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Skelton Junction - Dunham Massey

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Woodford

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3 Dec 2016
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7
Hi all, please delete if not appropriate.

I live close to the Skelton Junction complex in Timperley near Manchester and have done research over the years of the 2 disused lines that spur off it (Warrington and Glazebrook).

In november and december 2016 I made a short film on the Warrington line, or rather a stretch of it from skelton to dunham massey and thought I'd share it on here.

Any feedback, memories etc much welcomed and again please delete if not allowed.

Regards

Lewis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7IYLQ4Y_F0
 
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Ash Bridge

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17 Mar 2014
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Stockport
Thanks for posting this and well done. I found it most interesting, it's not a route that I know well but I think I may have travelled this way out and back from Reddish South to Liverpool on a school trip way back in the mid sixties when aged only 8 or 9, it is possible that we may have travelled via the Glazebrook route but the landscape of the Lymm line seems to fit my distant memories better, guess I'll never now know for sure which, oh...and welcome to the forum :)
 

fowler9

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29 Oct 2013
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8,367
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Liverpool
Hi all, please delete if not appropriate.

I live close to the Skelton Junction complex in Timperley near Manchester and have done research over the years of the 2 disused lines that spur off it (Warrington and Glazebrook).

In november and december 2016 I made a short film on the Warrington line, or rather a stretch of it from skelton to dunham massey and thought I'd share it on here.

Any feedback, memories etc much welcomed and again please delete if not allowed.

Regards

Lewis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7IYLQ4Y_F0

Really enjoyed that mate. I have waled the stretch of the Trans Pennine Trail from Dunham Massey to Latchford.
 

F2002

Member
Joined
19 Jan 2014
Messages
27
Hi all, please delete if not appropriate.

I live close to the Skelton Junction complex in Timperley near Manchester and have done research over the years of the 2 disused lines that spur off it (Warrington and Glazebrook).

In november and december 2016 I made a short film on the Warrington line, or rather a stretch of it from skelton to dunham massey and thought I'd share it on here.

Any feedback, memories etc much welcomed and again please delete if not allowed.

Regards

Lewis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7IYLQ4Y_F0


Awesome video Lewis, I remember your original shots on Flickr in 2008.
I spent a lot of my youth playing on the disused spur from Skelton through to Partington although I did wonder about the line which went off to warrington.
Unfortunately I am too young to remember any traffic on that line but I do recall seeing class 47s heading to the Shell sidings on a Sunday back to Baglan bay, this stopped in late 93.
 

Hatter76

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Joined
17 Apr 2017
Messages
10
Thanks for your video. I spent most Saturday mornings in Skelton, Cinderland and Partington signalboxes in the late 70s and early 80s.

I can't believe that someone that never saw it for real could be interested, good on you.

I went back to Cinderland a few weeks ago, didn't even recognise it at first. Sometimes I can't believe its all gone!
 

Woodford

Member
Joined
3 Dec 2016
Messages
7
Thanks for posting this and well done. I found it most interesting, it's not a route that I know well but I think I may have travelled this way out and back from Reddish South to Liverpool on a school trip way back in the mid sixties when aged only 8 or 9, it is possible that we may have travelled via the Glazebrook route but the landscape of the Lymm line seems to fit my distant memories better, guess I'll never now know for sure which, oh...and welcome to the forum :)

Thanks very much for the encouraging words! Very much appreciated. I was born in 1988 so never saw any of it in action unfortunately. Cheers :)

Really enjoyed that mate. I have waled the stretch of the Trans Pennine Trail from Dunham Massey to Latchford.

Thanks very much :) It's an interesting walk, in November all the leaves were on the ground, very atmospheric. Cheers!

Awesome video Lewis, I remember your original shots on Flickr in 2008.
I spent a lot of my youth playing on the disused spur from Skelton through to Partington although I did wonder about the line which went off to warrington.
Unfortunately I am too young to remember any traffic on that line but I do recall seeing class 47s heading to the Shell sidings on a Sunday back to Baglan bay, this stopped in late 93.

