The East Lancashire Railway: A Revival Worthy of Lazarus | Another Station, Another Mile #13

The industrial town of Bury sits between Blackburn and Burnley to the north, Rochdale to the east, Bolton to the west and Manchester just eight miles south. And from 1859 it was connected to all of the above via a sprawling network of lines, including mainlines running north to south and east to west, and two main stations in the town. And then in a tale as old as time, one hundred years of rail travel took just over ten years to run down, close and destroy altogether. And by 1980, there was next to nothing left of Bury's railway past - except for one station. From this outpost came a resurrection of spectacular proportions, and a heritage railway that isn't just a celebration and reconnection to Bury's past, but a line intrinsically linked to local communities and the town itself. Folks, it's my pleasure to welcome you to the wonderful East Lancashire Railway!
#Railway #Trains #History
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[@JRJUK]

Damm it Beeching

[@AndrewG1989]

Jon Rodney-Jones Yp he really killed our railways.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

I feel like this should become a meme, like how The Great War channel made certain incompetent WW1 generals into memes xD

[@PrograError]

@@HeyItsAJOmega just as the gas guzzlers got their Satans, the UK rail enthusiast has their own .... (gas guzzler - the 70's gas crisis)

[@wilfbm9067]

What he did was despicable however without him we wouldn't have nearly the amount of brilliant heratige railways large and small that we have today.

[@MercenaryPen]

To be fair, Beeching gets made into a scapegoat to the point that others, like Marples, don't get held to account for their part- I think Beeching even ended uphelping set up the Dart Valley Railway after his time with BR

[@willswheels283]

Thanks AJ, I travelled on the east lancs for the first time in September 2023 and what a nice railway it is, until I did a bit of research and watching your video I hadn’t realised how much of a task it was to resurrect the line, there really wasn’t anything left apart from the bare bones of a lost railway. Enjoyed the vid mate.👍

[@JenniferEKirk]

It’s a great railway and always worth a visit.

[@daveholt8422]

My home town

[@JimbobsTransportVideos]

ELR is my local heritage Line love it!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Awesome! I loved my time at the ELR :)

[@JimbobsTransportVideos]

Mmmm I used to the Christmas train every year

[@samwestwell5982]

Well done everybody a really good video. It is not very often that presenters appreciate the work done by volunteers and staff of heritage railways, thank you for that. Always a problem, sorry but Bacup is pronounced Bay cup not Back up… 27:04

[@DannySapko]

Wow, what a glittering review and great video. You've definitely inspired me to take a trip over there and also earned a new subscriber. I'd love to see a similar video of our local pride and joy, the Worth Valley Railway. Danny.

[@topathy7469]

The Class 50 was way ahead of its time. It was so modern it looked like it was made in the early 80s.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Perhaps thats why it looked so good in the 1980s in particular? 😊

[@carolynstaines]

Thanks for the interesting historical background and putting it all into context. Great work. I'm about to make my third trip from Australia to visit the ELR. Agree, there's a great sense of the railway being an authentic part of the community, not just a tourist attraction. I now know some of the volunteers, and am so impressed by the time, energy and passion they give to keeping the railway going - and they keep doing it for decades. Amazing.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you! You come all the way from Australia to visit the ELR, that's astonishing! It's incredible to me - the line genuinely feels like a current, active part of the contemporary community, like a modern railway. Only in this case, the locos are all vintage - which gives the line an extra charm! In the same way people love a nice old traditional pub with a nice log fire and selection of ales, the ELR kinda feels like that in a railway/transport form, if that makes sense? And the fact it's entirely run by volunteers is staggering to me.

[@garyt6747]

Your endispiece sums it up.One of my faves.Great to get some classic diesels in,enjoy,and have a blinking good slurp!!Well done to all the volunteers over all the years.👍

[@doodleesq]

This is my home town. Great to see it on the internet. Many an hour was spent in the Trackside - proper pub.

[@NedsTrains]

Hello AJ, I am a relatively new subscriber to your channel, and I have to say I’m really glad I found it! I’d like to say what a brilliant video this is, it also features my favourite locomotive of all time! 50015 Valiant, it’s an absolutely superb locomotive! I have to say I am just like you get incredibly excited whenever I find out a 50 is running up and down a heritage line, as I think that in my opinion they are the best locomotive ever! I have been on the ELR many times most times have been for the diesel galas and the 50 and every time I have been I have really enjoyed it. I like this video because it summarises the line into one jam packed video! And it was very well put together, well worth the wait for the upload! Ned

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Ned! In this house we stan the Class 50

[@vikingwoman1988]

I am enjoying your videos. Well made, great editing, good narration.

