A Compendious History of The North Union Railway - Preston Chronicle 1838

A Compendious History of The North Union Railway

A Compendious History of The North Union Railway

A COMPENDIOUS
HISTORY
OF THE
NORTH UNION RAILWAY:

COMPRISING AN INTRODUCTORY SKETCH THE PROSPECTIVE ADVANTAGES OF THE RAILWAY; ITS STATISTICS; A DELINEATION OF THE OPERATIONS WHICH HAVE MARKED ITS PROGRESS; A DETAILED REFERENCE TO ALL THE IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE ROUTE-videlicet, THE TUNNELS, VIADUCTS, GRADIENTS, &C.; ALSO A STATEMENT OF THE FACILITIES FOR TRANSIT PRESENTED BY THE VARIOUS CONNECTING LINES OF RAILWAY; AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE LOCALITIES OF THE RAILWAY, AND THE PHENOMENA WHICH HAVE OCCURRED IN ITS CONSTRUCTION.

Saturday, October 27th, 1838

Publication: Preston Chronicle 

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CHAPTER II.

JOURNEY FROM PRESTON TO WIGAN.

The accommodations provided at the PRESTON STATION are upon a very extensive scale, and are calculated to afford every convenience to the increasing trade of the town. The Passengers' and Goods' Stations are laid out with separate and distinct entrances. The entrance to the former is through the gardens of the late Dr. St. Clare, situated between Charles-street and Butler-street, at the south-west of the town; that to the latter is through Mount-street, or Winckley-square, and along the Syke-road. The Passengers' Station is covered by a shed 120 feet long, by 40 feet wide, under which the carriages pass on their arrival and departure. With it are connected the offices for booking the passengers, for the secretary, treasurer, and clerks; a room for the use of the directors, and separate waiting rooms for ladies and gentlemen. It is built entirely of stone, in the Roman style of architecture, and besides being a distinguished ornament to Preston, reflects the greatest credit on Mr. Tuach, the architect, under whose superintendence, both it and the station at the Wigan end were executed. The carriages pass along the shed into a building 120 feet long by 48 feet wide in the clear, calculated to hold the carriages. The story above it will be used for performing all necessary repairs.

The Goods Station is on the eastern side of the railway, and opposite the one for the passengers. It has a covered warehouse, 180 feet long, by 125 feet wide, into which the waggons pass for the purpose of loading and unloading; and it also affords ample accommodation for the transit of timber. The strength and extreme lightness of the roof of this warehouse, will, when completed, be worthy of admiration. It is roofed in four pitches, resting on iron columns; the principals are twenty feet apart, and are trussed with iron without any tie-beams. The columns which support the roof serve also to carry the cranes. The station for coals is much elevated above the Syke-road, and advantage will be taken of this circumstance, by forming the coal yards immediately under the line of the railway, thus preventing much hand labour in the removal of the material. To the south of the above stations, and over the Syke bridge, is a handsome building, erected of brick, with stone dressings, 117 feet long, by 70 wide, into which the engines are stationed for security from the weather, and to undergo the necessary repairs. It will be fitted up with a steam-engine of eight-horse power, with turning lathes, and every other convenience, on the most approved principle, by Mr. Hicks, of Bolton.

From the stations the railway proceeds northward, to join the Lancaster and Preston branch, under a tunnel that is in progress of formation. About 70 yards of the tunnel are already excavated, and, when finished, it will be one hundred yards long, 30 feet wide, and 16 feet 6 inches high. It runs under Fishergate-brow, and will have its outlet at the north side, where the line of railway diverges unto the Lancaster canal. The side wails are built with ashlar stone, and the arch is turned with brick. The southern front, which is completed, is beautified with a block cornice, and is of the Grecian order.

