Brilliant and superbly documented piece. Thank you so much for having the vision to preserve this area as well as you have done. As kids, we grew up 'playing' on these lines. Train hopping from Skelton junction, first one off was a Jessie, managed to jump off one train just beyond Hale Station, behind the boys grammar school, which a few of us attended. The Bridgewater canal was a well used playground too. Canoeing and boating, even once managing to water ski!! Riding dirt bikes up the towpath to Dunham. Wow, you have given me one almighty flashback, thank you so much Lewis, very special. I will now share this with the 'others' that know this area so well. We are all nearly 60 years old now, what a blast!!
@DrFod2 жыл бұрын
This line should have never been closed, it was an important freight and diversionary route and it's closure is still causing bottlenecks to this day.
@simondavids9438 Жыл бұрын
The Partington line went the same way, network rail wouldn't upgrade the bridges over the ship canal, such a dam shame 2 railways lost.
@maedero05 Жыл бұрын
What unfortunate, every milage use today counts ! Rural or diversion line, only weekly use doesn´t survice keeping such lines open. Sadly, road traffic taken over or more intelligent sollution makes it redundant, like better logistics ! Railway lines rural aren´t tota redundant if it´s a dangerous cargo, but as said it need to be very urgent reason. That expensive ship canal bridge clearly what broke it´s future survial !
@normandunford574716 күн бұрын
Absolutely right, far too much damage was done to the railway system. Insane government ideology by Insane government mp's. They had absolutely no foresight whatsoever. Even now the government are utterly crazy.
@boilerroombob2 жыл бұрын
1st class film Lewis..... I love railways... and would love to have been a station master in another life
@EportChris2 жыл бұрын
I love how even back then people wanted to preserve these nuggets in video too. Take the 87 footage for instance. Brilliant
@ReallifeBambiDeerattheFarm12 жыл бұрын
Love how the new gates along the old path look like the front of an old steam engine. Very cool! Can't wait for the next video on this line! 73 from K0CBS
@truckingscouser2 жыл бұрын
A lovely piece of local history this Lewis, despite not being my local area (I'm from Merseyside) I still find this really interesting (although I'm not really a railway enthusiast) and making this video for posterity is (hopefully) going to preserve the area's heritage for future generations to enjoy.
@gdogg3710 Жыл бұрын
I was born in 1982, grew up in Flixton and my dad both worked on the railways and was fond of taking me on long walks, so I remember all of this when I had only just gone out of service…also the line over Cadishead bridge…
@G6OSV12 жыл бұрын
I gtrewgreat video Lewis.,I grew up with this line in the early 60,sused to sit at my desk in the grammar school watching the steam trAINS AT lATCHFORD HIGH LEVEL STATION
@davidwallace58313 ай бұрын
That's a great film. Really is. Thanks!
@TheDaf95xf2 жыл бұрын
Great video on what was a fantastic railway line that would of been of some great use today 👍🏻 I worked at Timperley station in 1974 and spent many a day in Skelton junction signal box 😀 Happy days 😆
@itisunusual64122 жыл бұрын
Really enjoyed this. Great to see the footage of how it used to look
@DanielGlover2 жыл бұрын
Now that must have taken some time to get ready for editing, So much prep. I like old to new stuff, did my fair share on the local facebook, not anymore, Now and then pieces. The old 1987 footage something you Dad did?. Early camcorder, did not get ours, (ok dads) until 1991. At 13:50 so old ammunition store, A bit of the last remaining WW2 infrastructure, Pill box I recon. Abingdon, by Oxford had a branch line to the main line, Started downtown, Station house (old folks home) and Waitrose, industrial. now homes, Waitrose and old folks home started 1989/90 or so, still there, homes a lot newer, so much of the UK railway now gone. Nice video, impressed, lot of editing that and voice over. Going places, Now and then, I like them. same view points. Done with the drone a lot. Not so much now, I got old railway and WW2 based playlists.
@stebishopnomad18382 жыл бұрын
I used to watch 37s struggling over the Latchford viaduct in the early 80s at my sisters house Selkirk Ave lewis
@OliverWoodphotography2 жыл бұрын
I remember watching traffic on this line so well. It was an important route for Fiddler's Ferry power station and was busy with the MGR coal trains for that. Lots of other traffic too.
@simondavids94382 жыл бұрын
Class video.
@iana67134 ай бұрын
Fascinating video - it is inspiring me to get out and explore a disused line near me. Most of the track is still in situ, but the only station on the line, (a bit of an architectural rarity, I believe), was burned down by a yobbo about twenty years back. The line is so overgrown in places that I can't see how it would ever be used again. I love seeing stuff like this.
@RingwayManchester4 ай бұрын
Have fun!
@peterjohnson22452 жыл бұрын
Brilliant look back, I think I may have commented on the older version. I rode from skelton out to Dunham along the track bed when it has closed and was in the process of being uplifted with a friend, this was pre being able to afford suspension forks on mountain bikes!
@gerryegan48722 жыл бұрын
Great history video, well done, I am interested in the railway. Keep them coming.
@dubliner11002 жыл бұрын
Absolutely brilliant. You are a gem!
@kevballard19672 жыл бұрын
Another great one. Super watching. Well done.
@37418 Жыл бұрын
That was Excellent Mate. Shame this line Closed. My Mum lived in the first house under the Bridge on Davenport Rd. I Used to Walk down this Line. Fabulous Documentary 👌
@RingwayManchester Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much mate
@davidgmail68442 жыл бұрын
Well documented and presented Lewis.
@Paddy_Roche2 жыл бұрын
Cheers Lewis great piece of work and really interesting to learn about it all. Its a 10 from me!
