I knew Johnp the author of this video, he was a next door neighbour..He moved to Canada and then Sadly he passed away a few years ago..He was actually a signal man for British rail as well in Manchester.
@Pippin Wilson I too knew John. I was a driver/instructor at Bury for the last five and a half years of its life as a a railway. John frequently used to ride in the cab or brakevan when travelling the line. The driver at the beginning of the video was my first pupil, and a drinking pal of mine. We had some laughs on and off the job. And some beer.....Latterly, we came to call him Johnny Bravo, after the cartoon character, on account of the hairdo! He's a good lad, really, 'onest yer 'onour! (Even tho' he does still owes me a bag of 'chats'!!). And FWIW, I was the last driver to take duty at Bury, and the last person to move a 504 under its own power (well actually the CEGBs power, but hey) on the last night, before calling in to say all stabled and time to turn off the juice. I think it's me hammering into Woodlands road, as I was wont to do- I didn't half cane the brakes on these units, but they had the best brakes of anything I ever encountered on the job, bar none. 43 years and counting, can't see anything else ever coming close now, lol. R-I-P, John, a good lad lost too soon.
Made this journey every day between 1969 and 1972 when at college in Manchester. Strange how a repetitive and tedious journey can evoke the most treasured memories...
Paul Lambert so nice to see the 504 been restored back to its former glory keep up the Good work on this, i kept thinking this should be restored a few years back,will keep viewing the 504 webpages for updates cheers Andrew
I travelled on this line from 1988 to until it closed in 1991 and I got to know all the best places where the collector shoes used to arc really bright. And this line had the highest voltage live rail system in the UK at 1200 volts so it used to arc far brighter than anywhere else where there was live rails. And I once went on it with my parents in the early 70's when it still used Bury Bolton street station, we caught the dmu from Rawtenstall and we had to change at Bury for Manchester. And I was on one once when one of the actresses from coronation street got on with two bodyguards and they sat opposite me in the same compartment.
I found on the internet a map from about 1850 when the line was first built there where no stations between Manchester and Bury they came later on. Bowker vale was built late on in about 1935. Whitefield and Prestwhich had there own goods yard and Crumpsall had a coal yard sidings and now is a housing estate. The foot bridge at Crumpsall has now gone
I was at Radcliffe once when the collector shoe caught fire on one of those old units and it made a load of bright yellow smoke and they had to get the shorting bars out and short out the conductor rail and disconnect the cable to the shoe and tie a rubber glove over it! And I was the only one who got any pictures of that incident that day. And did anyone ever film these old units arcing at night? They used to light up all the surrounding area at night as the arcs were so bright.
I must. be the oldest on this sight I used this line into Mcr every day in my working life. To British Engine Ins Longridge House Cannon St next to Marks and Spencers. Long before the Arndale Centre came into being. I travelled from Besses Oth Barn Mon to Fri for 5 years between 1958 to 1963 . When I married and we moved to Worsley. And a year later moved to Canada Victoria BC, Looks very grotty and neglected rubbish all along the tracks .It was a very good quick treck into town, frequent fog never prevented the trains running unlike the Buses
I knew the author of this video, he was a next door neighbour..He moved to Canada and then Sadly he passed away a few years ago..He was actually a signal man for British rail as well in Manchester.
It's the other way round K.o.R., the black triangle was used on Southern Region EMUs and DEMUs to denote the car with the brake compartment, so that platform staff knew which end of an approaching train they needed to be at to load/unload.
Hell's bells! The rolling stock does not seem to have changed at all, since I rode part of this route on the way to school - and that was 40 or more years ago!
I knew Johnp the author of this video, he was a next door neighbour..He moved to Canada and then Sadly he passed away a few years ago..He was actually a signal man for British rail as well in Manchester.
@Pippin Wilson I too knew John. I was a driver/instructor at Bury for the last five and a half years of its life as a a railway. John frequently used to ride in the cab or brakevan when travelling the line. The driver at the beginning of the video was my first pupil, and a drinking pal of mine. We had some laughs on and off the job. And some beer.....Latterly, we came to call him Johnny Bravo, after the cartoon character, on account of the hairdo! He's a good lad, really, 'onest yer 'onour! (Even tho' he does still owes me a bag of 'chats'!!).
And FWIW, I was the last driver to take duty at Bury, and the last person to move a 504 under its own power (well actually the CEGBs power, but hey) on the last night, before calling in to say all stabled and time to turn off the juice. I think it's me hammering into Woodlands road, as I was wont to do- I didn't half cane the brakes on these units, but they had the best brakes of anything I ever encountered on the job, bar none. 43 years and counting, can't see anything else ever coming close now, lol.
R-I-P, John, a good lad lost too soon.
Didnt know he'd sadly passed, we were in the same class for some lessons at the world famous prestwich college of knowledge
Made this journey every day between 1969 and 1972 when at college in Manchester. Strange how a repetitive and tedious journey can evoke the most treasured memories...
