[Archived] Train Station For Ewood And South Blackburn

[jim mk2]

Whereabouts at Cherry Tree?

Just been looking on Google myself. Can't see the peel off point.

Thanks!

Peel off point ? ?? It's called a junction !

Definitely left the Blackburn - Preston line at Cherry Tree, went via Boar's Head and Chorley to Wigan. Closed to passengers 1960: another useful link lost.

[thenodrog]

It's a long time since driving a car was a pleasure because the roads are so crowded.

Not true it was a pleasure yesterday when it was raining.....And again this morning when it was snowing.

[cletus]

Whereabouts at Cherry Tree?

Just been looking on Google myself. Can't see the peel off point.

Thanks!

There`s a footbridge (or something) that crosses the Blackburn-Preston railway just behind 'the crescent' (off preston old rd, cherry tree) The Chorley line branched off just after the footbridge. You can still work out where the line ran on google earth. It goes over Preston New Road at the arches, over the canal & over Livesey branch Rd where Coverdale Drive is now. You can still see where the line was going along to Withnell

[bazza]

my dad used that line in the 60's.

brinscall to abbey is now a nature reserve,a bloody enjoyable walk.

I must try that walk as an alternative to Roddlesworth reservoirs. Thanks, Abbey.

[ABBEY]

Park in abbey,theres a sign pointing down past the old station...you can walk thru to brinscall and then up well lane to the moors or thru the woods past the waterfall and back along the river (goit) and then back from the reserve along the top pad.

[DanLad]

Peel off point ? ?? It's called a junction !

Definitely left the Blackburn - Preston line at Cherry Tree, went via Boar's Head and Chorley to Wigan. Closed to passengers 1960: another useful link lost.

I was taking the view that the now defunct line used to peel off the current line. Perfectly valid sentence. No language error there.

It peeled off at Cherry Tree station then?

Edit - Thanks for clarifying the track divergence point, Cletus!

[broadsword]

I was taking the view that the now defunct line used to peel off the current line. Perfectly valid sentence. No language error there.

You'll never get to be dead man's shoes for the Flying Scotsman at this rate.

[jim mk2]

I was taking the view that the now defunct line used to peel off the current line. Perfectly valid sentence. No language error there.

It peeled off at Cherry Tree station then?

The line diverged left at Cherry Tree junction.

[bazza]

The line diverged left at Cherry Tree junction.

Not "diverged", Jim; "branched; BRANCHED"

[broadsword]

As in "branch line".

[cletus]

There`s a footbridge (or something) that crosses the Blackburn-Preston railway just behind 'the crescent' (off preston old rd, cherry tree) The Chorley line branched off just after the footbridge. You can still work out where the line ran on google earth. It goes over Preston New Road at the arches, over the canal & over Livesey branch Rd where Coverdale Drive is now. You can still see where the line was going along to Withnell

Sorry to come across as a bit geeky but if you follow the Blackburn to Darwen line on Google earth, you can see where the old Hoddlesden branch line 'peeled' off (sorry Jim ) just north of the the Lower Eccleshill Rd/Goosehouse road bridge. It then crossed Roman Rd just down from the where the waterlilly restaurant is now (bridge has been removed but stonework is still visible) & then across various fields & into Hoddlesden. I`m led to believe the line was built to serve mines in the Hoddlesden area.

You can follow or see where the Chorley branch & Hoddlesden branch lines went by looking at www.old-maps.co.uk

There are maps from 1848 & 1894. Some quite interesting stuff on them

btw....not many people know Blackburn used to have two central railway stations. The existing station & one further down the line near where the new Wainwright bridge is situated. Apparently two train companies that built the line could not agree 'where?' to build the main station for the town.......so they both built one where 'they' thought it should be

[cletus]

You'll never get to be dead man's shoes for the Flying Scotsman at this rate.

I might!

For my 40th birthday (a few weeks ago) my lovely gf got a me a rather unusual present.....a day being a steam train driver! It starts off prepping & oiling the engine in the morning, then get to be the fireman, then finally get to drive the train, before cleaning the engine down for the night. It`s going to be messy & dirty but i`ve always been into trains, so i`m really looking forward to it

Life begins at forty, eh!!!

[Exiled in Toronto]

There`s a footbridge (or something) that crosses the Blackburn-Preston railway just behind 'the crescent' (off preston old rd, cherry tree) The Chorley line branched off just after the footbridge. You can still work out where the line ran on google earth. It goes over Preston New Road at the arches, over the canal & over Livesey branch Rd where Coverdale Drive is now. You can still see where the line was going along to Withnell

When I were a lad living in Tockholes, I used to see the steam from the trains as they chugged along in front of the quarry near Withnell. I wondered at the time why they stopped, and now I know!

[jim mk2]

Not "diverged", Jim; "branched; BRANCHED"

In railway parlance, junctions either diverge or converge.

...not many people know Blackburn used to have two central railway stations.

Until the outbreak of the first world war, Blackburn also had a regular London service operated by the Midland Railway from St Pancras.

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and later the LMS also operated Manchester - Glasgow express via Blackburn and the Settle line.

And there also used to be direct Blackburn - Liverpool trains until the 1960s.

[cletus]

When I were a lad living in Tockholes, I used to see the steam from the trains as they chugged along in front of the quarry near Withnell. I wondered at the time why they stopped, and now I know!

Yes, they became diesel lol.

Seriously though, i read somewhere passenger trains stopped running on that line around 1960 & freight stopped round about 1966 when the line closed totally.

[AlexF]

And there also used to be direct Blackburn - Liverpool trains until the 1960s.

That would have been handy! Took me about 3 hours to get from Cherry Tree station to Liverpool the other day due to dodgy connections etc.

