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26th November 2008
Another Blackrod Website...
Anyone who uses Blackrod regularly may be interested to hear that this isn't the only Website dedicated to our favourite Station:
Going Off the Rails -
The website is a "blog" by Philip Morgan, who chronicles the experiences and frustrations of being a Blackrod to Manchester commuter.
Blackrod Station Under Threat ?
Philip's blog (see above) highlights some worrying changes ahead for Blackrod Station at the change of timetable next month. You can read the full detail there, but the gist is as follows :
Services from Blackrod will no longer call at Oxford Road, Deansgate and Manchester Piccadilly, being routed instead into Manchester Victoria.
The implications are substantial. Whereas the current service provides three, convenient stops in the heart of the City, the new arrangement will provide just one, which is hardly central. Perhaps more worrying is that the options for onward travel are drastically cut, with most changes now requiring a trek across town to Piccadilly.
All this is sure to discourage use of Blackrod Station, particularly for shoppers
and those who wish to travel to the airport or south on the West Coast Main Line.
The poor commuter will probably have to grin and bear it since there are few, if
any other options. -
The switch to Manchester Victoria is a return to the bad old days before the construction of the Windsor Link which enabled Blackrod's service to be routed across town to Manchester Piccadilly. Prior to that, the number of services which called at Blackrod was barely half of what it is today.
If usage of the station drops, it might be the excuse that Northern and Network Rail
need to close it in favour of Horwich Parkway -
30th June 2008
Jim Markland
Jim Markland, railwayman and author, passed away on Friday. Jim was known to north
west railway enthusiasts as the author of the highly entertaining "Bolton Engineman"
trilogy of books, which chronicle his experiences on the footplate as a Fireman working
out of Bolton Shed. The books included memories of working on the Horwich branch
Sadly, the reunion for Bolton Shed, which Jim was instrumental in arranging, will take place this evening at the Ribble Steam Railway without him.
Class 47 move
Green liveried class 47 D1912 (47812) was involved in a route-
30th May 2008
Blackrod Loco Works (!)
Old news perhaps, but...
Horwich Works may now be a memory as far as loco building and maintenance is concerned, but Blackrod can claim to be keeping the tradition alive, albeit in a very small way.
Hidden within the borders of the town is a site occupied by Bryn Engineering who
are based in Wigan and involved in the restoration of steam locomotives. Amongst
their customers are a number of heritage lines such as the Swanage, ELR, Ribble Steam
Railway and the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway. They have even manufactured components
for main-
At the Blackrod site, there is a Hudswell Clarke 0-
27th May 2008
Steam through Blackrod in June?
"Black Five" no.45231 is due to move from the ELR at Bury to Carnforth as the first
stage of a move to Fort William. It seems likely that the loco will pass through
Blackrod en-
When times become available, I'll post them here.
22nd Feb 2008
Deltic through Blackrod!
The sole main-
A return light-
[Click images to enlarge]
Updates on the way...
I have neglected this site a little recently, concentrating on www.prestonstation.org.uk instead. I do however have some new material to add here, including some revelations about the area around the former Hilton House station. I also have some interesting photos taken in the final days of the Horwich Branch when it was still being used to serve the foundry after the loco works had closed.
There is also a new website on the way, produced by Ian Fitter, specifically about Horwich Station. At present, there is just a holding page, but Ian promises some interesting material, including memories of the last train to leave the station before closure in 1968.
Where next?
In addition to this page, you can see recent photos and videos taken at Blackrod on the following pages:
Blackrod Junction Signal Box Refurbishment
This is rather old news now, but Blackrod Junction signal box has now been refurbished by Network Rail. Although the work will no doubt extend the life of our Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway relic, it has sadly involved the removal of several original features.
The original sash windows have now been removed in favour of a modern plastic alternative, which, along with the uPVC cladding, has resulted in a decidedly modern and anonymous look to the box. Also gone, are the wooden finial on the northern roof apex, the 1950s maroon signs and the external walkway, which had been considered unsafe for several years.
There will be a full article about the history
of the signal box published in the
next issue
of Magazine, the news publication of the
Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway
Society.
26th November 2009
Blackrod Steam First?
Steam has been something of a rarity through Blackrod since the 1960s. This is due
in part, to restrictions in the “loading gauge” at Chorley. However, recent work
on the flying arches north of Chorley Station, has meant that the restrictions are
now effectively lifted. This meant that for the first time in many years, if EVER,
a Princess Royal Class “Duchess” was able to pass through our station today.
