LNWR Warrington to Widnes via Fiddlers Ferry Power Station. Garston & Warrington Railway. Lost Line.
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- Following the soon to be mothballed line from Warrington Arpley to Widnes South station. Including bonus footage of a tour around Fiddlers Ferry Power station sidings, a scene soon to be lost in history as the site is prepared for demolition.
This video is an extension of the walk from Skelton Jct to Warrington Wetherspool filmed in 2019. We will visit all the lost stations as well as some key railway railway sidings and the site of Widnes engine shed. Stations include Warrington Bank Quay Lower Level, Whitecross. Sankey Bridge, Fidlers Ferry and Penketh, Cuerdley and Widnes South.
Filmed by Allan Roach.
I retired from DB Cargo 3 yrs ago. I was based at Warrington for 35 yrs. Spent many, many hours on the route from Liverpool Bulk Terminal to Fidlers Ferry. This was called a Core Route ie Trainee Drivers at Warrington did practical Train handling on this route. The White Posts mentioned at 11.35 were the original Creep Control Signals for Coal discharging. These were cut down and and Radios were used from the Unloading operator at the Bunker to the Driver. Alas all good things come to an end.
Hey up perry. We spent many hours down in the cabin at Strand Rd loading those Baby`s you and me. I wish I had a quid for every HAA I loaded ( little Ste-f)😁👍
The various preservation groups should get down to fiddler's ferry plant now as they might get some track at a bargain price, just like east lancs. rly did when agecroft closed, especially as that's good quality track with concrete sleepers and heavy flat bottom rails with pandrol fasteners.
As a driver that spent so many hours taking trains round Fiddlers Ferry what a disgrace to see the route in such a state , I see that they’ve cut down the posts for the creep signals operated the the power station control room which the driver worked to while unloading the wagons at 0.5 mph.
Pity it’s closed as we’re all paying 3x more for electricity. Some plonker decided to put all our eggs in one basket and rely on gas for everything, that turned out well. Log burners everywhere burning anything they can, mass low level pollution in winter.
Very informative, and well delivered.
Intresting trip, as a young spotter I always wondered where those MGR's that went under Bank Quay ended up, never got round to finding out. Incidently good to see Nick still out and about...rumour has it he once went home and the Mrs didn't recognise him. 🤣
Lol sounds about right Steve, just not sure which Mrs, I`ve had a few now, lol
Very interesting film Nick, it brought back a lot of memories as I was one of the commissioning team at the Power Station from ‘67 to ‘70, lived at Penketh. Like most of these large coal fired stations they are now redundant due to carbon emissions etc, the others I was involved with have gone now.
In those early days the MGR hoppers were long frame four wheel HAA types 26 /32 ton capacity and were hauled by Class 56s. They were supposed to pass through the unloading hoppers at 0.5 mph with catches to automatically engage with the hopper door mechanism but there were a lot of initial problems. Sad to see them go though !
There used to be doubled headed class 20's and 37's used to run from Hunterston Iron Ore Terminal, up to Ravenscraig Steel Mill. They regularly hauled 46 HAA MGR wagons. Then class 60's took over.
Long gone are those days...
Brilliant video but just a warning this line has mostly daily freight days/light engines down it, so take care
Is there a time table or a way of finding out what time the trains run? Would love to see one pass the crossing near The Ferry Tavern.
Brilliant. Thanks for your efforts and making an informative piece of history.
Isn't there talk of extending this line in both directions to form a rail line from Liverpool to Manchester Airport, avoiding Central Manchester? I've often wondered if one day, Warrington Central and Bank Quay stations will be replaced by a single station simply called Warrington, somewhere around the junction of Crosfield St/Froghall Lane/Priestley St, where all the lines cross.
In 1967 until 1970 I was one of the Commissioning Engineers at F. F. P. S.and now, sadly,ultimately it’s due to be erased from the landscape along with two others that I have been involved with viz Eggborough and Ferrybridge C P. Sty’s. The coal trains went round in a clockwise direction thus the shot of unloading building was taken of the trains exiting aspect. There were eight cooling towers as two were needed for each of the four turboalternators, and no there wasn’t another power station as mentioned on leaving the site. The Gypsum production was not part of the original plant. Electricity is thus now much more expensive but that’s the price of cleaner air !
The sidings at Carterhouse was for the ICI paraquat plant just off tanhouse Lane
At the end of your trip the lines went to west bank dock estate where fisons chemicals among others had their own sidings and docks . The sidings joined the main Liverpool/ Runcorn line that crosses over the River Mersey
weren't there falcons that nested on the towers?
1.10 Crosfields crossing box not Cross gates (named after the adjacent works) and at 1.56 Littons Mill crossing box, spent many an hour filming 20s there..
the widnes loop railway ran from near hough station past the back of what was bankfield school, then under Liverpool road and hale road widnes then stright under dundalk road, then it went through st micheals golf course, then the track passed over lower house lane on a bridge then passed to widnes central station which was on an embankment and viaduct which is now ashley way, wher ashley way victoria meet in the middle was the rail bridge over ashley way, the line continuded over the bypasss on a viaduct and bridge, the line then went to Tanhouse lane station and then contiued to Widnes East junction which is now Sunnybank park, the bridges except the bridge over victoria road where all removed for scrap in 1965, the bridge over victoria road widnes demolished in 1984 for ashley way
Warrington is it a good place to live? move from south for example...
Well cool. I remember seeing 70s on freightliner in what must have been the very last days of fiddlers ferry. They were the most routine trains going past arpley yard.
also another fact part of of the big loop of line past the coal shutes the straight part near the coal pile site is part of the site of the widnes loop railway closed in late 1964
What do you mean by soon to be mothballed?
there used to be class 56s on the line in the 1980s
Awesomeness
Fantastic video! Very interesting and good to see Nick there!
plus the cooling tower at fiddlers ferry power station which is lighter coloured replaced the orignal Cooling tower B2 which collapsed in high winds in january 1984
the south wall of widnes Loco shed or its Full Name Widnes 8D Croft Street Survives on Alforde Street Widnes
Do you walk these routes alone, or is there always someone else with you, as I've noticed over many of your videos you talk to a friend and call him / her, 'Mate' ?
curedley station
The demise of coal power means more such traffic will end in the years ahead. Why not convert it back into a passenger route?
for that to happen you would have to repair or replace Latchford Viaduct Closed Since 1988, then rebuild the line all the way from latchford warrington to lymm, durham masssey, broadheath near Timperley then, move George Richards Way Broadheath by 8 meters to the south or north then rebuild the viaduct, then replace another bridge to get rejoined to Skelton Junction Manchester
how about turning this line into a presavation railway
I agree I did not find many obstacles just decay
You kept saying shame it’s closed, trust me if you lived in the shadow of it you’d be glad to see the back of it too.
What was it like living near it?