Arthur Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Not the first actual line to run north-south across the moss, there was a narrow gauge peat carrying line owned, I think,by Manchester Corporation, on Barton Moss. It's 'tunnel' under the A57, just west of Barton Airport, is now used by Boysnope Park golf club as a pedestrian underpass. Also not the first planned one either, Manchester Collieries planned to extend their internal railway system south, across the moss, to the Ship Canal in the same area. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 if the Caddishead viaduct was in such a bad way, Im wondering if the other similar CLC bridge over the ship canal at Irlam has ever had to have any major repairs? All four rail bridges over the Canal were built by the Canal company, because the railways were there first. All seem to use similar construction elements though there are differences due to the differing spans. I believe the state of the Latchford bridge was one reason why that route was abandoned. I wonder if there have been any similar problems with the much more important structure carrying the WCML and Warrington-Chester line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted June 11, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 11, 2012 i seem to remember they did a lot of work on the ship canal bridge in irlam (that carries warrington central - manchester line) back in the late 90's, they put some sort of membrane under it to stop it moving or something, it was before my time on the railway but for some reason it sticks in my mind, at the time i used to deliver chemicals to a now closed factory which backed onto the old skelton jn line on the north side of the canal, i also used to take my car to the rolling road in irlam! there are a few good pics of the route, then and now on the disused station site... http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/stockport_portwood/index.shtml 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Emily Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 If the bridges were built by the canal company, then how come the canal company didn't have to pay for the upkeep of Latchford and Cadishead viaducts and do the necessary repairs? Unless BR was looking for an excuse to close the routes anyway perhaps? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Good question! Perhaps by that time, with the canal virtually disused, the company couldn't pay for expensive repairs? Or was it all state owned at the time? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 The canal has never been in state ownership, the Manchester Ship Canal Co., being acquired by Peel Holdings in 1993. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 The bridges built by the MSC replaced earlier railway bridges which would have been railway owned so the new bridges passed into railway ownership. There were also (and one or two still re-surface from time to time) free ferries between the two sides of the canal which the MSC was obligated to run because foot bridges had previously existed in some locations and it was easier to do that than build a massive structure. If you travel down the A57 between Irlam and Eccles on the bypass you can see one of the old landing stations, there is another at Barton which people try to maintain and from time to time there is someone performing the service. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 The ferries were not free, though they only cost a few pence. They were 'franchised' out by the Ship Canal Company to local ferrymen who provided the service and the fare was their income. They were just rowing boats and I remember two, one at Irlam and one at Cadishead. Between Warburton Toll bridge, west of Cadishead, and Barton Swing bridge, a good few miles, there were no road/foot crossings. It was possible to walk over the lock gates at Barton and Irlam but i never knew whether this was actually permitted or whether the lock keepers just turned a blind eye. In the early seventies the Irlam Ferry was a replaced with a motorised metal boat. The Cadishead ferry was the scene of the fatal Ship Canal fire in 1970, link below, and, not surprisingly, the ferry service though re-instated was never quite so popular again. http://www.francisfrith.com/irlam/memories/bobs-ferry-disaster-at-irlam_110751/ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 The bridges built by the MSC replaced earlier railway bridges which would have been railway owned so the new bridges passed into railway ownership. If that was the sum of what happened then the railway got a pretty bad bargain. The previous bridges would have been relatively small and simple, and in replacement they would have been lumbered with the maintenance bill for much larger and more complex structures. Also I'm not sure if replacement happened in every case - for example at Warrington I believe the canal is not on a former river alignment and both railways still cross the Mersey a short distance to the north. If this is the deal they were offered, and by a future competitor at that, then it's not surprising the railways did all they could to obstruct the opening of the canal! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) The ferries were not free, though they only cost a few pence. They were 'franchised' out by the Ship Canal Company to local ferrymen who provided the service and the fare was their income. They were just rowing boats and I remember two, one at Irlam and one at Cadishead. Between Warburton Toll bridge, west of Cadishead, and Barton Swing bridge, a good few miles, there were no road/foot crossings. It was possible to walk over the lock gates at Barton and Irlam but i never knew whether this was actually permitted or whether the lock keepers just turned a blind eye. In the early seventies the Irlam Ferry was a replaced with a motorised metal boat. I was half right:Hulme's Bridge Ferry aka the Free Ferry between Flixton and Boynope wharf this was introduced when the Hulme Bridge was demolished as part of the construction of the Ship Canal, this was free. Irlam also had a ferry crossing but because it replaced an existing ferry service it remained chargeable, it was eventually withdrawn and pedestrians allowed to cross via the locks. Edited June 13, 2012 by woodenhead 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggesford box Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Fascinating thread on a line of which I know very little. In Respnse to Debs comments, some photographs of Mouldsworth Junction in happier times, 21/6/86. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debs. Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Fascinating thread on a line of which I know very little. In Respnse to Debs comments, some photographs of Mouldsworth Junction in happier times...... That`s pretty-much how I remember it looking in the mid. 70`s..........after collecting a rake of oil tanks at Stanlow; in brown, vapourous-air one might`ve (seemingly) cut with a knife, the delightful climb up the line from West Cheshire Junc. to Mouldsworth and through the clear fresh-air within the pines of Delamere forest, made for memorable times on the Northwich, Guide Bridge, Rowley Regis and Stoke trips........picking blackberries and bilberries whilst held at signals in summer and delighting in seeing glow-worms on balmy-evening trips....`happy days. .......we all knew then, that 'change' was coming to the job; but few of us could`ve imagined the extent of the losses to freight streams and associated freight line and depot closures. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 some nice bit of colour footage of mouldsworth in the early 1960s on B&R video Wirral steam, nice scene of the signalman collecting the token from an ex works WD coming off the Helsby line and a shot of him giving the token to another grubby WD heading the other way, the signamans name was Herbert Woodward. and also shots of early DMU's with speed wiskers arriving and departing Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 does anyone know if there is any published footage of the route, in particular around Tiviot dale? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 65179 Posted June 14, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 14, 2012 Michael, B & R video No.54 (is it available on DVD?) Steam through the Peaks has some film at Tiviot Dale. Steam World archive series No.4 Lancashire & Yorkshire has Heaton Mersey shed (and I think Tiviot Dale). I think the latter is reproduced on that British Steam DVD set that was available from The Works etc for a while. Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 I shall get that as ive been looking for a new b&r video to get, thanks Simon. b&r farwell to steam 1968 has some nice views of Heaton mersey, with an 8f being turned and then coaled from the old coaling stage using the tubs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 this is an intresting thread,i live in timperley and in the late 70s and early 80s the line near skelton junction was always busy with endless freight trains,used to watch them go by between the brooks drive bridge and shafesbury avenue bridge,spent many hours there,does anyone have any photos from this area,especially the white house that used to be at the side of brooks drive bridge? now long gone,would like to make a model of this area,but sadly never owned a camera all them years ago,could hear the peaks gunning if through this section from where i lived,,awesome,,thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 some good pics of the sketon jnc area in Liverpool & Manchester LNWR lines by Bob Pixton nice shot from the level crossing signal box of an 8f waiting to join the line to Altrincham as another passes overhead heading towards Warrington. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 I got hold of a copy of the B&R video, fantastic! I love the shots around Brinnington which must be George Wood's footage as the trains match his photos, and the sequence of 8fs around georges road jnc is great Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Tiviot Dale Station (as it was in 1961) by furytingar, on Flickr 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 65179 Posted July 9, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 9, 2012 Glad that the B & R video was worth getting, Michael. I don't know what someone has been doing to that photo of the Jubilee! There is a slightly clearer version of that photo in Midland Through the Peak by Brian Radford amongst other places. For the record the Jubilee is 45607 Fiji. Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 on the caption it says it is a photo of a photo hung up in a local pub. yes the b&r video is excellent, Ive watched it quite a few times now. was wondering on the banking scenes through Brinnington, ie where they where attached and detached. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Traffic through Skelton Junction in the early 80's Mike Wiltshire 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 superb shots! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Traffic through Northeden Junction in the early 80's Mike Wiltshire 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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