We are currently restoring the sole surviving 504 unit at the East Lancs Railway in Bury. If you are interested in helping then please contact me
Paul Lambert
so nice to see the 504 been restored back to its former glory
keep up the Good work on this, i kept thinking this should be restored a few years back,will keep viewing the 504 webpages for updates
cheers
Andrew
The closest I have come to being in Manchester is Tewksbury, but I really enjoyed this superb video! Thanks
Fantastic video lovely old memories, hate those trams nowadays
Lovely stuff
I travelled on this line from 1988 to until it closed in 1991 and I got to know all the best places where the collector shoes used to arc really bright. And this line had the highest voltage live rail system in the UK at 1200 volts so it used to arc far brighter than anywhere else where there was live rails. And I once went on it with my parents in the early 70's when it still used Bury Bolton street station, we caught the dmu from Rawtenstall and we had to change at Bury for Manchester. And I was on one once when one of the actresses from coronation street got on with two bodyguards and they sat opposite me in the same compartment.
Paul lawrenson driver at the begining, great lad was a guard on bury line when i worked at the outstations in 85
Wow the track ran trains up to the 90s before switching to trams
I found on the internet a map from about 1850 when the line was first built there where no stations between Manchester and Bury they came later on. Bowker vale was built late on in about 1935. Whitefield and Prestwhich had there own goods yard and Crumpsall had a coal yard sidings and now is a housing estate. The foot bridge at Crumpsall has now gone
Apart from the livery,the line looked the same in the late sixties.
This train does stop at Bowker Vale Station, doesn't it, yes?
Rod Stewart at the controls. Musician and train driver. Mega 👍
I was a regular from Bury to Prestwich in the 80's
What a very good video use to ride on them a lot on days out on a day rangers good times
Please show a photo of the carriages that were running between Bury and Manchester in the 1950s and 1960s
The drivers mullet is criminal!
There are a few Aussies trying to bring that back into fashion as we speak 😂 !
I would like to see the 1915 emu's. Are any of them still in existence? 🤔
I signalled the last passenger carrying train into Bury, I miss those days.
Anyone else notice the line being prepared for Metrolink?
Awesome Mullett
Thanks for this, but the overall impression is of neglect, dirt and rust.
Don't forget British Rail had gone nearly 20 years without proper investment.
The track was in terrible condition when Metrolink took it over, and for quite some years afterwards.
Almost exactly the same as the present day, bar the removal of Woodlands Road.
Marvelous.
Did any of the line's substations stull use mercury-arc rectifiers at this late stage of operation?
Pat Sharpe was driving the train
Fantastic video
some nice history there what was top speed is it same as metrolink
@Pippin Wilson Was reduced in the 80's from 60mph due to reducing maintenance budgets and unwillingness to spend any money!
I was at Radcliffe once when the collector shoe caught fire on one of those old units and it made a load of bright yellow smoke and they had to get the shorting bars out and short out the conductor rail and disconnect the cable to the shoe and tie a rubber glove over it! And I was the only one who got any pictures of that incident that day. And did anyone ever film these old units arcing at night? They used to light up all the surrounding area at night as the arcs were so bright.
god knows if those third rails had been replaced or refurbished since 1916!
I must. be the oldest on this sight I used this line into Mcr every day in my working life. To British Engine Ins Longridge House Cannon St next to Marks and Spencers. Long before the Arndale Centre came into being. I travelled from Besses Oth Barn Mon to Fri for 5 years between 1958 to 1963 . When I married and we moved to Worsley. And a year later moved to Canada Victoria BC, Looks very grotty and neglected rubbish all along the tracks .It was a very good quick treck into town, frequent fog never prevented the trains running unlike the Buses
the graffiti on the side of these trains were known as 'breakers' and were very cool.
Does anyone know when the last train was from bury to manchester before the metrolink was built ? What month in 1991 was it ?
August. The same uploader has a video of the last day.
I knew the author of this video, he was a next door neighbour..He moved to Canada and then Sadly he passed away a few years ago..He was actually a signal man for British rail as well in Manchester.
Girlfriend and later wife used to get on at Woodlands Road fr dates. Got married in Crumpsall Church.
I'm surprised these ones didn't have the black triangle, as their non-gangwayed counterparts in the Southeast did.
According to Wikipedia the black triangle meant there was no brake compartment, which these units did have.
It's the other way round K.o.R., the black triangle was used on Southern Region EMUs and DEMUs to denote the car with the brake compartment, so that platform staff knew which end of an approaching train they needed to be at to load/unload.
agree only the colour i remember them being gren
Wonderful memories.Proud to have drove these units.Absolute one offs! The new metrolink trams `stink` and pale in comparison.
They were brilliant. Travelled on them thousands of times, practically 100% reliable. The metrolink does not interest me in the slightest bit
Is that you, Brookie me lad?
And yes, Martin, the trams indeed stink; like Holts' has done for the last 20 years or so. Boo hiss etc. and so forth.
Hell's bells! The rolling stock does not seem to have changed at all, since I rode part of this route on the way to school - and that was 40 or more years ago!
This was filmed in 1991. It has been converted into a tram line since then. Those trains are long out of service.
Grich Al Thank goodness for that!
@@Offshoreorganbuilder Why? The old boneshakers were a better ride than the plastic trams will ever be.
sorry green