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Ribble Valley line
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Ribble Valley line
The Ribble Valley line is a railway line that runs from Manchester Victoria through Blackburn, in Lancashire, to Hellifield in North Yorkshire. Regular passenger services normally run as far as Clitheroe, but occasional passenger services run the whole line through north Lancashire to Hellifield, where there are connections to the Settle–Carlisle and Bentham lines. The line passes over the distinctive 48-span Whalley Viaduct.
The line north of Blackburn was closed to a regular passenger service from September 1962, but remained open for freight, passenger diversions and the occasional DalesRail service. However, in 1994, services between Blackburn and Clitheroe were reinstated after a public campaign. Reopening the line for passengers between Clitheroe and Hellifield has been mentioned in some reports and newspapers to provide connections on the Settle Carlisle line, with the most recent being a business case for the proposal being granted government funds in 2020.
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 Salford and Bolton, 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 Manchester Victoria 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 Blackburn Bolton Road was built by the Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway (BD&BR). This company was formed on 27 September 1844, and was authorised by the Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. xliv) 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 by the Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cccx) 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 Sough 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 Hellifield was also opened in two sections. The Blackburn, Clitheroe and North Western Junction Railway (BC&NWJR) was authorised by the Blackburn, Clitheroe and North Western Junction Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cclxv) 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 Long Preston. 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 Chatburn 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 of Parliament, the Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway Amendment Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. clxiv) received royal assent on 9 July 1847. The name was shortened to the Blackburn Railway by a further act of Parliament, the Blackburn Railway Act 1851 (14 & 15 Vict. c. lxxxix), 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 Accrington 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 Giggleswick (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 an act of Parliament until the Blackburn Railway Amalgamation Act 1858 (21 & 22 Vict. c. cvi) was passed on 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.
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Ribble Valley line
The Ribble Valley line is a railway line that runs from Manchester Victoria through Blackburn, in Lancashire, to Hellifield in North Yorkshire. Regular passenger services normally run as far as Clitheroe, but occasional passenger services run the whole line through north Lancashire to Hellifield, where there are connections to the Settle–Carlisle and Bentham lines. The line passes over the distinctive 48-span Whalley Viaduct.
The line north of Blackburn was closed to a regular passenger service from September 1962, but remained open for freight, passenger diversions and the occasional DalesRail service. However, in 1994, services between Blackburn and Clitheroe were reinstated after a public campaign. Reopening the line for passengers between Clitheroe and Hellifield has been mentioned in some reports and newspapers to provide connections on the Settle Carlisle line, with the most recent being a business case for the proposal being granted government funds in 2020.
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 Salford and Bolton, 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 Manchester Victoria 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 Blackburn Bolton Road was built by the Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway (BD&BR). This company was formed on 27 September 1844, and was authorised by the Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. xliv) 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 by the Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cccx) 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 Sough 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 Hellifield was also opened in two sections. The Blackburn, Clitheroe and North Western Junction Railway (BC&NWJR) was authorised by the Blackburn, Clitheroe and North Western Junction Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cclxv) 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 Long Preston. 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 Chatburn 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 of Parliament, the Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway Amendment Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. clxiv) received royal assent on 9 July 1847. The name was shortened to the Blackburn Railway by a further act of Parliament, the Blackburn Railway Act 1851 (14 & 15 Vict. c. lxxxix), 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 Accrington 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 Giggleswick (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 an act of Parliament until the Blackburn Railway Amalgamation Act 1858 (21 & 22 Vict. c. cvi) was passed on 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.
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