Tyldesley Loopline Update, Roe Green to Ellenbrook

I last rode the Tyldesley Loopline between Roe Green and Ellenbrook back in August 2014.

Salford council held a consultation about improving this route last December and it seems that there have been some works carried out - sadly that has resulted in the route being almost un-ridable for the time being.

Starting at the junction with the Roe Green Loopline, the path is in reasonable condition.



There are signs of the trees having been cut back, but initially the surface is rideable.



However, the path worsens at this point.



It is seriously muddy, no place for racing bikes...



After the bridge under the East Lancs Road the path goes up steeply to the left and open water appears on the trackbed.



From here the path on the top of the embankment is a bit muddy, but rideable, whilst the trackbed looks more like a lake.



Once the path returns to the trackbed things get much worse



Here the preparation works have churned up the trackbed.



At this point it is very difficult to make progress. The mud is several inches deep in places, and you get wheelspin on the flat.



These conditions last all the way to Ellenbrook and the start of the guided busway.



All in all this route is almost unrideable and well worth avoiding until Salford Council get round to finishing the upgrade works.

Tyldesley Loopline 1 - Monton to Roe Green - Updated

This route is entirely traffic free and runs for just over one and a half miles along the disused trackbed of the Tyldesley Loopline in Salford. The Tyldesley Loopline was part of the London and North Western Railway's line from Eccles to Kenyon Junction on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The line opened in 1864 and closed in 1969. Part of this route is covered by a Herritage Trail leaflet.

This post covers the section from the site of Monton Green Station through Worsley Station to the junction with Roe Green Loop Line at Roe Green and has been updated with some new photos now that much of this section has been extensively resurfaced.

The site of Monton Green Station was several feet above this small roundabout on the B5229. The  station has been completely demolished, as has all sign of the line to the south. There is no signage at all on this road pointing out the start of the railpath, which is on the right just after the roundabout despite it being part of NCN Route 55.



This is the entrance, the winding path that begins behind the red barrier. There is no drop kerb or any other concession to pedal cycles. The entrance to the left of the picture leads to a brand new car park, so drivers have been well looked after...



The path leads up a short slope into the trees and straight into the one and only barrier on this section of path. It is a horrible U-bend barrier with a bike A-frame bypass. Enough to defeat some pedal cycles, but not as bad as many in Salford.



Once through the barrier you can get a glimpse of the car park on your left, and wonder how much it must have cost compared to the resurfacing of the path...



This first section of the path is well surfaces with a reddish tarmac. It runs along a wide embankment with trees on both sides. Unfortunately there has been little management of the trees and you get just a few glimpses of the open views on both sides.




To the left at this point is Broadoak Park the subject of a residents' battle to prevent it being built on, now a residents' victory and to the right is Worsley Golf Course.



About 3/4 of a mile up the path it crosses a stream on a rebuilt bridge




and brings you to the site of Worsley Station. Unlike most other former stations in the area, this one still has some reminder of it's existence with platforms on both sides.






At the end of the old platforms there is access via Hollyhurst, the old station access road up onto the A572 Worsley Road.



Here is where the resurfacing work starts. The new surface is a very smooth black tarmac without the usual grit finish, suitable for all cycles.



Just to the north the path passes under Worsley Road, through a rebuilt bridge, much smaller than the original.



The bridge is a corrugated iron tube and the old wooden gate that used to sit across the path here has been removed.



Beyond, the extensive drainage works can be seen on the left. Somewhere along here a short branch  line to the Bridgewater Canal joined this line from the left, but I have never noticed the junction amongst the various footpaths.



New access steps have been installed along the route with groves for wheeling a bicycle up and down, but they are useless for anything heavy or with a trailer.



At the bridge under the M60 the trees have been cut back and a new bench has been added.



However, there is still no lighting under the bridge.



A short way further on the trees on the left disappear, along with the embankment.




This is the site of a new United Utilities facility built to prevent sewerage getting into Kempnough Brook. It consists of an underground bifurcation chamber fitted with a powered screen, a 1,545m3 detention tank, a weir and a powered screen chamber.

This was the work that closed this route over the summer of 2013.



From here the trees close in again on the left along with an original wall holding back the cutting.



This section now leads to the junction at Roe Green, where the two bridges carry Greenleach Lane over the junction.



The bridge to the left straddles the continuation of the Tyldesley Loopline as it turns west. Here the tarmac ends.



Under the bridge to the right the resurfacing continues along the newer Roe Green Loopline which heads north for Bolton.



Continued in separate posts.

Tyldesley Loop Line 2

Roe Green Loopline 1


View Tyldesley Loopline 1 - Monton to Roe Green in a larger map

MediaCity cycle route closure notice

No sooner have TfGM closed the consultation on the Trafford Park tram line than they have made moves to close the surrounding cycle routes. The building of this line will have a major impact on people commuting to MediaCity from South Manchester and Trafford in the same way that Cross Street has become a no-go route for cycling in the city centre.