[@flippop101]

Superb video, very enjoyable. Your enthusiasm is very contagious. I have visited the ELR and it is a good as you describe it to be. Appreciatively, Germany!

[@Benji_transport_vids]

Nice video!

[@markorollo.]

I'm in Oldham so other than Piccadilly and Victoria in Manchester I suppose this line is my most local . Planning to do the full journey next year, might even see what's going on at Christmas!

[@boffyb]

It's weird that this has been operating as a heritage railway for long enough that the Class 50 “Valiant” seen in your video was still in mainline service for BR when the ELR (re)opened.

[@arthurbostrom4912]

Hi- really great piece of filming in and around the ELR. Your enthusiasm is infectious! I travelled on it a few years ago and loved it, but with your background history I feel I want to return soon. Thanks.

[@TheDaf95xf]

Hi matey 😄 That’s my local preserved railway living in Oldham 👍🏻 What a fabulous description of a truly lovely railway. I worked for a time at the original museum back in the 70s it was great fun 😁 Shane we lost so much of the local railway lines and not just in the Bury area 🙁 Cheers Stevie 😎

[@mikegillard7283]

Thanks for doing these👏👍

[@86Dillan]

Just found your channel today, and you have my local railway!

[@86Dillan]

It's Bay-Cup by the way

[@Ashworth-Media]

Back in spring 2023 I took my American cousin on the ELR, and he thought it was great and quite unlike anything he had seen before on his travels around the world and has plans to come back in 2024. The Metrolink is not a Tram system, rather a light rail system and runs to the same loading gauge as Network Rail and it actually directly connect to the ELR at the south end of Bolton street station past all the sheds, infact a naught blue engine called Thomas once ran down the metro line to there depot. There was/are plans to extend the Metro system to Rawtenstall and on to Bacup (pronounced Baycup) which was to be done via track sharing and additional loops with the ELR.

[@williamburrows4039]

The old line between Stubbins (just north of Ramsbottom) and accrington is part of the cycle network 6 and is a stunning walk/cycle over lumb viaduct. There is talk about extending the metrolink to Rawtenstall and bacup in the far future 2050 plan

[@Lmsvideo112]

Absolutely brilliant 5 stars Did see you on the station would of thank you if I'd known

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Ahhh thank you! If you see me next time feel free to say hi :)

[@rogerderamjet]

Hi, I saw a class 50 at Lostock Hall shed in early 1968 and as I lived next to the main line at Raynes Park, the 50's followed me to power the express service to Exeter, until their withdrawal..great locos..last main line express British diesels?

[@sailoremanjimmatthews1578]

I was a 20yr old in 1963 and Bury was not on my radar at all - until I met a girl in London who was from that town. We met up again a year later and that's when I became familiar with Bury and this station. We married and she came down to Loughborough-we were together 57yrs. In late Sept' this year (2023) I went back to visit Bury and each night I had drinks In the railway station bar, it was quite wonderful. Thanks for the superb documentary.

[@MrRnipperBrockleBroadcasting]

Volunteered as S&T on the ELR 1988-92 and helped with renewing the signals and level crossing at Ramsbottom then the extension to Rawtenstall. As Tourism Officer for Bolton also did a promotion with Bury where we had a highway man hold up the train at Irwell Vale to launch the new halt and local trails.

[@AlasdairMacCaluim]

Great video. I must visit now! Another railway for my bucket list.

[@masterdragon5754]

Brilliant video I live near where the Bury to Bolton route was and i used to go to the ELR weekly

[@AllensTrains]

That two hour layover which caused you to freeze your proverbials off at Rawtenstall caused you to pronounce it "Rottenstall"! That must be the way you felt about it in the nethers! Entertaining video, thanks for uploading.

[@firefly2k7uk]

Great to see this line was saved/preserved so well. I often wonder the plausibility of running daily commuter services on these heritage lines on weekdays, maybe with some modern rolling stock.

[@alsmith5604]

Great video. East Lancs is one my favorite railways and I thoroughly agree with everything you said! Not just an amazing railway, but a friendly and welcoming line... I hope they get back to full strength soon!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Absolutely agree! Thank you :)

[@annescholey6546]

A lot of heritage line staff are surly middle aged crusties who've no idea about customer service. Most are friendly and welcoming.

[@johnenfield1930]

Great video, great line - and great meals on the ELR dining trains! But it's BAY-CUP, not BACK-UP.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Gah, there's always one place name I mess up! xD Thank you and thanks for the kind words. It was indeed a lovely time :)

[@timwaywell]

I was about to say the same thing

[@ABMW-tech]

Good. Thanks

[@sefgrt]

I died a bit inside when you said 'Back-up' instead of 'Bay-cup'

[@philipstokes2824]

Tis Back up tha noes

[@SuperGourmetguy]

excellent video! well narrated and filmed. You have earned a sub!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Thank you!! ^_^

[@JamesTheBell1]

I now have a second reason to visit this railway.