@Alan_Watkin2 жыл бұрын
its very interesting this tho not from the area i lived an worked around here mid to late 2000's an have a real fondness for the place, thanks for bringing me back for another look
@Podster1332 жыл бұрын
Hi Lewis.I walk my dogs regularly from Latchford high level to Lymm on the old track route. ( part of the pennine way) great vid mate .73 G7VAG.
@onesandzeros2 жыл бұрын
Great video Lewis. Although I’m in the US I also subscribe to Jago Hazzard, Rediscovering Lost Railways, Don Coffey and others for some British railway content. Very interesting and enjoyable. Thanks!
@EportChris2 жыл бұрын
Love it mate. You've inspired me to take a little drive soon and have a look for myself 😁
@TonyBlews2 жыл бұрын
that sinister turn in the music at 8:29 turned my stomach
@CB-RADIO-UK2 жыл бұрын
Great video bud. Seems kinda sad that we missed the glory days.
@Leon-pz3iy8 ай бұрын
Me and my mates plan to walk from the brodheath track to the partington track
@ericgulseth742 жыл бұрын
Ringway Manchester, Tom Scott, GeoWizard, and Jay Foreman are my guides to obscure England and the UK... Edit: And Atomic Shrimp.
@SeanFlaherty2 жыл бұрын
Rails to (bike) trails!
@TheActualJae Жыл бұрын
You drone footage is always top notch. Is it part of what you do for a living or just a passion?
@TonyBlews2 жыл бұрын
So, radio, old railway lines... go on and complete the set... derelict canals, old trams, railway modelling. That seems to be the common 5.
@Handlebar-MustDash2 жыл бұрын
Looks like this line used to feed my local PowerStation, Fiddler's Ferry, now being decommissioned.
@gwrydd9 ай бұрын
That line is still open though barely used
@Handlebar-MustDash9 ай бұрын
@@gwrydd Thanks, not been down to The Ferry Inn for quite some time so not seen any trains along the rails at the crossing. Some of those trains had around 30-40 cars of coal behind them back in the heyday of Fiddler's. 4 of the towers of Fiddler's Ferry are being demolished on the morning of December 3rd between 8am - midday, been great not having acid rain on my car summer mornings since it was switched off but it will be strange driving to Warrington and not passing the eight stacks, hall and chimney. It's just a mile or so from my house
@simondavids94382 жыл бұрын
Really hope you do one of the branch line that went into shell .
@Odessia-ij5ys2 жыл бұрын
Even railways Is interesting
@matthewt-ty332 жыл бұрын
I remember Martin zero sort of the same video as you
@mrkangaroo832 жыл бұрын
Now there's a KZbinrs collaboration waiting to happen!
@RingwayManchester2 жыл бұрын
Me and Martin are good friends, we have collabed before :)
@matthewt-ty332 жыл бұрын
@@RingwayManchester he's a good man like history about the railway like you
@railwaychristina31928 ай бұрын
Why were they closed when public transport is so needed?
@wam26102 жыл бұрын
👍
@davidcovington9012 жыл бұрын
0:52 "greedy landowners" do you mean the railroads or what?
@simondavids94382 жыл бұрын
I hear the Thelwall end of it may be in the pipeline to be used for freight.
@bigal30558 ай бұрын
To/from where though? That high level over the ship canal in Latchford was knackered 40 years ago, hasn't gotten any better since and none of the other bridges have seen as much as a lick of paint in nearly 4 decades either. If they wouldn't splash the cash on Latchford bridge then, I doubt they've got much desire in surveying and repairing all the dozens of other bridges on that stretch now. The Broadheath end is houses and roads now and there's absolutely nothing on that line between Warrington and Broadheath that needs a freight service. Ever since the line closed, there have been rumours about some or all of it reopening. Trams was a popular one when they started running them in Manc again, or someone who knew someone else whose mate that worked for Peel said they wanted a sea-rail link on the shippy was another. Even the Wazza Guardian gets in on the act from time to time, publishing some fanciful bullshit about it being the right time to reintroduce passenger services on it. Why? Bank Quay or Central will get you to pretty much anywhere you want to go, the M6, M56 and M62 are all within pissing distance and there's as near as makes no difference, a brand new bus terminal in town centre too. There's no more demand for a passenger line on it than there is a freight line. With Fiddlers closed now at one end and houses sitting at the other end, there's no reason at all to run freight through Thelwall. The piece of line that remains between Latchford and Bank Quay (and Unilever there is closed for good now too, so that's not going to need a freight service anymore either) is used for headshunting, but that's all it will ever be used for now.
@simondavids94388 ай бұрын
@@bigal3055 Heard this in the Facebook group to do with this disused line and the Partington one .
@bigal30558 ай бұрын
@@simondavids9438 I wouldn't put too much faith into that and I'm afraid it'll just another one of the rumours that have persisted since the mid 80's. There is absolutely nothing at the Thelwall end to run freight from or for. With the high level at Latchford pretty much being the Thelwall/Latchford border too, you wouldn't even be able to run a graded loop in for Novelis on the other side of the Latchford locks... and that was even before they built a couple of hundred houses on the land that surround the site today. Between Thelwall and Atlantic Street industrial estate up at the Alty end, there is only Lymm really and a sprinkling of houses in Dunham village, both of which have absolutely zero manufacturing industry on anything like the scale that would warrant a freight line. With the top end of the Atlantic Steet estate now covering what was the junction to Partyland, the connection for those lines from Skelly junction is long gone now too.
@simondavids94388 ай бұрын
@bigal3055 Google also claims that it'll be a tram system the Partington line,by 2040 .
@bigal30558 ай бұрын
@@simondavids9438 Maybe, but that's a completely different line.