Thanks a lot :) I had to remove the shots due to someone creating multiple accounts and accusing me of trespassing in the comments on a daily basis. I'm too young to remember anything, I discovered the line 20 years after the last train unfortunately. Cheers for the info and kind words :)

Thanks for your video. I spent most Saturday mornings in Skelton, Cinderland and Partington signalboxes in the late 70s and early 80s.

I can't believe that someone that never saw it for real could be interested, good on you.

I went back to Cinderland a few weeks ago, didn't even recognise it at first. Sometimes I can't believe its all gone!

Thats' really cool you got into the boxes! It's such a shame how it's all gone, very sad. I look back at pictures and the 1987 footage from the film and wish it was all still around. How times change eh? Thanks very much :)
 

fowler9

Established Member
Joined
29 Oct 2013
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8,367
Location
Liverpool
Apologies by the way Woodford, I know the bit I walked wasn't actually the bit your presentation was on but I found it fascinating. Especially how recently trains were using the route to Latchford. All very sad to see it go but such is life I guess.
 

LNW-GW Joint

Veteran Member
Joined
22 Feb 2011
Messages
19,551
Location
Mold, Clwyd
The glimpses of Dunham Massey signal box are quite emotive for me.
My grandad started his railway career in the box there in 1899 on the LNWR, later moving to Lymm where he manned the signal box for over 40 years.
I'm from Lymm and regularly used the line to Manchester up to 1963, to Old Trafford for cricket and other outings.
Had it survived, it would now be in prime commuter country, with a much faster journey time than any alternative.
The stations, though, were among the most decrepit in the area, flimsy wooden things seemingly unchanged since the cheap-skate original construction by the Warrington & Stockport.
We farmed in Lymm, with fields either side of the railway and a private crossing. Always a bit dodgy getting over the line with a tractor and implements!
I last saw it with 40 001 on a coal train, in 1981 just before complete closure.
The shots of the buildings at Broadheath tell it all!
Many thanks for sharing.
 

Ships

Member
Joined
25 Apr 2013
Messages
337
Brilliant video, thanks for posting. I've had an intrest in these lines since I started on the railway. Do you know if the 1987 footage is posted anywhere online? Would love to see it in its entirety.
 

misterredmist

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Joined
23 Feb 2015
Messages
292
Location
Bedfordshire
Hey Lewis, great video - as somebody who lived next door to the Altrincham-Stockport line just off Shady Lane, Baguley and worked in Broadheath for ten years, you've certainly filled a few gaps in my knowledge.

Look forward to your next posting, and well done for such time, effort and application.
 

Woodford

Member
Joined
3 Dec 2016
Messages
7
Apologies by the way Woodford, I know the bit I walked wasn't actually the bit your presentation was on but I found it fascinating. Especially how recently trains were using the route to Latchford. All very sad to see it go but such is life I guess.

No problem, all very interesting anyhow :) Yep such a shame! Cheers

The glimpses of Dunham Massey signal box are quite emotive for me.
My grandad started his railway career in the box there in 1899 on the LNWR, later moving to Lymm where he manned the signal box for over 40 years.
I'm from Lymm and regularly used the line to Manchester up to 1963, to Old Trafford for cricket and other outings.
Had it survived, it would now be in prime commuter country, with a much faster journey time than any alternative.
The stations, though, were among the most decrepit in the area, flimsy wooden things seemingly unchanged since the cheap-skate original construction by the Warrington & Stockport.
We farmed in Lymm, with fields either side of the railway and a private crossing. Always a bit dodgy getting over the line with a tractor and implements!
I last saw it with 40 001 on a coal train, in 1981 just before complete closure.
The shots of the buildings at Broadheath tell it all!
Many thanks for sharing.

