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56-749: The Lancaster Canal Tramroad , also known as the Walton Summit Tramway or the Old Tram Road , was a British plateway , completed in 1803, to link the north and south ends of the Lancaster Canal across the Ribble valley (Barritt, 2000), pending completion of the canal . The canal link was never constructed. The Lancaster Canal Company obtained an Act of Parliament , the Westmoreland Canals Act 1792 ( 32 Geo. 3 . c. 101) in 1792 to construct

112-588: A canal linking the towns of Kendal , Lancaster and Preston to the coalfields around Wigan . Coal was to be the chief traffic northwards and limestone southwards. Most of the canal was completed quickly, including the impressive aqueduct across the River Lune near Lancaster, but the part across the wide valley of the River Ribble remained to be built when the construction capital became exhausted. The original plan foresaw an impressive stone aqueduct across

168-640: A different route north of Chorley, via a 300-yard long (270 m) tunnel under the Chorley to Preston road and joined the NUR at Euxton . A second act, the Bolton and Preston Railway Company Act 1838 ( 1 & 2 Vict. c. lvi), was passed on 4 July 1838. It proved to be a mistake as running over the NUR was "on payment of a toll hereafter to be fixed." The B&PR was to have a station in Preston adjacent to Maxwell House near

224-659: A footpath, which remains to the present day. A further Act in 1879 enabled the last part of the tramroad between Bamber Bridge and Walton Summit, to be closed. The north end of the canal was eventually sold to the London & North Western Railway and the Lancaster Canal Company was wound up at the beginning of 1886. A well-preserved section of track from the south side of the McKenzie Inn on Station Road in Bamber Bridge

280-533: A line using similarly flanged plates in 1788. A leading advocate of plate rails was Benjamin Outram , whose first line was from quarries at Crich to Bullbridge Wharf on the Cromford Canal . The early plates were prone to break, so different cross sections were employed, such as one with a second flange underneath. Some lines later introduced chairs to support the plates on the blocks, and wrought iron plates, increasing

336-515: A maximum depth of 80 feet (24 m), and involved the removal of 650,000 cubic yards (500,000 m ) of earth. Track was laid with bridge-section rails, 49 pounds per yard (24 kg/m), on longitudinal timbers. According to a report by John Hawkshaw in 1850, 9 miles (14 km) of double track line had been laid with this type of rail on the B&;PR and 4 miles (6 km) of 60 lb/yd (30 kg/m) doubleheaded section. General Pasley inspected

392-405: A time, and each wagon had a capacity of two tons . Originally there were three inclined planes where the wagons were hauled by stationary steam engines and a continuous chain . The tramroad crossed the River Ribble on a timber trestle bridge . This structure outlived the tramroad by nearly one hundred years and still stands today albeit with heavy modifications (including the replacement of

448-477: A toll basis, with any rolling stock owner able to operate their wagons on the tracks. Sometimes, the plateway company was forbidden to operate its own wagons, so as to prevent a monopoly situation arising. Some plateways, such as the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway, were single-track, with passing loops at frequent intervals. The single-track sections were arranged so that wagon drivers could see from one loop to

504-462: A toll of one shilling per passenger for the 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (8.9 km), and did what it could to hinder B&PR trains, even preventing their use of the Maxwell House station at Preston. The B&PR was paying £8,000 a year to lease the tramway and the station at Preston, neither of which was necessary, but were required by the acts of Parliament. The B&PR had intended to rely on

560-401: A toll to use the tramroad. The last haler to work the tramroad, John Procter, walked the 10-mile return journey twice a day for 32 years. It has been estimated that he walked or rode nearly 200,000 miles (300,000 km) during his career on the tramroad, and needed his clogs resoling once per week. In 1813, estimates were prepared to replace the tramroad by a canal but the cost of £160,000

616-523: A train of wagons to run away and plunge into the river at the bottom. A later (>1885?) enlargement of the tunnel under Fishergate (Moss, 1968) continues in use for vehicle access to the Fishergate Shopping Centre car park – it formerly accessed the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 's Butler Street goods yard (Biddle, 1989). Part of a support for a bridge over Garden Street remains. A path on

