Explore Blackburn’s lost Railways, the lines to Great Harwood and Chorley

Blackburn lost two lines during the Beeching era, the Great Harwood loop line and the line to Chorley.

Much fun can be had tracing the old routes and seeing what is left today.

The Great Harwood Loop Line

The route of the Great Harwood loop line and a surviving bridge. Pic Google Earth and G Whittaker

History

The Great Harwood Loop Line was opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company in 1875. The line was nine miles long and joined the Accrington to Skipton line at Rose Grove. Most of the cuttings were at the Blackburn end. Consequently, the removed earth was carted to the line beyond Great Harwood where a substantial embankment was needed, leading to Martholme Viaduct. The line can be walked from the bridge shown above into Great Harwood. You can follow the canal out of Blackburn to get to this point.

Surviving structures on the Great Harwood loop line.

Little is left of the Great Harwood loop line at the Blackburn end. In the image above a surviving bridge can be seen. This is half buried due to a filled-in cutting. The cutting ran close to the canal and has now become invisible due to the infill. The other side of the bridge is completely hidden. Notably, the structure just leads to a farm. Compare the image above with Blackburn in 1931, below. There is no development in Little Harwood or Bank Hey. Additionally, the area to the West of the canal is fully developed today.

Blackburn to Chorley

The Blackburn to Chorley Line pic Ordnance Survey

The Blackburn to Chorley line opened in 1869. The line’s primary use was to bring Coal into Blackburn from the pits around Chorley and Wigan. The route closed to passengers in 1960 and to goods in 1966. The track bed still exists from the junction at Cherry Tree to the canal. Notably, a bridge abutment is still in place next to the canal.

The viaduct at Feniscowles remains and can be seen today. It is known locally as the Three Arches. The route of the line further south has been built on. Moreover, some of the trackbed is now under the M65.

Feniscowles in 1900, Pic Cotton Town.

Great Harwood had a substantial railway presence in the early 20th century.

Map joined and coloured by the author, Pic Ordnance Survey 1890.

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