[@littlemissy2883]

Don't know if you are aware but there are a couple of videos on KZbin where someone filmed a train journey in the 1960s of the east lancs line, from bury to bacup and passing through rawenstall station, and a few other stations, it's a bit grainy but you can still make it out

[@ThousandBasher]

Throughly enjoyable video, I'm a semi regular visitor to the Lancs, all the way from Deepest Cornwall. Always enjoy my visits to the Railway & hope to get back there later on this year. Keep up the amazing work :)

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Oh wow, and I thought my journey from South London was long distance! That says how great the ELR must be to warrant a journey from Cornwall up to it :) Thank you!

[@gavincarr911]

I live up the road from this and I'm currently in the process of building a scale Lego model railway of bolton street, I left school this year and the only thing I'll miss is being able to overlook the yard from half of my class rooms 😂😂😂 also, there is a plan to make it double track, apperently, it's the tunnels and bridges that are the problem

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Wait hold up, a LEGO scale model of Bolton Street station?! I have to see this!! Ahh that's a shame - and that sounds awesome, I can understand that would probabyl be the issue especially if they had to rebuild bridges and built them to single track running?

[@gavincarr911]

@@HeyItsAJOmega ye, most of the tunnels had the track rebuilt in the middle of the track bed, when I've finished the model, I'll leave a link to a Flickr page and KZbin video I'll do about it in the comments section of a video, gonna be a while though 😂😂

[@richardfrance1292]

My local railway near me house this

[@antprop1649]

You should look into the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire railway especially the Cheltenham end that’s quiet an interesting route

[@bowlerstuff9589]

its also a massive pain to get too sometimes

[@Mythocentric]

Just to confirm your comment, the ELR is very much a part of the local community and in fact, runs commuter trains for local residents and has great support from residents and local councils alike! Long may it reign!

[@Cheeseatingjunglista]

Brilliant, agree with pretty much everying except the weird attraction to those evil failure piles of English Electic fail magnets, the 50s, When they first entered service I travelled up to Crewe to see em. Not impressed. Then they gave em stolen Warship names - too much.....still, all railway types have at least one serious obsession...well done on the vid mate, truly top class

[@AndrewG1989]

Do like videos like these about heritage railways and heritage railway stations that have connection with the community. Never been on the East Lancashire Railway but will take a trip in the summer. Plus I do like your t-shirt that looks just like Grand Theft Auto III or Vice City.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Hey good spot on the t-shirt! It's actually a wrestling shirt - from a tag team called the Anti-Fun Police - that's based on the cover art for GTA Vice City. :D

[@AndrewG1989]

@@HeyItsAJOmega Thought so 👍😂

[@steveytravels7914]

Just came across your channel first impressions I like your content haha

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Welcome aboard! And thank you :)

[@jck_crwthrmtb9413]

Great video! I wonder if people use this line as their regular commute to go to work or school

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Good question, and I'd be jealous if that is their regular commute xD

[@elidresner4850]

I'm pretty sure they do I've used it to get to appointments and stuff cause it's fun and I had lots of time to get to my appointment

[@williamburrows4039]

People who live in Rossendale or Bury get a discount but they don't run early in the morning. They start around 10am it won't be used by school kids.

[@srfurley]

@@williamburrows4039 Could there be enough of a market for a peak hour commuter/school service to cover its operating cost? perhaps using a refurbished Pacer.

[@johnpurdy9623]

Hi. Just found your channel, and thoroughly enjoyed this excellent video. I live in the area, and visits to the ELR are fairly regular jaunts for me. One minor point to note: Bacup is pronounced Bakeup, not Backup!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Argh, I always get the pronunciation of one place wrong! I actually made doubly sure I got the Rawtenstall pronunciation right this time around xD Thank you for the kind words!

[@ccjelley2390]

You saved me saying it. BAYCUP [with a Lancastrian pronunciation of "Cup"]. Great video - as a young boy I lived close to the Holcombe Brook branch where an earlhy memory is of coal wagons being stored, and was also told I had been taken to Bacup on the branch via Rawtenstall by my mother - but I can't remember that. I must pay a visit in the not too distant future.