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672-448: A tunnel under Fishergate in Preston, just south of the canal basin. The iron rails were 'L' shaped in section and were spiked to large limestone blocks. The wheels on the wagons were not flanged and it was the vertical section on the iron rails that kept the wheels on the track. The gauge was 4 foot 3 inches (1295 mm) between the verticals, which were on the inside of the track. The wagons were pulled by horses , up to six at

728-524: A wholly-owned company until 1888 when it was absorbed by the LNWR and L&YR jointly, and by an act of Parliament, the London and North Western Railway Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. xcviii) of 26 July 1889, the portions south of Euxton Junction were transferred to the ownership of the companies that used them: Bolton to Euxton Junction, the only part of the Bolton and Preston Railway built became exclusively owned by

784-868: The Forest of Dean , in some cases replacing existing edge rails. Other notable plateways included the Hay Railway , the Gloucester and Cheltenham Railway , the Surrey Iron Railway , the Derby Canal Railway , the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway , the Portreath Tramroad in Cornwall, and lines at Coalbrookdale , Shropshire . The plates of a plateway generally rested on stone blocks or sleepers , which served to spread

840-546: The Surrey Iron Railway and the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway as plateways, though between these (in 1803) he designed the Ruabon Brook Tramway as using edge-rail. An alternative design, with the flange on the outside designed to be additionally used with flanged wheels, was unsuccessfully trialled on the Monmouthshire Canal Company's line shortly before its reconstruction as a modern railway. That idea

896-495: The 20-mile [32 km] line. It contained provisions which nullified each other yet left heavy financial commitments and sources of friction in the process; and it provided both the seeds of discord and the ground in which they could sprout and flourish. The B&PR did not want to accept the delay and may have been deterred by the 1-in-6 gradient of the tramway on the north bank of the Ribble. A second survey by Joseph Jackson followed

952-465: The B&PR directors decided to convey second and third-class passengers from Euxton to Preston by road coach and to apply to Parliament in the next session to revive the earlier powers to reach Preston along the course of the tramroad. At a meeting of the B&PR on 28 October it was reported that the NUR had refused a revenue sharing arrangement of three-quarters via Bolton and one-quarter via Parkside, and later three-fifths via Bolton. In desperation

1008-457: The B&PR directors proposed amalgamating with the NUR, and at a NUR meeting held in Liverpool it was suggested that the amalgamation should be upon the basis of taking stock of the two companies. The NUR stock was £477,539 and that of the B&PR £262,002. Both companies' fares were restored their original prices on 1 January 1844 and at a general meeting of proprietors of the B&PR on 10 April

1064-569: The B&PR had a shorter route from Manchester to Preston than that of the L&;MR and the NUR together and the B&PR was a threat to its business. That the B&PR was dependent on the good will of the NUR for transit from Euxton to Preston gave the NUR an opportunity to harm its competitor's business. In the first week the B&PR carried 3,697 passengers, but from the outset the NUR made difficulties, obstructing B&PR trains, sometimes causing delays at Preston of over half an hour. The NUR exacted

1120-456: The L&YR. The Waterhouse branch, serving several collieries to the south just over 8 miles (13 km) from Bolton, opened some time between 1849 and 1894. The Bolton to Euxton line, an important element in the trunk route from Manchester to the north, remained in use through several changes of ownership. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway merged with the LNWR in 1922, and the Grouping of

1176-459: The NUR ensued, and the B&PR was forced to sell its line to the NUR in 1844. The NUR was taken over and became jointly owned by the London and North Western Railway and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway , but in 1888 the Bolton to Euxton section, the original B&PR line, was transferred to the L&YR. The main line is in operation as part of the Manchester to Preston main line . In 1838

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1232-627: The NUR for rolling stock and engines, but as cooperative working was not forthcoming, the B&PR made agreements with the Manchester and Bolton Railway, the Preston and Wyre Railway , and the Lancaster Canal Company (which had leased the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway from 1 September 1842). By these agreements passengers could be booked from Manchester and Bolton to Lancaster or Fleetwood and vice versa without change of carriage. The B&PR charged

