|
The Ribble Valley Line is a railway line that runs from Manchester Victoria through Blackburn to the small market town of Clitheroe in Lancashire. Regular passenger services normally only run as far as Clitheroe, but occasional passenger services run along the line through north Lancashire towards the Yorkshire town of Hellifield, where it joins the Settle-Carlisle Railway. The line passes over the distinctive 48 span Whalley Viaduct. ==Early history== The Ribble Valley Line was built by several different railway companies, all of which later became part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, and so following the 1923 Grouping the whole line was part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. The southernmost portion of the Ribble Valley Line, between and , was built by the Manchester and Bolton Railway, and opened in 1838; it amalgamated with the Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR) in August 1846; a connecting line between Salford and was opened in October 1846 and the M&LR amalgamated with other railways in 1847 to form the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR). The route connecting Salford with Manchester Victoria was improved in 1865. The portion between Bolton and was built by the ''Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway'' (BD&BR). This company was formed on 27 September 1844, and was authorised on 30 June 1845 to build a line to Blackburn that would connect with the M&BR at Burnden, to the south of Bolton; on 3 August 1846 the route was amended so that the BD&BR could use Bolton station. Construction commenced at Darwen on 27 September 1845, and the line was opened between Blackburn and on 3 August 1847. Difficulties were experienced in the construction of Sough Tunnel, and also of the Tonge Viaduct, which collapsed during construction, due to timber centrings being moved before the mortar had thoroughly set. On 12 June 1848 the remainder of the line between Sough and Bolton was opened. To accommodate the Blackburn trains, Bolton station was enlarged in 1871; and in 1888 a curve at the north end of Bolton station allowed trains to run between the Preston and Blackburn lines without needing to reverse in the station. The route from Blackburn to was also opened in two sections. The ''Blackburn, Clitheroe and North Western Junction Railway'' (BC&NWJR) was authorised on 27 July 1846 for a line from a junction with the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) at Daisyfield, east of Blackburn, to a junction with the North Western Railway (NWR) near . Construction commenced at Clitheroe on 30 December 1846 but was delayed due to the partial collapse of the Whalley viaduct. The line was opened between Blackburn and on 21 June 1850, and on the same day, a short branch to the Old Banks lime works at Horrocksford was opened. Trains used the BD&BR station at Blackburn (Bolton Road), running through the ELR station in order to reach it. Initially single track, the line between Daisyfield Junction and Chatburn was doubled in 1872–74. In March 1847, the BD&BR and the BC&NWJR agreed to amalgamate, becoming the ''Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway''; the necessary Act received Royal Assent on 9 July 1847. The name was shortened to the ''Blackburn Railway'' by a further Act of 24 July 1851. In the meantime, the LYR and ELR entered into a working agreement in April 1850, and they began to operate in ways that whilst mutually beneficial, were to the detriment of the Blackburn Railway; for example, the ELR charged the Blackburn Railway a toll equivalent to six miles for the use of three-quarters of a mile of the ELR's line through Blackburn; and later, LYR services from Manchester to Blackburn were routed via instead of Bolton. During 1856, two extensions to the Blackburn Railway were proposed: one was to continue the line north from Chatburn to the NWR near (at that time known as Settle); the other would have been from a point to the north of Bolton, between the Croal and Tonge viaducts, to Manchester by way of Radcliffe, Whitefield and Cheetham Hill, and so would have created a line between Bolton and Manchester independent of the LYR. Both of these proposals failed. On 1 January 1858, the Blackburn Railway became the joint property of the LYR and ELR (this was not authorised by Parliament until 12 July 1858). In 1859, the LYR and ELR themselves amalgamated, the LYR retaining its identity, and so the Blackburn Railway became wholly absorbed by the LYR. From this time, the trains along the former Blackburn Railway lines used the former ELR station at Blackburn. The NWR was absorbed by the Midland Railway (MR) in 1871, and once the MR began work on its Settle and Carlisle Railway, the LYR decided to resume work on the line north of Chatburn. This was authorised on 24 July 1871, and the were estimated to cost £220,000. Construction north of Chatburn was resumed by the LYR in 1873, and was opened as far as Gisburn on 2 June 1879 although it was complete as far as ; the last section, between Gisburn and Hellifield, opened on 1 June 1880. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ribble Valley Line」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|