Having described the site and conveniences of the different stations, it may not be irrelevant to state, before proceeding on our journey, that the enterprising proprietors of the North Union Railway are deeply indebted to Charles Vignoles, Esq.

the engineer in chief, and to his staff, for the very skilful and masterly manner in which the whole of the works of this eminently useful undertaking have been executed, and more particularly for that spirit of economy which has marked the course of their proceedings in respect to its construction. As an illustrative proof of our statement, the comparative cost of the North Union and other lines of railway has only to be adduced; and for the exercise of this important branch of their duties, too much praise cannot he bestowed upon therm.

But the trains are in readiness to start, and we are warned to take our places. The valves of the engine are opened, and the mighty machine acquires a motion. Off it darts like a meteor, or a fiery chariot, and we leave the wealth, the smoke, and the bustle of Preston.
"Opes et fumum, strepitumque Preston."

Scarcely is the train in motion before an embankment over Syke valley, a little below the station, is passed. Underneath this embankment the Syke pathway passes, and the waters of the Syke sewer are conveyed under a six feet culvert: above both the culvert and the pathway, is built a stone bridge of 16 feet span. The road, which la here 50 feet wide, is flanked on each side to the termination of the embankment, by a strong stone wall 7 feet high, and 300 yards long.

On we move upon an incline, which is carried to the middle of the embankment, on the south side of the Ribble, of 1 in 330, and, like rumour, the engine and its train

"Vires acquirit eundo."

THE "CLIPP" CUTTING,

An eminence on the south-east side of Preston, that overlooks the Ribble, and whereon is situated the mansion of his Worship the Mayor, Thomas German, Esq., is soon entered. The excavation in its deepest point is 29 feet, and across it is thrown an elegant stone bridge, with an elliptical arch of 30 feet span. It was built at the expense of the Company, to connect the grounds, and serve as a way to his Worship's residence. From this bridge the trains, as they start from the Preston station, will be seen to great advantage, and their ingress into the town will be equally conspicuous. Indeed, it is universally admitted that this vicinity of Mr. German's abode has received additional beauty from the improvements that the railway operations have effected. The cutting forthwith conducts us to

THE EMBANKMENT ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE RIBBLE,

And is, as it were, the avenue to the beautiful valley through which that river pours its waters. The embankment contains 64,694 cubic yards of material supplied from the above-mentioned excavation, and from the side cuttings of the adjacent lands. At its northern extremity an arch, called the "Corporation Bridge," turned of brick, with stone facings, and having a skew of 600, is made to pass through it. Under this arch it is contemplated by the Corporation to conduct a promenade from the south and west Cliff, in Fishergate-hill, through Wyse's gardens. The course of the promenade will be devious and serpentine, and having wound below the garden fronts of Ribblesdale-place, will be connected with the pleasant avenue of Avenham Walk. On leaving the bridge, the Ribble valley stretches before us, and it is no flight of fancy to exclaim There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet."

On every side objects of beauty and interest diversify and gladden the prospect. Casting his eyes to the west, the traveller sees a mansion, upon an eminence, in the Elizabethan style of architecture. It is Penwortham Hall, the seat of Col. Rawstorne, on whose site once stood a priory, sacred to St. Mary. Contiguous to the hall, Penwortham Church,

"From which the sound of cheerful bells Just undulates upon the listening car,"

Rears its venerable head in the shadow of embowering trees; and further towards the north, is Castle-hill, on which, tradition records, there was once a fortress, at the time that Ribchester was a Roman station. To the north north-west, on a rising ground, appears Tulketh Hall, originally the residence of the family of Travers, that came over with William, the Norman Conqueror. It was formerly inhabited by a body of Cistercian monks, who thence removed to St. Mary's Abbey, in Furness, in 1124. The present owner of Tulketh Hall, where she also resides, is Mrs. Hesketh, aunt of Sir P. Hesketh Fleetwood, Bart., M.P. for Preston. To the west of Tulketh the eye catches a sight of the spire of Ashton New Church, and Ashton Lodge, the seat of James Pedder, Esq. To the east we behold the delightful village of Walton-le-Dale, and its church upon the hill. The woods and the park of Walton Hall are likewise conspicuous. Walton Hall, which a bloody feud transferred from the Langtons to the Hoghtons, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, is no longer standing. It was taken down a few years since by Sir Henry Bold Hoghton, Bart. Beyond Walton the dark and dreary summits of rugged hills arise, and in this " land of mountains," Hoghton Tower looks proudly from its eminence. It was at this tower that James the First of England was entertained by Sir Richard Hoghton; here he knighted the loin of beef, and spent three days in hunting, carousing, and merriment. But Hoghton Tower is no longer the residence of kings and barons, the days of its glory are over, and ruin and desolation have stamped their seal upon it. We are presently upon