1288-523: The North Union Railway opened its line from Parkside to Preston. Bolton and Preston had important commercial connections but the rail route between them involved a circuitous journey using the Bolton and Leigh Railway to Kenyon Junction and Parkside and the North Union Railway. A direct railway was proposed and a company was formed in 1836. The first chairman was Thomas Ridgway, a Horwich bleacher, and

1344-553: The Victoria Hotel on the north side of Fishergate. Although track and a platform were built, the B&PR never used it for passengers but the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway used it from 1 January 1842. The B&PR had to maintain the tramroad even though it was redundant. Thomas Swinburn was transferred from the Bolton and Leigh Railway to take charge of the tramroad, which remained in use until 1859. Contracts were let for

1400-468: The axles, the wheels could usually be adjusted slightly with washers. Level crossings could be made truly level, the carts being re-engaged with the flanges once across the roadway. Even older than plateways were wagonways , which used wooden rails. Despite its ancient appearance, the Haytor Granite Tramway , the track with ledges cut in stone blocks to produce a similar effect as tram plates,

1456-410: The bridge at risk of collapse. Plateway A plateway is an early kind of railway , tramway or wagonway , where the rails are made from cast iron . They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later. Plateways consisted of L-shaped rails, where the flange on the rail guides the wheels, in contrast to edgeways , where flanges on the wheels guide them along

1512-544: The canal basin in Preston was built. This created a railhead for Wigan coal in Preston and removed the raison d’être of the tramroad. Although the North Union wanted to close the tramroad immediately the canal company objected and they were forced to maintain it in an increasingly decrepit state until the Lancaster Canal Transfer Act of 1864 provided for the canal north of Preston to be leased in perpetuity to

1568-416: The chief engineer appointed to survey the line was John Urpeth Rastrick . The line would form an end-on junction with the Manchester and Bolton Railway and run via Chorley and a 690-yard (630 m) tunnel to meet the Preston and Walton Plateway ( Lancaster Canal Tramroad ) near its southern terminus at Walton Summit. After following the route of the plateway for 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km),

1624-431: The chief engineers to the company, but such was the demand for their services at this time of Canal Mania that they were much in demand elsewhere and Cartwright was solely responsible for the construction of the tramroad. His house in Preston is still extant and now forms the façade of a new shopping arcade. The five-mile-long tramroad comprised a double-track plateway , except for a short section of single track through

1680-445: The delay making it dependent on the goodwill of the NUR to reach Preston. The NUR saw the B&PR as a competitor and used underhand tactics to harm the success of the B&PR. The B&PR opened the first part of its line in 1841, but faced with extremely difficult ground conditions when constructing a tunnel north of Chorley , it only opened from Bolton to a junction with the NUR at Euxton in 1843. A bitter rate-cutting war with

1736-575: The draft of the bill for amalgamation was approved. The Bolton and Preston Railway Act 1844 ( 7 & 8 Vict. c. ii) received royal assent on 10 May 1844. From 1 January 1846 the NUR was leased jointly by the Grand Junction Railway (which merged into the London and North Western Railway , L&NWR, in July 1846) and the Manchester and Leeds Railway (renamed the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway , L&YR, in 1847). The NUR continued as

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1792-486: The length to 6 feet (1.8 m) and, later, 9 feet (2.7 m), spanning several sleeper blocks In 1789, on a line between Nanpantan and Loughborough , Leicestershire , William Jessop used edge rails cast in 3-foot (0.9 m) lengths, with "fish-bellying" to give greater strength along the length of the rail. However, after he became a partner in Benjamin Outram and Company (Butterley Iron Works) he designed

1848-489: The line for the Board of Trade, and it opened to Euxton Junction (North Union Junction) on 22 June 1843. The line was worked by the Manchester and Bolton Railway , who had agreed to work the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway from 1 January 1842, intending to work from Manchester to Lancaster when the Bolton and Preston Railway was complete. The North Union Railway lost nearly all of its Bolton to Preston traffic because

1904-518: The line's construction from the end of 1838 as money became available, and on 24 December 1840 Sir Frederick Smith , from the Board of Trade inspected the line. He refused permission to open until gates and signals had been completed. On 26 December some company directors made a trial trip, and it opened as a single line from an end-on junction with the Manchester line at Bolton to a temporary terminus at Rawlinson Bridge on 4 February 1841. Rawlinson Bridge