Very interesting stuff about your Grandad! It's such a shame it's all gone, as you say it'd be busy now. I wonder if they ever regretted closing it? I suppose Latchford viaduct was the achilles heel really. Cheers :)

Brilliant video, thanks for posting. I've had an intrest in these lines since I started on the railway. Do you know if the 1987 footage is posted anywhere online? Would love to see it in its entirety.

Hi there, I'll get it up onto youtube this week so stay tuned. I have the entire piece.

This excellent and interesting YouTube certainly brought back memories to me and I was on "The Warcop Wanderer" railtour that passed over "Cinderland" Crossing in the early 1980s.

Thanks Paul :)

Hey Lewis, great video - as somebody who lived next door to the Altrincham-Stockport line just off Shady Lane, Baguley and worked in Broadheath for ten years, you've certainly filled a few gaps in my knowledge.

Look forward to your next posting, and well done for such time, effort and application.

Thank you very much for the encouraging words. I'm just about to drop you a PM. Cheers :)

Good stuff - well done.

Thanks :)
 

Woodford

Member
Joined
3 Dec 2016
Messages
7
Out of interest, has any of the line been built on?

The line, or trackbed exists up to the end of the viaduct in Broadheath, it is all gone without trace until you get to Baltic road where some trackbed exists, then from Cinderland crossing it forms the transpennine trails.

Bridges gone are as follows:
Canal bridge at broadheath.
Half of the viaduct.
Bridge at Davenport lane (next to Aldi)
Bridge at Craven Road

Crossings gone are:
Baltic Road, Cinderland, Dunham and so on.
 

KevinTurvey

Member
Joined
9 Oct 2016
Messages
205
I found this interesting so thanks for posting. I used to work in this area and travel out on the back roads towards Warburton. What I did notice when they redeveloped the area by the Waitrose store, was the road was diverted around the line and a new overbridge was constructed, so this part of the route still looks pretty much intact?

Another question is I seem to have read part of this line was actually "stolen", it being lifted by a group of people pretending to be British Rail track workers - is this true?
 

Altfish

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16 Oct 2014
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1,065
Location
Altrincham
The line, or trackbed exists up to the end of the viaduct in Broadheath, it is all gone without trace until you get to Baltic road where some trackbed exists, then from Cinderland crossing it forms the transpennine trails.

Bridges gone are as follows:
Canal bridge at broadheath.
Half of the viaduct.
Bridge at Davenport lane (next to Aldi)
Bridge at Craven Road

Crossings gone are:
Baltic Road, Cinderland, Dunham and so on.

You missed out Deansgate Lane bridge
 

Altfish

Member
Joined
16 Oct 2014
Messages
1,065
Location
Altrincham
I found this interesting so thanks for posting. I used to work in this area and travel out on the back roads towards Warburton. What I did notice when they redeveloped the area by the Waitrose store, was the road was diverted around the line and a new overbridge was constructed, so this part of the route still looks pretty much intact?

Another question is I seem to have read part of this line was actually "stolen", it being lifted by a group of people pretending to be British Rail track workers - is this true?

That's not the same line. That's the line from Skelton Jnc to Partington and Glazebrook
 

LNW-GW Joint

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22 Feb 2011
Messages
19,551
Location
Mold, Clwyd
The line, or trackbed exists up to the end of the viaduct in Broadheath, it is all gone without trace until you get to Baltic road where some trackbed exists, then from Cinderland crossing it forms the transpennine trails.

Bridges gone are as follows:
Canal bridge at broadheath.
Half of the viaduct.
Bridge at Davenport lane (next to Aldi)
Bridge at Craven Road

Crossings gone are:
Baltic Road, Cinderland, Dunham and so on.

At the western end, the M6 now seriously blocks the route, and the final mile or two into Warrington is unusable.
The other strategic problem is that there is no case for reopening west of Warrington.
The old line at times descended into a nearly useless Timperley-Ditton shuttle, and very few trains ran through to Lime St.
I believe the brand new (wooden) canopy over the old platform 6 at Oxford Road, where the Lymm trains terminated, was severely damaged when steam trains returned after reconstruction in 1960.
 

