Bury & The East Lancashire Railway

The East Lancashire Railway heritage line from Bury to Rawtenstall runs on one of Lancashire’s oldest routes, having opened in September 1846. This excellent pictorial booklet traces the history of the line and the Bury section of the east to west Rochdale to Bolton line opened in November 1848. The railways in Bury have seen many developments and changes in their history. Bolton Street station was electrified in 1913 as part of the Bury to Holcombe Brook overhead collection experiment and the line from Manchester Victoria to Bury was electrified on the 1200v DC third rail system in 1916. Following the conversion of the Manchester to Bury line to the first Metrolink tram route the present heritage line developed into the major tourist attraction that it is today.