1960-513: The load over the ground, and to maintain the gauge (the distance between the rails or plates). The plates were usually made from cast iron and had differing cross sections , depending on the manufacturer. They were often very short, typically about 3 feet (0.9 m) long, able to stretch only from one block to the next. The L-section plateway was introduced for underground use in about 1787, by John Curr of Sheffield Park Colliery. Joseph Butler , of Wingerworth near Chesterfield , constructed

2016-524: The new line would run into Preston, crossing the River Ribble and tunnelling under Fishergate, to terminate beside the Lancaster Canal basin, at a site occupied by Maxwell House. The Preston and Walton Plateway had been built in 1803 to link the two portions of the Lancaster Canal across the deep valley of the Ribble. It was double track with a gauge of 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) to the outside of

2072-575: The next, and wait for oncoming traffic if necessary. However, others, such as the Surrey Iron Railway , the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway , the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company tramroads, and the Severn and Wye Railway , were wholly or partly double-track. Because they had un-flanged wheels, wagons that ran on plateways could also run on ordinary roads. Plateways tended to get obstructed by loose stones and grit, leading to wear. Edgeways avoid

2128-535: The northern edge of Avenham Park follows the route of the tramway, down the Avenham Incline and over the River Ribble on the unique concrete trestle and spar bridge that still retains structural features of the original wooden structure. The footpath continues along the flood plain embankment to the Penwortham Incline. In February 2019, the tram bridge was closed when an inspection revealed cracks putting

2184-428: The plates, and was a little under 5 miles (8 km) in length. The line had three inclined planes. In Preston it ran down to the level of the Ribble, and then up to the canal terminating on an incline of 1 in 6, worked by a Boulton and Watt stationary engine and an endless chain. The Bolton and Preston Railway Act 1837 ( 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. cxxi) obtained royal assent in summer of 1837. The B&PR

2240-453: The railway and that south of Walton Summit to be leased to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal . The Act also allowed closure of the tramroad between Preston and Bamber Bridge . In 1872, a land exchange between Preston Corporation and the railway saw the formation between Preston and Carr Wood pass into municipal ownership. This part, including the tramroad bridge over the River Ribble, was turned into

2296-742: The railways followed a year later, under the Railways Act 1921 . The line is in use as a major route and was electrified in 2019. The Waterhouse branch has closed, as has the Preston (Maxwell House) station and its approach route. The original stations on the B&PR were: Lostock Lane and Lostock Junction (opening): Lostock Lane first appears in Bradshaw in November 1846: Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) distance diagram of 1851 shows it well west of junction, on way to Horwich; in September 1852 Bradshaw it

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2352-405: The rival North Union Railway . However, an agreement was concluded between the two parties before this proved necessary. Nevertheless, the lease arrangements were incorporated into the Bolton and Preston Railway’s Act of Parliament and the ownership of the tramroad passed to the railway. In 1844 the Bolton and Preston merged with the rival North Union Railway and shortly afterwards a branch line to

2408-502: The river and up to 32 locks to complete the route. As a temporary measure, the canal company constructed a tramroad to link the two halves and allow revenue traffic to start flowing. Construction took three years. In 1794, the canal company engaged the services of William Cartwright , first to supervise the construction of the foundations for the Lune Aqueduct and later as Resident Engineer . John Rennie and William Jessop were

2464-408: The same fares from Manchester to Preston as the NUR, but the NUR toll charge was disproportionate: in a single week the NUR toll amounted to about £120. The NUR reduced the first class fare from 7s 6d to 5s first, and a fortnight and later to 3s, and the other classes in proportion. The Manchester–Bolton–Preston companies were obliged to follow. The NUR toll was intolerable on the cheaper fares, and

2520-401: The stone obstruction problem. Stone blocks had an advantage over timber sleepers because they left the middle of the track unhindered for the hooves of horses , but timber sleepers had an advantage over stone blocks because they prevented the track from spreading. The gauges of some tramroads increased by a couple of inches after decades of horses passing up the middle but, being loose on