THE RIBBLE VIADUCT,

And the traveller is anxious to know some particulars respecting this handsome piece of architecture. Charles Vignoles, Esq., engineer to the company, designed its plan, and on the 1st of September, 1835, Wm. Taylor, Esq., one of the company's directors, placed the foundation stone, in the presence of a crowd of spectators. The cost of its erection has been £40,000. The length of it is 872 feet, and its width is 28 feet; a space of six feet being allowed on each side for a footway,, or for carrying on any requisite repairs. From the bed of the river to the top of the parapet, the height of the bridge is 68 feet. It has five fine elliptical arches, the span of each measuring 120 feet, the versed-sine being 33. feet. At the springing, the depth of the arch stones is 10 feet, and they diminish to 5 feet at the key. The abutments are 30 feet thick, and the one on the north side of the river is 18 fet in depth, from its basis to the springing of the arch; that on the south is 28 feet deep. The wing walls are 67 feet in length, and rest upon piles from 11 to 16 feet long. The piers are in thickness 20 feet, and average 22 feet high from their foundation. In the spaces between the main arches, are placed relieving arches of brick, to diminish the superincumbent pressure, and to throw the weight on the piers of these relieving arches, as well as to make the vehicles run more smoothly. The double line of rails has been fastened on beams or balks of timber placed longitudinally, and connected in different parts by transverse pieces of iron, to keep the road în gauge. These balks are well secured, and, as in all other parts of the way, the course across the bridge is ballasted with sand and other loose materials. Almost the whole of this elegant pile is built of rusticated ashlar, and contains 675,000 cubic feet of stone, raised from the quarries at Lancaster, Whittle, and Longridge. It is ornamented with a neat parapet;
from each end whereof there will project empaunolled pilasters. The parapet is two feet thick, and four and a half fest above the level of the rails. Such is the Ribble Viaduct, which every traveller, as he passes over it, will regard both as an ornament to the vicinity of the town, and a credit to all the par-ties engaged in its construction.

But we know not whether more to admire this elegant structure or the picturesque scenery that from every part of it is observable. Beneath us the river rolls its beautiful waters, and irrigates the banks that bound it; fertile pastures and meadows, fields on which so late there waved a golden harvest, hedgerows and coppices in their sear and yellow livery, unite to render the landscape charming and lovely. We see the heights of Penwortham to the right, clothed with trees, and scattered over with villas. The new mansion called the Oaks, that is being erected thereon, south of Penwortham Hall, belongs to John Cooper, Esq., of Preston. This beautiful edifice is in the Grecian style of architecture, and its architect is Mr. Tuach, under whose superintendence was built the Railway Stations. To the south-west Penwortham Lodge is seen, the seat of Wm. Marshall, Esq., and stretching across the Ribble valley, is the lofty embankment to which we are rapidly hurrying. The view on the eastern side of the valley has been already pictured, but if the traveller will direct his ken to the north-east, he may behold with a single coup d'œil the shadowy groves of Frenchwood, and the cloud aspiring chimney of Messrs. Horrockses, Miller, and Co.'s factory; Ribblesdale Place, with its well-trimmed gardens and parterros, the lofty gothic steeple of the Parish Church, and the locality of Avenham Walk. A person standing on this promenade has a good sight of the carriages whirling along with all the velocity of locomotion, and he assimilates their noise to the muttering of distant thunder, or the roar of dashing cataracts. Having left the viaduct of the Ribble, the train speedily brings us to the middle of

