapping in 1963. … One VAMBAC did manage to survive however, VAMBAC 11 was requested for a tour of the remaining parts of the tramway early in 1963 and was extracted from Marton Depot and made it’s way to Rigby Road. Following the tour, 11 was eventually preserved and found its way into preservation and is now at the East Anglia transport museum, where it still sees regular use today.” [3]
One of the Martin Vambacs in service in Blackpool in the late 1950s or early 1960s. This image was shared on the History of Blackpool Facebook Group on 7th April 2017 by Tony Latham. [6]Another Marton Vambac outside Abingdon Street Market. This photograph was shared on the History of Blackpool Facebook Group on 18th May 2023 by Jess Tulloch. [8]The interior of Marton Vambac No. 11 in its preserved condition at the East Anglia Transport Museum near Lowestoft. This image was shared on the History of Blackpool Facebook Group on 23rd February 2023 by Col Macloud. [7]A composite image of Marton Vambac No. 11 as used by ‘Videoscene’ in their range of transfers applied to mugs. [9]Marton Vambac No. 11 at its present home – the East Anglia Transport Museum. [10]
References
F.K. Pearson; The Marston Experiment; in Modern Tramway, Volume 26 No.301; Light Railway Transport League & Ian Allan, Hampton Court, Surrey, January 1963, p14-19.
F.K. Pearson; The Marston Experiment …. ; in Modern Tramway, Volume 26 No.302; Light Railway Transport League & Ian Allan, Hampton Court, Surrey, February 1963, p51-56.
Roger Farnworth 
