Mystery (possible) former railway line in Warrington?

[Cloud Strife]

In the mid 1990s, my cousin lived in Warrington, and there was a place where it seemed that a railway line used to run. There was a very high embankment on this street, and we used to roam around the top of the embankment as our territory. I've always wondered about this place: was it really a former railway embankment? If it was, can someone tell me something about it?

https://www.google.pl/maps/place/Fa...640e1d80fd2ef20!8m2!3d53.3975301!4d-2.6103636 - the exact location is Farmside Close in Bewsey, Warrington.

 

[AlterEgo]

Yes. Railmaponline is your friend. It was the old alignment of the railway and you can see it cut right across the town.

Rail Map online - historic railways, railroads and canals

UK, Ireland and US historic railways, railroads and canals. Includes waggonways, tramways, stations, metro and narrow gauge lines displayed on an interactive Google Map.

railmaponline.com

 

[Gloster]

Wasn’t that the Warrington Avoiding Line from Sankey Junction to Padgate Junction. Opened in 1883, closed to passengers in 1963 and entirely in 1968. Google warrington avoiding line and there is an article in the journal of the 8D Association to be found.

 

[30907]

Wasn’t that the Warrington Avoiding Line from Sankey Junction to Padgate Junction. Opened in 1883, closed to passengers in 1963 and entirely in 1968. Google warrington avoiding line and there is an article in the journal of the 8D Association to be found.

Yes, and the route at the eastern end is very obvious on satellite view as it hasn't been built over.

Perhaps stating the obvious, avoiding Warrington Central not BQ

 

[Cloud Strife]

Thank you all very much! That explains a lot about the area, especially why the A574 Birchwood Way ends where it does rather than continuing straight on to the A49 along a (now obvious) former railway corridor.

 

[mike57]

Still some bridge abutments left Hale St, Central Ave, Alder Lane and Hallfields Rd, maybe some others as well. Even where it has been built over you can see the route in places from property boundaries

Thank you all very much! That explains a lot about the area, especially why the A574 Birchwood Way ends where it does rather than continuing straight on to the A49 along a (now obvious) former railway corridor.

I am pretty sure Birchwood Way dates from the 80s, the same as a lot of the housing in the Birchwood area. I worked in the area for some years in the 2000s and the whole area east of Warrington which now forms Birchwood was ROF Risley, by all accounts there was a fairly substantial internal railway system, there are still a few remanants, rails embedded in surfaces etc if you know where to look. Without some significant work removing embankments reusing the rail corridor would have been impossible, probably too expensive.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Without some significant work removing embankments reusing the rail corridor would have been impossible, probably too expensive.

It was certainly planned, as the corridor was cleared at some point. This sign has now been removed, but it seems that there was a definite plan for the road to carry on straight. I wonder if the plan wasn't abandoned when it became clear that the 1980s Birchwood Way wasn't going to be the originally planned expressway, and so there was no need for the connection to the A49?

There's plenty of detail here about the New Town - https://www.roads.org.uk/articles/warrington-new-town

 

[swt_passenger]

@Cloud Strife - National Library of Scotland (NLS maps)is brilliant for this, you can set up a side by side satellite and old map view quite easily:

Side by side georeferenced maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland

alternatively, old map and street plan:

Side by side georeferenced maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland

 

[Cloud Strife]

That is absolutely wonderful, thank you ever so much for that!

 

[Bevan Price]

Still some bridge abutments left Hale St, Central Ave, Alder Lane and Hallfields Rd, maybe some others as well. Even where it has been built over you can see the route in places from property boundaries


I am pretty sure Birchwood Way dates from the 80s, the same as a lot of the housing in the Birchwood area. I worked in the area for some years in the 2000s and the whole area east of Warrington which now forms Birchwood was ROF Risley, by all accounts there was a fairly substantial internal railway system, there are still a few remanants, rails embedded in surfaces etc if you know where to look. Without some significant work removing embankments reusing the rail corridor would have been impossible, probably too expensive.

A map of the Risley ROF site, including railways, is shown here:

Georeferenced Maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland

It had long closed when I started work at UKAEA in 1975, which occupied much of the site after WW2, but there were assorted sections of track still present. There had been two private stations for workers. One, offset from the CLC mainline, was a short distance east of the current Birchwood station; the area was overgrown with vegetation last time I looked, and I found no remains of this station (Risley (R.O.F.))
The other station was at the end of a branch from the Wigan Central branch, which it joined near Newchurch Halt; its site was just south of the current M62, to the east of the current bridge of the A574 over the M62. A concrete platform, possibly part of that station, still existed into at least the 1990s, but I have not passed there recently to see if it still exists.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Thank you, that map is incredibly informative. I do wonder how on earth the railway crossed the Lovely Lane/Folly Lane junction, although I clearly remember the embankment up to that junction.

What's quite amazing is that I spent several years living near Gorse Covert, and while I knew about Risley ROF, I had no idea that it was such a huge site. I must have roamed all over Gorse Covert and Birchwood with friends, and it's still unfathomable as to just how big Risley ROF was.