THE SOUTHERN EMBANKMENT,

Where wo begin to ascend in the same proportion as we had been falling from Preston. The height of the embankment approaches to 40 feet, and its length is three quarters of a mile. Its base averages about 190 feet, and the slopes are as 2 to 1. It contains 464,431 cubic yards of earth, &c., supplied from the Penwortham cutting, into which we are about to enter. Not far from the road stands Penwortham factory on the left, and a bridge 72 feet through the embankment conducts to it. We are now at the mouth of the cutting, and. darting along with the rapidity of lightning, pass in a few minutes under a skew bridge of an angle of 450, over which the turnpike road from Leyland and Farington is conveyed. The cutting is a mile and a half long, through marl and clay, of which 504,408 cubic yards have been removed, 30,000 of which consisted of slips from the sides. It is 36 or 38 feet deep, and has four bridges thrown over it. The centre one has three arches of thirty feet span, and is called Bee-lane bridge. Near this place a stationary engine was placed, to draw the empty waggons up the incline, by means of ropes, while the force of their own gravity, when they wore loaded with materials for the Ribble valley embankment, propelled. them down it.

The same vicinity, on the turnpike road between the Sumpter Horse, and the Anchor, in Farington, was, in the month. of May last, the scene of a dreadful affray between a number of Irish labourers employed on the railroad, and some Englishmen who inhabit that neighbourhood. From thirty to forty were more or less wounded, by blows from pikes and bludgeons, and one man, 28 years old, named John Trafford, was shot dead, by a hall that penetrated his chest.

From Bee-lane Bridge wo ascend, 1 in 100, for 1200 yards. Midway this gradient, supported on four brick piers, and elevated 14 feet above the level of the way, there is a cast iron conduit, to drain the water from the adjacent fields into its proper receptacles and ditches. At the last occupation bridge across the cutting, a rise of 1 in 330 commences, and continues as far as Leyland.

Farington School is passed close on the right, whence wo presently come to

THE FARINGTON STATION,

Two miles and a half from Preston. The railway here crosses the turnpike road, and the second class trains, from Wigan, will stop to take up passengers, and to deliver goods and coals for Bamber Bridge, and the places in that neighbourhood. We have already issued from the Penwortham cutting, and left the station at its extremity. A short distance thence, the road crosses the river Lostock by a culvert, whose arch is 16 festland, for nearly a quarter of a mile, is carried upon an embankment, 20 feet high. The Lostock, which has its source among the hills to the north north-east of Chorley, is here merely a small stream, running through the valley. In its course, however, westward, it increases in size, and having watered the plains of Leyland, and Ulnes Walton, empties itself into the Yarrow, not far from Croston.

From Lostock embankment we are hurried over a portion. of level country, and are able to discern, to the east, Cuerden Hall, the seat of Robert Townley Parker, Esq., M.P. for the borough of Preston. Contiguous to the railway, on the left, are also the newly erected mansions of Messrs. Bashall and Boardman, whose factory the traveller passes before he comes to Golden Hill, in Leyland. The factory is approached by a handsome brick bridge, over the railway, and from thence we are instantly at

THE GOLDEN HILL STATION.

Passengers will here be received, and goods deposited for Leyland. The Cuerden, Clayton, and Blackburn road crosses on the level of the railway; and to the south-west, in the immediate propinquity, is situated the beautiful and sequestered village of Leyland. Its church stands upon an eminence at the east side of the village. It is dedicated to St. Andrew; and on the east window is the figure of that saint, represented in stained glass. Although the body of the church is of modern construction, in the Gothic style of architecture, the tower, which contains six excellent-toned bells, bears the impress of a more ancient date, and is part of the old fabric. Within the church is a good organ, and several monuments to the memory of the Parkers, of Cuerden, besides a tablet, surmounted by a marble bust, in honour of the late Sir William Farington, who died at the end of the last century. The church-yard is beautifully shaded by trees, and a number of old grave-stones,

"Where many a holy text e To teach the rustic moralist to die." text around is strewn,

Cover the mouldering remains of those who have long since ceased to have their being. Among the hamlet's rude forefathers, are sepulchred the remains of Dr. Bushell, the founder of Goosnargh Hospital, without there being, we are sorry to add, any suitable monument to record his benefactions.

