Greater Manchester. Monday 13th May 2024.
Another few hours in my local region again, arriving into Manchester Victoria in time to catch the 6J56 Peak Forest Cemex to Hope Street Peakstone behind GBRf class 66750 passing at 11.47 noon, this was followed at 12.32 by 4M36 Drax Aes to Liverpool Biomass Tml. I then caught a Blackburn bound Northern Sprinter as far as Salford Crescent, to catch a Northern Sprinter bound for Southport as far as Atherton.
At Atherton I waited for the 6M16 Wilton Efw, (starting at Tees NY) to Knowsley Freight Terminal, it passed at 14.10, 9 early, behind red DB class 66651, which appears to be a regular for the time being. This is, or at least I should say was, Atherton`s second railway station, originally known as Atherton Central and built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1888, Atherton`s first station however was called Atherton Bag Lane, opened by the Bolton and Leigh Railway in 1831, but sadly closed in October 1963, I can still remember visiting the station just after closure, when walking the line from Bolton Great Moor Street station.
From Atherton I caught the next Northern Sprinter service to Wigan Wallgate. I like Wigan, which is famous for three distinct things, George Orwell, Pies, and Uncle Joes Meat Balls. Needless to say, I visited Uncle Joes Meat Ball factory, as I’m a bit of a fan. I then walked into the town centre, and was surprised to find a gaping big hole in the middle of Wigan, roughly where Wigan Central railway station used to be located, but in more recent years the Galleries Shopping Centre, which was opened in 1991 by Princess Diana, but has now been flattened to make way for a new £135 million development for retail, leisure, commercial and residential in the heart of Wigan, it will certainly change the look of the place.
I returned from Wigan Wallgate to Salford Crescent, with a change for Salford Central, to catch up with the late afternoon freight workings, 6J44, Brindle Heath RTS to Dean Lane RTS had already run at 15.22 so near an hour early and before I arrived, I did however catch up with the 6H58 Hope Street Peakstone sidings to Peak Forest returning for the day, behind GBRf class 66750 passing at 16.43, and this signalled the end of another good afternoon out.
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