[Ozz]

There is some more detail here on the Chorley to Blackburn track. How sensible it would be to have a direct rail link from Wigan to Chorley to Blackburn, thus opening up Liverpool for East Lancs without the fannying about through Preston etc.

Without sounding like I work for the Socialist Worker, a sensible country would fund a sensible rail infrastructure with developments such as this, and direct funds from unnecessary projects. LCC subsidise some bizarre bus routes for Stagecoach round here, because it serves the community. Same principal, so why not apply it on a bigger scale.

[thenodrog]

There`s a footbridge (or something) that crosses the Blackburn-Preston railway just behind 'the crescent' (off preston old rd, cherry tree) The Chorley line branched off just after the footbridge. You can still work out where the line ran on google earth. It goes over Preston New Road at the arches, over the canal & over Livesey branch Rd where Coverdale Drive is now. You can still see where the line was going along to Withnell

It really would have been a great idea to make the old railway lines into a bridleway where people could walk and ride bikes and horses. Current cycle lanes are stupid and dangerous whereas a direct route along a smooth gradient into the town centre(s) would cut traffic dramatically and contribute directly to the environment and the nations health.

Problem is that according to our erstwhile local councillor the council will not countenence anything that might reduce the monies that BWD council gets from the motorist by way of parking revenues...... Did you get that Jimbo?

[thenodrog]

There is some more detail here on the Chorley to Blackburn track. How sensible it would be to have a direct rail link from Wigan to Chorley to Blackburn, thus opening up Liverpool for East Lancs without the fannying about through Preston etc.

There's always the 'cut'. And thats another thing that should have it's paths upgraded for cyclists etc. Riding bikes along busy public roads these days is for suicide jockeys.

[jim mk2]

Problem is that according to our erstwhile local councillor the council will not countenence anything that might reduce the monies that BWD council gets from the motorist by way of parking revenues...... Did you get that Jimbo?

Unlike rail fares which have soared way above inflation, taxes on cars have not risen in real terms for the past 25 years when of course it should be the other way round. The Danes have the got the right idea with a 180 per cent luxury tax on cars.

It is right and correct that motorists should pay more tax for the damage they cause to the environment. I'd vote for any party that introduced a tax surcharge on motorists so we can have a national clean up of the disgraceful litter that disfigures the roadsides.

[47er]

There is some more detail here on the Chorley to Blackburn track. How sensible it would be to have a direct rail link from Wigan to Chorley to Blackburn, thus opening up Liverpool for East Lancs without the fannying about through Preston etc.

Without sounding like I work for the Socialist Worker, a sensible country would fund a sensible rail infrastructure with developments such as this, and direct funds from unnecessary projects. LCC subsidise some bizarre bus routes for Stagecoach round here, because it serves the community. Same principal, so why not apply it on a bigger scale.

Problems started over 170 years ago when it was decided to build railways privately, all competing for business often over the same routes! Other European countries by contrast,decided that the national interest required national railways and Governments built them. Our problems can all be traced back to that. Look at Europe's railways now for comparison. Our's are among the slowest in the western world and the dearest. Such a shame. problems are now so deeply embedded that they will never be solved even if governments cared enough to try, which they don't.

[cletus]

There is some more detail here on the Chorley to Blackburn track. How sensible it would be to have a direct rail link from Wigan to Chorley to Blackburn, thus opening up Liverpool for East Lancs without the fannying about through Preston etc.

Without sounding like I work for the Socialist Worker, a sensible country would fund a sensible rail infrastructure with developments such as this, and direct funds from unnecessary projects. LCC subsidise some bizarre bus routes for Stagecoach round here, because it serves the community. Same principal, so why not apply it on a bigger scale.

An interesting link there Oz

It is indeed a great shame to lose such branch lines. Once the history is gone, it`s gone forever.

I can see & understand 'why' these lines closed, but nevertheless it`s a shame they did.

Maybe in the not far off future, when the oil starts running out (or gets too expensive) older methods of transport will start creeping back into modern life. There`s still plenty of coal under the uk & the cheapest way to move coal is by rail. We still have a relatively good canal network across the country & i can also see a return of the horse! It might sound like a crazy far-fetched thing, but man has always used the horse, it`s only the last half century (or slightly more) the horse has gone off the radar as an object of industry.

[wilyrover]

Going back to the subject of a Rovers railway station. I noticed from the train how the line is actually double-tracked with an old goods line up to where it crosses the canal at Bolton Road. So you're only talking of laying new track for a few hundred yards, if the site behind the Aqueduct pub is considered. The spare land at the end of Marlton Road looks an ideal location.

[ABBEY]

Unlike rail fares which have soared way above inflation, taxes on cars have not risen in real terms for the past 25 years when of course it should be the other way round. The Danes have the got the right idea with a 180 per cent luxury tax on cars...LUXURY? MY ARSE ITS A NECESSITY TO ME!!!!

It is right and correct that motorists should pay more tax for the damage they cause to the environment. I'd vote for any party that introduced a tax surcharge on motorists so we can have a national clean up of the disgraceful litter that disfigures the roadsides....ONLY CARS LITTER? DO TRAINS STILL DUMPS PEE AND TURDS ALL OVER THE TRACKS?

[AlexF]

The spare land at the end of Marlton Road looks an ideal location.

I think this could work well potentially - but this was the location of the station idea from 20 years ago, where the public were not consulted and ultimately kicked off about it. The other 2 potential stations appear to be further from dwellings. 20 years on, it would seem that train travel is much more popular, and there also seem to be a few other things that may have changed for the positive. Part of my research is focussed on finding out more about public and resident reaction to a station on the three sites today.