Gallery Group – North West

Smardale Gill Viaduct on the North Eastern Railway’s Stainmore line from Barnard Castle to Tebay (Anon/Jane Ellis Collection)
Crook-of-Lune East Viaduct taken from the south. Crook-of-Lune is a tight loop in the River Lune, which forced the railway builders to cross the river twice in about 100 yards. The viaducts are situated about mid-way between Halton and Caton, north east of Lancaster. August 2005. (Ralph Rawlinson)
Hadlow Road station on the Wirral Way (from Hooton to West Kirby) is a showcase for this former railway, which was the first old line in the country to be converted into a railway path. Note the new multi-use surface in the foreground (Bob Prigg)
The major engineering work on the Wirral Way is Neston rock cutting, seen here. The walls of the cutting now host a wide variety of unusual plant life (Bob Prigg)
Wescoe on the former Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway – is situated just west of Threlkeld and was passed by westbound trains just a few minutes before they reached the major intermediate station at Keswick. As can be seen, Wescoe boasts both a short tunnel and one of the many bowstring bridges that remain on this section of the line. The old railway is a used as a footpath. (Richard Lewis)
Another view of Wescoe, this time with the bowstring bridge framed by the tunnel portal (Richard Lewis)
Railway engineers of the CKPR would flip over one of their bowstring bridges and place the bow below rather than above the running line. This example is just west of Threlkeld. The river in the foreground is the River Greta, whose serpentine course between Threlkeld and Keswick required 8 bridges in just 4 miles. It finally closed on 6 March 1972.(Richard Lewis)
Hyndburn Greenway starts from Accrington Station and crosses nearby Platts Lodge Lake on a causeway built between the surviving five sets of tubular piers. The original railway track ran over a viaduct that rested on top of these piers. The greenway links Accrington with Baxenden, a distance of about 2½ miles (Richard Lewis)
Just west of Park Road bridge, before the Padiham Greenway reaches Padiham Memorial Park, this three-arch viaduct carried the old railway line over the River Calder. As can be seen, the L&YR incorporated into its viaduct a pedestrian footbridge, which was also restored as part of the Padiham Greenway project. 2013 (Jeff Vinter)
This is the view looking south along the River Tonge from the bridge on Radcliffe Road. 2013 (Jeff Vinter)
Martholme Viaduct straddles the River Calder. A permissive route extends from its south end to Mill Lane, on the eastern edge of Great Harwood, but there is no acces from the north side of the viaduct back towards Padiham, which is why this outstanding structure remarks closed to the public. 2013 (Jeff Vinter)
Manchester Central Station. This is the view of the restored station that greets anyone walking south along Manchester’s Mount Street. The distinctive structure of the roof is obvious. 2014 (Jeff Vinter)
The view of the station from across the piazza which now fronts it. 2014 (Jeff Vinter)
The view of the station from across the piazza which now fronts it. 2014 (Jeff Vinter)
The view of the station from across the piazza which now fronts it. 2014 (Jeff Vinter)
This was how Manchester Central looked just three years after its purchase by Manchester City Council, with the symmetrical rows of canopies still intact. Even allowing for the depradations of vandals, the building was till an impressive site. 1981 (Ian Capper, used under the terms of the Creative Commons licence)
The rail overbridges, just north of Preston station, carry Maudland Bank and Leighton Street over the top the Longridge Branch 2015 (Chris Jennings)
Moving east along the line, this is the west portal of Deepdale (or Miley) No. 1 Tunnel. It is 160 yards long and runs beneath a terrace of houses on the south side of St Peter’s Square. 2015 (Chris Jennings)
This pedestrian footbridge in Deepdale is charming even if the amount of waste on the trackbed is not! If you look carefully in the lower middle foreground, you can just make out a section of rail, for the permanent way remains in place all the way from Preston to Red Scar. 2015 (Chris Jennings)
The magnificent building is Liverpool Exchange station on Liverpool’s Tithebarn Street. Once one of the largest railway termini in the north west. The last train departed in 1977. The building is now an office block. 2015 (Chris Jennings)
This is the site of Liverpool Riverside Station holds some interest on account of the old rails alone, but the presence of RMS Queen Mary 2 makes it something special. 2015 (Chris Jennings)
The remains of the long viaduct on the approach to Liverpool Exchange, seen near Exchange Station Junction alongside Love Lane. 2015 (Chris Jennings)
The causeway once built by the railway across Rampside to reach Roa Island now accommodates the C class road seen here. This is the former Furness Railway branch line from the still-open Roose station to Piel Harbour, which closed as long ago as 6th July 1936. 2016 (Maurice Blencowe)