[@freebeerfordworkers]

It has been used over the years for period TV and movie location work and I seem to remember Bury Bolton Street on one TV production doubling for Halifax station. With the best will in the world purely on the grounds of size it wasn't entirely convincing as Halifax.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Haha! I guess with sneaky use of camera angles it maybe looked good enough for those who don't know what Bury Bolton Street or Halifax station actually looked like? Then again, it's like when I watched Rush - almost every single racing scene was filmed at Brands Hatch, a circuit very close to me, so whenever the film would be like 'Welcome to the US Grand Prix!' I'd be like, no that's Brands Hatch xD

[@theBusManiac]

Just subscribed, can’t believe more haven’t. Love the channel format and some really interesting content here. I think could only be improved with slightly less waffle.

[@keironriley]

Interesting fact for you. The ELR often perform ballast drop trains on the Metrolink Bury line and although full size loco’s worked them as late as 2007, It’s is normally a smaller loco (03/08/09’s etc). In 2015 however, Due to a work on the booked Loco, One of their small steam locomotives (Swiftsure) worked a ballast run overnight down the line, Being the first steam loco to run down the line in over 20 years but funnily enough the second steam loco to operate on the line whilst under Metrolink since a loco operated from the ELR to the Queens Road Metrolink depot for an open day in 1994.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Oh wow! That's an amazing bit of trivia, thank you! I noticed the lines that lead up to Bury Bolton Street - and where the stock and such for the ELR are stored - are still connected to what is now the Metrolink line, so that would make it very convenient for locos stabled there to work trains on the Metrolink line. What a great sight it must have been to see a steam loco on that line again!

[@keironriley]

Another Station, Another Mile It was some interesting planning!

[@philtimson5449]

Interesting and thank you but would of liked to have seen a bit more of the buildings.

[@kieranmerchant1215]

Is there any further news on the elr?

[@mastertrams]

Just taken a look at the New Addlestrop Rail Atlas, and figured that, if they hadn't built the Rawtenstall building where they did, there'd be very little stopping them from becoming the first ever heritage circle line, assuming they complete the line from Heywood to Castleton. Up to Bacup from Rawtenstall, and then east from Bacup to Castleton!

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Huh! That would be interesting to see :) I figure it would be too much money and resources for them to do so right now, and what they have open (re-opened) is impressive enough as it is. But that's quite a fascinating idea :)

[@mastertrams]

@@HeyItsAJOmega Yes. We wouldn't see it for at least another 50 years (unless they get a billionaire investment!).

[@timwaywell]

@@mastertrams well the line to Bacup originally ran through where ASDA later Tesco is and there a few tunnels that would need work to make it through to Bacup. At one time there was also a line to Castleton and thence Rochdale,. I'm not sure how much of that is left. I'm pretty sure with proper repairs the line up to Helmshore could be re done but the line would have to re route to get into Accrington as it once did

[@stevenmoran4060]

Tesco is in the way of extending further.

[@stevenmoran4060]

⁠line still runs through to Castleton, that’s how many of the guest locos and trains arrive. HST included.

[@Simon-ui6db]

Oh no first Bi-chester now back-up. Its pronounced Bay-cup. (Being a southerner I made this mistake when I moved up here too).

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

Look, I'll be honest, in this case I was just lucky I got a local to tell me how to pronounce Rawtenstall, that could've gone horribly wrong xD

[@cursethesemetalhans]

The ELR still connects to the Metrolink network. Here's a picture of a steam train at a Metrolink stop! www.national-preservation.com/threads/metrolink-ballast-working.572223/

[@henryostman5740]

I see little benefit to double tracking unless there is heavy bi-directional traffic. A single track with passing can handle most lines and the costs are reduced by almost half. Surprised not to see diesel motor cars being used for regular traffic, they cost less to run.

[@HeyItsAJOmega]

On the DMU part - I filmed this on a diesel gala weekend, hence why there were so many locomotive hauled services. I'd assume they have a selection of vintage DMUs as part of their roster for regular services.

[@henryostman5740]

@@HeyItsAJOmega How are these services paid for? Passenger RRs don't make enough from fares to cover costs, they have raise a lot of funding to rebuild but they can't go on begging for money forever. Does government subsidize?

[@dickiedollop]

Beeching was an instrument of a minister who’s fortune was made in road making and his interests lied in promoting the roads over rail - such a conflict of interest was criminal and outrageous and we are still paying for it today.

[@pook2830]

3:43 It's pronounced "bake-up", not "back-up". Not criticising... just some local knowledge for you.

[@annescholey6546]

Marples squirmed out of irregularities thanks to Tory connections that make Cummings look like Santa Claus😃

[@paullucas8116]

Got fed looking at poor quality video. At the start of the video, it would have been nice to view the layout of railway network stations before all the closures. Presenter' voice and style of presenting is annoying. Gave up watching

[@leewilde7979]

Why cant this man please learn how to pronounce the names of towns, Bacup not back up. and Bicester is as well