Broseley man

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8 Mar 2015
Messages
53
I used to trainspot here at Skelton Junction from around 1963 to the end of steam. The whole place was very busy including the particular line we are looking at in this post. Best of all was summer Saturdays when there were lots of extra passenger trains to the seaside. I can remember one freight which came eastbound from the middle track, Partington line, into the loop past the signal box where the loco ran round and it set off west on the Latchford line. I think it was Glazebrook sidings to Arpley. When it returned later in the day it had a standing start up the 1 in 71 (or 74?) Partington line which was often spectacular. Is this the right place for me to find a list of what was seen on a particular date or is that off topic?
 

Woodford

Member
Joined
3 Dec 2016
Messages
7
I used to trainspot here at Skelton Junction from around 1963 to the end of steam. The whole place was very busy including the particular line we are looking at in this post. Best of all was summer Saturdays when there were lots of extra passenger trains to the seaside. I can remember one freight which came eastbound from the middle track, Partington line, into the loop past the signal box where the loco ran round and it set off west on the Latchford line. I think it was Glazebrook sidings to Arpley. When it returned later in the day it had a standing start up the 1 in 71 (or 74?) Partington line which was often spectacular. Is this the right place for me to find a list of what was seen on a particular date or is that off topic?

I'm sure someone will have old logs from the time.
 

rob793

New Member
Joined
14 Jul 2012
Messages
4
Brilliant video Lewis, thank you very much for posting and I look forward to a continuation towards Lymm or your other project, the Glazebrook line.

I was born in 1980 and although from Altrincham spent a lot of time in Lymm with relatives as a child and I do remember the freight trains rattling my aunt's house on Reddish Lane! I also remember the crossing barriers on Mill Lane and Birchbrook Road in Lymm.

I now live in Lymm and work on Atlantic Street in Broadheath, and as a keen walker can regularly be found pounding this route. I even told my wife I would like my ashes scattered on the track should anything ever happen to me, as I spend so much time on it! It is also a lovely walk for us from home to the Vine pub in Dunham Massey.

It does beggar belief that they closed the line, so short-sighted, especially with how Lymm has grown to commuter belt status. It would be a shame now not to be able to walk the route, but a tram-train shuttle from Lymm or Warrington to Timperely station via a shared route with a single line is surely possible?

With the hundreds of proposed homes in Carrington and Partington and badly needed orbital connections to places like Cadishead, the Glazebrook route is crying out for reuse.
 

Woodford

Member
Joined
3 Dec 2016
Messages
7
Brilliant video Lewis, thank you very much for posting and I look forward to a continuation towards Lymm or your other project, the Glazebrook line.

I was born in 1980 and although from Altrincham spent a lot of time in Lymm with relatives as a child and I do remember the freight trains rattling my aunt's house on Reddish Lane! I also remember the crossing barriers on Mill Lane and Birchbrook Road in Lymm.

I now live in Lymm and work on Atlantic Street in Broadheath, and as a keen walker can regularly be found pounding this route. I even told my wife I would like my ashes scattered on the track should anything ever happen to me, as I spend so much time on it! It is also a lovely walk for us from home to the Vine pub in Dunham Massey.

It does beggar belief that they closed the line, so short-sighted, especially with how Lymm has grown to commuter belt status. It would be a shame now not to be able to walk the route, but a tram-train shuttle from Lymm or Warrington to Timperely station via a shared route with a single line is surely possible?

With the hundreds of proposed homes in Carrington and Partington and badly needed orbital connections to places like Cadishead, the Glazebrook route is crying out for reuse.

Cheers Rob! I was born in 1988 so don't remember any of it in operation unfortunately.

It's a shame it all closed, a reopening would be awesome, same with the Glazebrook line. Although if that happened ALL history would be gone because the trackbed would be completely replaced. We can hope though :)
 
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