The East Lancashire Railway operated from 1844 to 1859 in the historic county of Lancashire, England. It began as a railway from Clifton via Bury to Rawtenstall, and during its short life grew into a complex network of lines connecting towns and cities including Liverpool, Manchester, Salford, Preston, Burnley and Blackburn.
During a period of rapid growth the company acquired several of its competitors, including the Blackburn and Preston Railway, which it purchased to gain access to Preston. It faced competition from companies such as the North Union Railway, and was involved in a notable stand-off in 1849 with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Following several years of discussions, the East Lancashire Railway was in 1859 amalgamated with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Parts of the network remain in use today, and a section of the original line between Bury and Rawtenstall is now operated as a heritage railway.
History Manchester and Bolton Railway
In 1830, the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal Company began to promote the construction of a railway along the line of their canal from Salford, to Bolton and Bury. Following an act of Parliament, the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal and Railway Act 1831 (1 & 2 Will. 4. c. lx), to enable them to become a railway company, they built their line from Manchester to Bolton, although on a slightly different alignment than was first planned. This was mainly to preserve the canal for the use of mine traffic, which would not have been provided for if the canal had been infilled and replaced by a railway. A new act of Parliament, the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal and Railway Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. 4. c. lxix), had been required for the new alignment, but due mainly to the objections of the company's engineer, the connection to Bury was never built, as it would have required a tunnel on a gradient of 1 in 100, at the time a difficult and expensive proposition. The new railway therefore became known as the Manchester and Bolton Railway.
Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway
On 14 September 1843, a group of local businessmen including John Grundy, Thomas Wrigley and John Robinson Kay met at a public house in Bury to discuss the creation of a railway connection for the Bury and the Rossendale districts. Their proposed railway offered better facilities than those also proposed by the Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR), whose planned connection at Bury would be made with their Heywood branch line from Castleton. The Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway Company (MB&RR) was thus created, its purpose to build a railway from Bury to Clifton, where it would connect to the Manchester and Bolton Railway. The company also promoted the idea of extending the line northwards to Rawtenstall. On 4 July 1844 their local bill was granted royal assent as the East Lancashire Railway Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 60). The act authorised the company to raise £300,000, and also to borrow £100,000 (£ and £ respectively in ).
The land between Clifton and Bury, partly owned by the Earl of Derby, John Robinson Kay, William Grant and others, was mostly "waste, woodland, pasture or reservoirs, except at Brookbottoms where arable land was avoided by the tunnel". Strong financial support was offered to the MB&RR by local businesses, who were unhappy with the idea of the M&LR building their own railway. The Manchester and Leeds District Board of Trade produced a report in 1845 which gave their backing to the M&LR and the line was sanctioned in 1846, however the MB&RR project was unaffected by this connection.
Manchester contractors Pauling & Henfry, who tendered £167,529 (£ in ), were in May 1844 awarded two contracts to build the Clifton to Bury and Bury to Rawtenstall sections of the new railway. The work was sub-let to smaller contractors and began quickly; in July 1844 the Manchester Guardian wrote a favourable report on the works. However, a shortage of workers in 1845 (reflecting the amount of railway construction underway at that time) meant that some men were asked to work on Sundays, resulting in some being charged with breaking the Sabbath. Further difficulties prompted the dismissal of the original contractors, their place being taken by John Waring.
The railway ran north from Clifton through a cutting at Outwood. This required the removal of about of earth. It then passed north-east through Radcliffe Bridge and Withins station,Withins station closed in 1851 - Wells (1995) p. 10. and from there into Bury Bolton street station. From Bury, it ran through Summerseat, Ramsbottom, Stubbins and finally to Rawtenstall. The railway climbed a constant gradient, across a mixture of viaducts, tunnels, cuttings and embankments, one of which, the mile–long section from Ramsbottom to Stubbins, was substantial. The extant Clifton Viaduct was built to cross the River Irwell, which flowed below, and also the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal. Its largest span is wide.
Expansion
By 1844, the Blackburn and Preston Railway (B&PR), who shared a viaduct across the River Ribble with the North Union Railway (NUR), were planning a railway from Blackburn to Farington. The was authorised by the Blackburn and Preston Railway Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. xxxiv) also allowed for a connection with the proposed (BBA&CER), which would run from Stubbins Junction to Accrington, providing a direct link between Blackburn and Colne. The was authorised by the (8 & 9 Vict. c. xxxv). A second act, the (8 & 9 Vict. c. ci) allowed the to lease or sell itself to the , and so in 1845 the two companies joined, becoming the East Lancashire Railway (ELR).