6233 Duchess of Sutherland is on its final few months of main-
The loco will return later this evening at around 7.45 pm
Videos of the tour at Blackrod are available on YouTube HERE, HERE and HERE ...
Thanks to Ian Fitter and “TheMeehan123”
8th August 2009
More Steam for August
Hot on the heals of 6233 Duchess of Sutherland’s trip via Blackrod on the 8th of this month, we are to be treated to a second dose of steam this weekend.
This time, 6201 Princess Elizabeth will be in charge of the train, which has the same itinerary as the previous run.
Times for Blackrod:
8.30 am (Northbound)
7.45 pm (Southbound)
24th August 2009
6201 Princess Elizabeth at Blackrod
As previously reported, 6201 Princess Elizabeth today hauled the second steam tour to pass through Blackrod during August.
The train is pictured here entering Blackrod station.
Photo by Harry Gardner.
Click photo for larger version
29th August 2009
The train is pictured here passing along the Douglas valley, shortly after going through Blackrod Station.
The return leg of this rail-
Click photo for larger version
Lastly, the “going away” shot...
Thanks to Dave Moss for taking these
two photos.
Click photo for larger version
29th November 2009
Blackrod earmarked for closure?
Last year, at the December timetable change, Northern and Network Rail completely
wrecked Blackrod’s timetable, diverting almost all trains to Manchester Victoria
instead of Deansgate, Oxford Rd and Piccadilly. The result is that passengers no
longer have the choice of three convenient drop-
One conclusion to draw from this is that Northern and Network Rail are deliberately
sabotaging Blackrod, by forcing passengers to use Adlington or Horwich Parkway -
Any attempt to show that Blackrod is less viable than those stations, is completely false, which the graph below shows quite clearly.
So here we are, one year on and Blackrod is yet again being snubbed, as Lostock is identified as being in need of investment and Blackrod is left off the Action Stations list. It’s hard not to conclude that Blackrod’s fate has already been decided.
29th August 2009
Blackrod Line to be Electrified -
For decades, there has been talk of electrifying the line between Manchester and
Preston. For many observers, it’s a “no-
Well, now it’s actually been given the green light. The line between Manchester and
Euxton Jct is to be “wired” along with the section between Preston and Blackpool.
Modernisation at last!... Well, sort of. The good news is tempered by the fact that
the trains that are earmarked for the upgraded line are 20-
Perhaps of more concern is whether this could be another nail on the coffin for Blackrod.
If the reluctance to spend anything on Blackrod is a sign of a hidden agenda to run
Blackrod down -
I sincerely hope that these concerns turn out to be groundless and I certainly don’t
want to put a dampener on what is potentially very good news for Blackrod Station.
However, attempts to get Network Rail to explain their reasons for overlooking Blackrod
in their Action Stations initiative (see below) have so far met with little or no
success. It took two weeks to get an automatic acknowledgement (!) and a further
three to get an actual reply. When the reply did come, it was two lines long and
completely failed to answer any of the points raised -
Electrification could be very good news for Blackrod, but only if it avoids being washed away in the wake.
News Archive
New-
Class 40 no. 40145 passed through Blackrod twice on Saturday 28th hauling the Fishwick
Centenarian rail tour.
This was the first outing for the loco since being repainted and named East Lancashire Railway at the ELR just days before. The repaint has caused some controversy in preservation circles since no class 40 ever carried the "Large Logo" livery whilst in service. Class 37s, 47s and 50s were most associated with the variation of corporate blue which only came into use after the class 40s had been withdrawn.
In the 70s and 80s, class 40s, with their characteristic whistling turbochargers, were a common site and sound at Blackrod, hauling passenger and mail trains as well as freight trains in and out of Horwich Locomotive Works.
Again, thanks to my Dad for taking the photo. There are more photos of this train on my other website www.prestonstation.org.uk/visitors.html , taken 30 mins later at Preston.
MORE Steam in 2007
Less than two months after a visit by "The Duke" (see below), Saturday 30th June
saw another steam locomotive pass through Blackrod. This time it was "Black 5" no.
45407 hauling the Cumbrian Mountain Express from Manchester Victoria to Carlisle
-
This photograph was taken by my father (thanks Dad!) on the morning Northbound run. The train also passed through on its way back to Manchester that evening.
[Click on the picture for a larger version ]