2576-587: The track. Plateways were originally horsedrawn but, later on, cable haulage and small locomotives were sometimes used. The plates of the plateway were made of cast iron , often fabricated by the ironworks that were their users. On most lines, that system was replaced by rolled wrought iron (and later steel ) "edge rails" which, along with realignment to increase the radius of curves, converted them into modern railways, better suited to locomotive operation. Plateways were particularly favoured in South Wales and

2632-521: The tunnel would have to be abandoned and an open cutting built instead. The tunnel was reduced to 124 yards (113 m) beneath the Chorley to Preston road. In 1842 the B&PR had insufficient capital to complete the line and another act of Parliament, the Bolton and Preston Railway Act 1842 ( 5 & 6 Vict. c. xv) of 13 May 1842 increased the capital by £126,500. Work on the cutting began in early June and within 13 months had been completed: it had

2688-405: The wooden trestles with precast concrete ones in 1938 and the bridge deck with prestressed precast concrete in the mid sixties). There were many accidents during the life of the tramroad, many involving the inclined planes with wagons running away. As was common on early 'railway' systems, the wagons could be privately owned by the hauliers themselves (known locally as halers) who paid the company

2744-439: Was 9 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (14.9 km) from Bolton, where the turnpike road crossed the line, close to a canal bridge. In October 1840 agreement was concluded with the Manchester and Bolton Railway to supply engines and rolling stock and the line was extended to Chorley on 24 December 1841. When work was started on the tunnel north of Chorley, it became obvious that the ground conditions were exceptionally difficult and work

2800-487: Was authorised to acquire the plateway, maintain it and keep it open. Parliament noted that the North Union Railway was under construction and that north of Chorley the B&PR would follow a closely parallel route. To protect the NUR, the B&PR was not permitted to construct this section until three years had elapsed. Capital was to be £380,000. Reed observes that This was one of the most complicated and lengthy railway Acts framed up to that time, and had 263 clauses for

2856-482: Was contemporary with plateways, being built in 1820. Bolton and Preston Railway The Bolton and Preston Railway (B&PR) connected Bolton and Preston , in Lancashire , England. Its authorising act of Parliament forbade its early completion to protect the North Union Railway (NUR) and imposed other restrictions that limited the success of the B&PR. A change of route was authorised to bypass

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2912-471: Was replaced by Lostock Junction, timing same, suggesting perhaps just renaming, but diagram evidence makes it clear that was different site. In February 1856 Lostock Lane returned to Bradshaw but had been included in co n of alterations (quoting the Manchester Courier ), Lostock Junction still present. Lostock Lane closed on 1 June 1879. and Lostock Junction on 7 November 1966. An attempt to reopen it

2968-687: Was taken up and relaid in Worden Park in Leyland . Plates and stone sleepers are in South Ribble Museum in Leyland and the Harris Museum in Preston. The Harris Museum also has a model of a wagon and a wheel and axle of a wagon recovered from the bed of the River Ribble (Clegg et al. , 2001). They had lain there since an accident involving the failure of the endless chain on the Avenham Incline, which caused

3024-509: Was taken up in 1861 by the Toronto streetcar system . Horsecars ran on the upper, outer part as edgerail, with the wheel flanges on the inside. The edge rail formed an outside flange for a broad foot which allowed wagons to pass through the unmade streets. That combination necessitated a unique, broader gauge of 4 ft  10 + 7 ⁄ 8  in ( 1,495 mm ) known as the Toronto gauge . The early plateways were usually operated on

3080-474: Was temporarily abandoned until 3 June 1841 when John Stephenson was brought in. He had completed the Summit Tunnel on the Manchester and Leeds Railway . He undertook to complete the work in 15 months and stood to gain a premium of £1,500 if it was completed within 12 months. Stephenson, despite strenuous efforts, particularly in pumping ground water was unable to complete the work. In April 1842, Rastrick decided

3136-453: Was too much for the company at the time. In 1831 the coming of the Preston and Wigan Railway sounded the death knell for the tramroad and proposals were made to convert it into a railway or amalgamate with the new railway company. This never happened and the tramroad became embroiled in the railway politics of the day. In 1837 the new Bolton and Preston Railway leased the tramroad as a potential alternative route into Preston that avoided

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