The was absorbed by the on 3 August 1846 under the (9 & 10 Vict. c. cccii).
The following year, the acquired the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway (LO&PR), which gave it direct access to Liverpool Docks. The 's line would run from a junction with the Liverpool and Bury Railway at Walton-on-the-Hill to a junction with the . The (9 & 10 Vict. c. ccclxxxi) also allowed the to build further branch lines, and the obtained further acts including the (10 & 11 Vict. c. cclxxxix) which allowed it to build a connection to Preston. Following the acquisition on 3 August 1846, a disagreement ensued over traffic priorities and arrangements for the at the 's station in Preston. The proposed a new station and a separate line with a new crossing of the Ribble, but this proved controversial; Preston Corporation petitioned against the proposed line, producing a series of witnesses who attested to the damage they presumed would be caused by the embankment necessary for the scheme to proceed. Several members of the corporation were also shareholders of the rival Fleetwood, Preston and West Riding Junction Railway, and the petition's proposer was brother-in-law to a director of the rival Manchester and Leeds Railway. In the end the won its bid, but had to landscape its embankment (which later became the dividing line between Avenham and Miller Parks), make an ornamental arch for carriages and pedestrians crossing under the railway, and build a footbridge on the river viaduct.
Meanwhile, the former line from Clifton to Rawtenstall was inaugurated on Friday 25 September 1846. Surveyed two days earlier by the Inspector-General of railways, Charles Pasley, who was reportedly satisfied with the project, upwards of 1,000 invitations were delivered to local people, shareholders and other interested parties. They gathered at the new Hunts Bank station in Manchester. Leaving Manchester, the train stopped near Philips Park to collect chairman John Hodges, before continuing to Radcliffe Bridge to collect more passengers. Large crowds were gathered along the course of the railway. In Bury, the train was extended to about 30 carriages and three engines, and more passengers were collected before the train finished its journey in Rawtenstall. Passengers were provided with a large meal in a closed-off section of a power-loom shed owned by John Robinson Kay. They listened to several celebratory speeches, before re-embarking the train to head home. The railway was opened to the general public on the following Monday.
In November 1846 the company submitted proposals for a new line from Buckley Wells (south of Bury) through Whitefield and Prestwich, to a new terminus at Victoria Station. The plan did not progress any further than the initial planning stages; Whitefield and Prestwich eventually got their own railway stations in 1879.
In two years the grew from a company authorised to build of railway into one with the authority to build of railway. In February 1848 with of track open, the company reported for the week ending 5 February 1848 an annual income of £553 18s 8d (£ in ) for passengers and parcels, and £498 10s 4d for freight (£ in ) – almost double the previous year's income. By March 1848 the line between Rawtenstall and Newchurch was complete, followed in June by the Blackburn to Accrington connection (), and, in August, the Stubbins junction to Accrington section. The line was extended east to Burnley () by September 1848, and, in February 1849, from Burnley to Colne, where it made an end-on junction with the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway, providing the with a connection to Bradford and Leeds.
The line to Lostock Hall () was completed on 2 April 1849, and the () extension into Preston station opened on 2 September 1850. The line ran into new platforms built on the east side of the 's station, which were managed and staffed by the , and which had their own booking hall and entrance. The new platforms were effectively a separate station.
More lines followed with a connection between Newchurch and Bacup by October 1852, and the Ormskirk to Rainford Skelmersdale Branch in March 1858. A three-mile long line to Tottington opened in 1882 from a junction with the original line. It was electrified in 1913 before reverting to steam in 1951. It closed to passengers in 1952 and goods in 1963 and has since been reclaimed as a walkway.
Clifton Junction In 1846, the Manchester and Bolton Railway (whose line the used to gain access to Manchester) was taken over by the Manchester and Leeds Railway,9 & 10 Vict. c.378 which, the following year, became part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR). The 's expansion and the opening of new routes—including an alternative route between Manchester and Leeds—had caused a degree of consternation at the , but the two companies initially managed to work together successfully.
After about three years a dispute flared up over the collection of tolls for the 's use of the line. The had become accustomed to running their trains on to the line and then later declaring of the number of passengers liable for a toll but, in March 1849, the insisted that trains stop at Clifton so that passenger numbers and tickets could be checked by their own employees. The accused the of trying to impede their traffic, particularly as they had recently gained a connection to Bradford, in competition with the . They stated that the had access to their accounts, and to the returns made by their staff.