Winchester Railway Modellers

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LAYOUTS - Holcombe Brook

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The Holcombe Brook Branch

From the moors north of Bury, Holcombe Brook flows south to join the river Irwell at Summerseat. The pure water of the brook made it ideal for the textile finishing industries, and so there sprang up numerous bleaching, dyeing and printing works in and around Holcombe and the surrounding villages. To serve these businesses a 3½ mile branch was built from the East Lancashire Railway to the village of Holcombe Brook. The line opened in 1882. It was absorbed into the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1888. My model represents the terminus of this branch line as it appeared in the early part of the 20th century. The track plan above shows the station layout. My model follows this plan with one exception: for extra operational interest I have added an engine shed to house a station pilot. The engine shed is based on that at nearby Burnley Manchester Road Station. All other buildings are models of the original structures at Holcombe.

Passenger Operations

Passenger services in the early days were provided by a small tank engine, either a Barton Wright 0-4-4T, or an Aspinall 2-4-2T (the famous "Lanky Tank") with a train of six-wheeled coaches.

The branch was used by the LYR to experiment with various forms of motive power before their introduction across the network. Steam railmotors were introduced in 1905 to counter competition from local tram services. In 1913, electric trains were introduced, first using overhead gantries, and later a third rail. These proved highly successful and the trains remained in service until the 1950s.

The branch closed to passengers in 1952, although goods workings continued up to 1963. The track bed now forms the Kirklees Trail, a walking and cycling route in the Kirklees Valley Nature Reserve.

Goods Operations

Goods workings were interesting because of an unusual dispensation granted by the LYR. The line was very steep in places; the final half-mile into Holcombe Brook rose at 1 in 40. The station layout at Tottington did not have a run-round loop and had to be shunted from the south end, so wagons for Tottington were worked through to Holcombe. The goods train engine would take them back to Tottington (without a brake van!) for shunting. Returning wagons for Bury were then propelled up to Holcombe where they would join the outgoing goods train.

Gallery

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