After leaving Golden Hill station, there is a rise, for 700 yards, of 1 in 100, and a slight embankment, about a quarter of a mile long, over Bow valley. The road hence is through the excavation of Leyland Sandhill, from whence the sand was fetched to ballast the Ribble contract. The cutting, from which 128,913 cubic yards were cleared, is 20 feet deep, and is a mile in length. We ascend at the rate of 1 in 440 through its entire length, and pass under two stone bridges of 30 feet span and 16 feet high. The way over both is into the Wigan and Preston road, from the west.

Emerging from the Sandhill cutting, the train hurries us to the Embankment over Packsaddle valley. It is about 40 feet high, and 500 yards long. From its elevation we perceive, Runshaw Hall, a little more than a mile to the west, and as we advance may be seen Shawe Hall, the seat of J. Nowell Farington, Esq., just peeping, in the north west, through a vista of trees. Along the sides of a declivity to the east, is a "fading, many-coloured wood," through which the autumn blast sighs mournfully, and on the summit of the steep stands an old seat of the Farington family. On our arriving at Pack-saddle bridge, we catch a sight of the Whittle Hills, north east by north, and distinguish the tall chimneys of Chorley factories. The Wigan and Preston road, past Rose Whittles, goes under the bridge, and there commences an incline of 1 in 660, falling towards the Yarrow valley. At the foot of the bridge is a rustic inn, with the locomotive train emblazoned on its sign board, and at its southern end the Bolton and Preston line of railway will join the North Union. After leaving Packsaddle embankment we pass into Euxton Hill cutting, to the middle of which, from the three-arched bridge over the railway in Penwortham, a distance of nearly five miles, the road has followed a perfectly straight line. The excavation is 16 feet deep, and three quarters of a mile long. It leads the trains to

THE EUXTON STATION,

Where those of the first-class stop to leave the Chorley letters, and to admit and set down passengers. The Euxton and Chorley road which here crosses the railway, is flanked on each side by folding gates; a commodious house is built for the gate keeper, and as a waiting place for passengers. We are six and a half miles from Preston, and in our progress. onward proceed to Buxton Chapel embankment. A meandering brook flows under it, and the Chapel and valley of Euxton commonly called Euxton Burgh, lie immediately on the right. Euxton Hall is concealed among some trees to the south west of the village. The present hall occupied by Colonel Anderton, was built about 100 years ago, and adjoining it is a Catholic chapel. At the old hall of Euxton, Sir Hugh Anderton entertained King Charles the Second, on his visit from Scotland.

Nearly opposite Euxton, and about two miles eastward, arises the stately tower of Chorley New Church. It is a beautiful edifice in the Early English style of architecture, containing sittings for 2012 persons, and was opened for public worship in 1826; it was erected at a cost of £12,387, exclusive of the site, &c. The hills behind Chorley are also distinguished, and the town of Chorley itself, may be perceived from this part of the line. The Chor, a streamlet which mingles its waters with the Yarrow, below Gillibrand Hall, bestows on it its name. Like many other towns, it has sprung from insignificance, and within the last century has seen its population greatly increased. Chorley is the only market town in the hundred of Leyland, and the principal market day is Tuesday. Cotton spinning constitutes the chief branch of its manufacture, and when the Bolton and Preston section is opened, it will come in for a great share of railroad advantages.

[To be continued.]

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A Compendious History of The North Union Railway -  Preston Chronicle 1838

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