This notice appeared a couple of weeks ago along the Trafford side of the Ship Canal. It is a notice of an order to close this path, which is a busy cycle route.



The order contains no plans or anything like that but just says it is giving notice of an order to close the path linking Trafford Wharf Road to the path flanking the southern bank of the Manchester Ship Canal.



To request a copy of the plans you have to email Phil.Goodfield@tfgm.com and ask for a copy of the plans. Objections have to be in by 23rd December, so we don't have long.

If this is your route too and from work please request a copy of the plans.

You are going to find your route to work closed, possibly for many months if not more than a year.



This is the view from the other side.



This route is part of NCN route 55 so I hope Sustrans will be objecting too.

Roe Green Loopline 3, M61 to Bolton

This route is largely traffic free and runs for just over two miles, mostly along or alongside what is left of the disused trackbed of the Roe Green Loopline in Bolton. The Roe Green Loopline was opened in 1870 from Roe Green to Bolton, via Walkden Low Level. A key function of the lines was to support the surrounding collieries in conjunction with the Bridgewater canal, the largest of which was at Mosley Common, one of the biggest pits in the UK at its prime.

This post covers the section from the boundary between Salford and Bolton at the crossing of the M61 to Haywood Park in Bolton where the route simply stops. It is a continuation of a previous post Roe Green Loopline 2, Walkden to the M61.

However, after crossing the M61 the route first has to turn east to get back to the route of the Roe Green Loopline along the route of another mineral line to the south of the housing estate in Highfeld. This line linked Brackley Colliery to the west and Ashton's Field Colliery to the east. As you cycle north along Anchor Lane after crossing the motorway the path is on your right, just before the houses start.



Initially path is very narrow, muddy and strewn with rubbish



and there is this dreadful set of barriers to add to the grim nature of the area.



However, within a few yards, the path improves



and after about 300yds turn sharp left, and climb up to rejoin the Roe Green Loopline.

The mineral line went under the Roe Green Loopline at this point and turned gradually south, with a short branch line turning off, just past this point into the centre of Farnworth.



The top of the embankment is intact here and the path well surfaced.



However, the path becomes the pavement on the left of Medow Walk, once a curving siding,



and runs straight into this set of steps where the bridge under Highfield Road has been filled in. You can tell this is supposed to be the cycle route, because of the grove on the left for you to wheel your bike up... The easier answer is to turn left along Meadow Walk and right onto Highfield Road



On Highfield Road this is the left hand entrance to the next part of the path, and the easiest to negotiate.



The path drops down into the cutting again



Before climbing the left side of the cutting at the site of Plodder Lane railway station.



Across Plodder Lane the cutting has been filled in and at this point the markings for NCN55 disappear on the TfGM map.



However, a fairly broad path continues to follow the route of the railway down to Colchester Drive.



Past Colchester Drive it narrows somewhat, but is still navigable on a bike



However, the path starts to twist and turn to the left of the old railway, which by this point is covered in houses.



After several sharp bends the path straightens out again



and drops down with the Royal Bolton hospital to the left and the old railway, now on an embankment to the right. At this barrier the route returns to the TfGM map, which is complete nonsense.



At the end of this section the path crosses Minerva Road and goes down this track to the left of the railway embankment



and past the farm on the left.



The path continues past the farm



and then dips steeply down to Will Hill Brook where the TfGM map stops making the cycle route.



Here the embankment rises steeply on the right



As the path climbs back up to the end of Freshfield Avenue, on the left, it returns to the trackbed and the TfGM map marks this as a cycle route shortly after



Now the path changes character, becoming a wide tarmaced railway path passing under Lever Edge Lane.



The path even has lighting,



but the surface is uneven in places and a bit wet towards Settle Street.



Past Settle Street, the path changes again, and here a school has been built on the trackbed and the location of sidings. Here the path takes the less obvious route to the left of the school



and runs along the left side of the old cutting.



after the school the cutting has been filled in as it reaches Lever Street.



At the entrance to Heywood Park the railway line went underground,



possibly as a cut and cover tunnel under the path, though I've not been able to find any information on it.



At Bridgeman Street the cycle route just stops. There is nothing more marked on the TfGM map and nothing on the road. The path of the railway is marked here by the trees beyond the car park which were in front of the old school, which is in the process of being demolished. At this point the line was joined by the LMSR from the west.



From Shaw Street you can still see the line of trees in the cutting, but beyond Fletcher Street the railway and the site of the station has been obliterated by Sainsburies Supermarket and other retail developments. From here on the road network is dreadful, reflecting the car-dominated retail developments.




View Roe Green Loopline 3, M61 to Bolton in a larger map