Station Name: WALKDEN LOW LEVEL

 

[Source: Philip Hudson]




Date opened: 1.4.1875
Location: Between Park Road & Walkden Road (A575)
Company on opening: London & North Western Railway
Date closed to passengers: 29.3.1954
Date closed completely: 29.3.1954
Company on closing: British Rail (London Midland Region)
Present state: Demolished
County: Lancashire
OS Grid Ref: SD737025
Date of visit: May 2006

Notes: The Tyldesley Loopline was opened by the London &v North West Railway Company on 1st September 1864, to provide a link between Eccles (located on the famous 1830 Stephenson line between Manchester and Liverpool), and Wigan (located on the main West Coast line which ran from London to Glasgow).

In 1870 an additional branch line (the Roe Green Loopline) was opened to Bolton, via Walkden Low Level. The station was initially opened at Walkden with Low Level being added 2.6.1924. A key function of the lines was to support the surrounding collieries in conjunction with the Bridgewater canal, the largest of which was at Mosley Common, one of the biggest pits in the UK at its prime.

The Tyldesley Loopline extended from Eccles, through Monton and Worsley to Roe Green, where it turned westwards through Ellenbrook. At Roe Green, the Roe Green Loopline diverted northwards through Walkden to Bolton.

Roe Green itself was the scene of a major rail crash in on 11th February 1926, when several wagons and a brake van broke loose from an engine at Little Hulton, thence proceeded down the gradient through Walkden into the vicinity of Roe Green. Here, an emergency plan was hastily put into operation and the carriages were diverted into a small siding adjacent to Beesley Bridge. They smacked into the bridge, breaking up in the process and depositing their contents far and wide, before bursting into flames. The contents of one wagon being boxes of Daddies Sauce, and the other crates of Wellington boots.

The lines were managed by several companies before their closure in the late 1960s. The Tyldesley Loopline was finally closed under the 'Beeching Axe' on 5th May 1969, when under the control of British Rail. The Roe Green branch line closed in October 1969.

Since the 1980's parts of the line has been progressively reclaimed and now forms an integral part of the Salford network of recreation pathways. More recently, the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority has promoted the concept of reclaiming some 7km of the old line as a bus corridor.

See also Worsley & Monton Green Station

 

Walkden Low Level Station before 1911
Copyright photo from John Alsop collection



The site of Walkden Low Level Station in May 2006
P
hoto by Philip Hudson

Click on thumbnail to enlarge


 

 

 

[Source: Philip Hudson]


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