This is the site of the former railway turntable on the Godley Junction to Apethorn railway line. The "Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC)" route opened in 1866. Here is where trains heading for Fiddler's Ferry power station via Warrington Arpley would exchange locomotives. The whole point of the railway was to carry Yorkshire coal to Lancashire for burning in one way or another. Originally the trains were steam hauled but after electrification of the Woodhead line in the 1950s the class 76 electric locos would draw the train onto the branch and un-couple before running around and departing; subsequently, a diesel loco would appear and hook-on for the remainder of the trip. Freight services over Woodhead ended in 1981 and this line became redundant. The track was removed and over the years nature has been regaining the ground.
See how it looked in the days of steam on Old Hyde
See how it looked in 2007 on Hyde Daily Photo Volume 1.
See how it looked in 2013 on Hyde DP Xtra.
A contribution to Good Fences.
wow! now that's something you don't see every day - a railroad turntable! thanks for linking it, gerald!
ReplyDeleteI love these pictures...just perfect for Good Fences..
ReplyDeleteGreat reminder of the old days!
ReplyDeleteLiz
Pity it is so overgrown.
ReplyDeleteoh these are awesome!
ReplyDeleteit's interesting how quickly nature can take over when it is allowed!
ReplyDeleteNature conquers all! We still have an old railway turntable downtown here that isn't used but has become part of a museum. I will have to take pics one day.
ReplyDeleteThere's still a turntable like this up in a small village on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. There's a touring train that goes up there, and they turn the steam engine around on it.
ReplyDeleteHow very interesting to see this and read about it's history. Nature is indeed taking over but I really enjoyed the photos.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it used to be a really busy spot, very interesting!
ReplyDeleteLots in sights and sounds apparent here, I bet.
ReplyDeleteSince my father worked for our railways, I find this kind of post extremely interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt's been restored, no table on it but weeds removed and sleepers relaid, an ongoing restoration; see their page on fb by searching for Godley old turntable
ReplyDeleteMore of my own photos and a link to the restoration work on Facebook can be found on Geograph.
ReplyDelete