READER Norman Ravenscroft has been in touch about Radcliffe's railways.

NOWADAYS, only one working railway line runs through Radcliffe, namely, the line from Manchester to Bury, which carries the Metrolink.

There were another three railway lines passing through Radcliffe. Although they are now disused and deserted, it is a fascinating thought that once it was possible to travel to most places in Britain from Radcliffe's railway stations.

The remains of these three former railway routes are slowly but surely disappearing from the landscape. In a few years, nothing will remain of these routes and therefore, I set about following these old lines within the boundaries of Radcliffe.

I did this so that at least some record remains of the routes they took. Parts can still be walked. Other parts have become so overgrown or built over that they are hardly discernible as railways.

With hindsight, I find that the disappearance of lines is a great pity in these times when the road network is becoming so congested and environmentally dangerous.

Who knows — perhaps they will be revived some day, reappearing on the map as in their heyday. Could they be incorporated in the growing tram system?

For the readers who wish to explore further the history of Radcliffe and also Bury's railways, there is an excellent book by Jeffrey Wells called Railways in and Around Bury, published by Challenger publications.

From a now-demolished platform at Radcliffe Central Station, this route diverted off the Manchester-to-Bury line and proceeded easterly on an embankment towards Spring Lane.

It was carried over Spring Lane on a single arched stone and brick-built bridge which was dismantled in 1988.

The embankment continued alongside Coney Green School playing fields towards Manchester, Bury and Bolton Canal, just after passing over another old railway line — the former Clifton Junction to Bury line.

Our route towards Bolton now crosses over the canal via an iron bridge with brick supports, the remains of which are still present, and then proceeds across open land to pass beneath Belgrave Street footbridge with its iron parapets.

The route now leads towards Cemetery Road, alongside the back gardens of several houses. Just before crossing under the bridge, the Radcliffe waste disposal plant is to be seen on the left.

The cutting on this stretch of line has been filled in and now merges with the surrounding fields, with sheep often seen grazing on the former railway route!

On the other side of Cemetery Road, landfill has taken place and the length between here and Ainsworth Road has been used for a housing development.

Nearby, there existed a small station, known as Ainsworth Road Halt. It was build for the use of people who lived in the Black Lane area.

Passing beneath Ainsworth Road, the cutting continued alongside St Andrew's C of E school playing fields. Salisbury Road runs parallel on the left hand side.

The line then ran under a stone footbridge which connects Salisbury Road with Stanley Road. Then, still alongside Salisbury Road, the route takes us towards Moss Shaw Far where there was a junction with the Bury line coming from the north east.

The merged route now follows a westerly direction, passing beneath a humped bridge which carries the road to Moss Shaw Farm.

The route which can be traversed on foot now runs alongside Winchester Road, then past The Crescent. At this point, the track runs on a slight embankment, with good views towards Ainsworth across farmland to the right.

The Wilson Chase estate appears on the left and further on, Montgomery Park estate. To the right of the track is Bury Council's engineering depot.

The route crossed under Radcliffe Moor Road via a single arched bridge and heads towards the now-disappeared Bradley Fold Station, with houses to the right and left of the cutting.

At the site of the old Bradley Fold Station, the remnants of the platforms were visible, until fairly recently.

At Moss Shaw Farm, the route from Radcliffe to Bolton was joined by another line from Bury.

Tracing this route from this junction and proceed to Bury in a north-east direction, we head towards Ainsworth Road in a cutting. This section has a public footpath running alongside it, with good views of the countryside.

The line passed under Ainsworth Road alongside the Railway Inn, where the bridge once stood, was occupied by a van hire firm's car park, but has since developed as flats.

Black Lane station used to be situated on the other side of Ainsworth Road and could once be clearly visible by looking down fro the bridge. The side of the old station has now been filled in and is occupied by the Oliver Ashworth engineering works.

In fact, the remainder of the route up to the Radcliffe boundary as it proceeds towards Bury is filled in. Mounds of soil and rubble occupy the former cutting.

Leaving Radcliffe, the route ran between the A58 and Elton Reservoir before curving east to cross the River Irwell and the Manchester-to-Bury Canal via an impressive five-arched viaduct. This line then met the now-disappeared station which stood opposite Bury Town Hall in Knowsley Street.

The route then continued through Heap Bridge, Hopwood and Heywood and eventually joined the Manchester-to-Rochdale line near Castleton.

At North Junction, near Radcliffe Central Station, this line diverted away from the Bury-to-Manchester line in a south-westerly direction.

It traversed the land upon which Coney Green School playing fields now stand and then passed beneath the Radcliffe-to-Bolton line.

The remains of stone bridge supports can still be seen here.

The line headed south towards Spring Lane across land now built on with houses. It passed beneath Spring Lane and rang alongside Darbyshire Street in a cutting now filled in and landscaped. The stone wall overlooking this former cutting is still present and runs the full length of Darbyshire Street.

Passing under Blackburn Street, the route ran alongside School Street for a short distance, then headed towards Green Street and on land now occupied by Radcliffe baths' car park and then past where Asda was first built, and where Dunelm now stands.

The route went above Sion Street via a single-arched bridge which is still standing. Radcliffe Bridge Station used to be just before the bridge at the end of Railway Street, but not a trace of it exists now. The area is now largely taken up by the new Radcliffe bypass, Pilkington Way.

Now, the embankment made for the River Irwell, crossing it via a beautiful five-arched viaduct constructed of brick and stone. Happily, the viaduct still stands and now carries a walking footpath — the Outwood Trail.

Between here and Ringley Road, the line crossed the valley side via an embankment and a cutting. The now-vanished Outwood Sidings used to stand on the westward side of the line.

Just before going beneath Ringley Road, the cutting ran alongside Wood Street with its near single row of terraced houses and an old street lamp.

A railway station used to be situated a little way before Ringley Road bridge on the Wood Street side, but only some odds and ends of brickwork remain now.

The route now headed due south out of Radcliffe and towards Clifton Junction, eventually to join the Manchester-to-Liverpool line at Eccles.

The site of North Junction can be seen from the Manchester-to-Bury Metrolink line.

Just after leaving Radcliffe Station heading for Bury, looking out of the left-hand window, Coney Green School stands below.

Look beyond, towards the edge of the playing fields and a railway embankment will be clearly seen.

This gradually converges with the line we are travelling on. Traces of old railway line can still be seen where North Junction once stood.

North Junction is part of a triangle where three lines meet — the line from Manchester; the lie to Bury through Radcliffe from Outwood; the short linking line which eventually joined the Bolton line just after crossing the canal, at West Junction.

Near North Junction, there was a goods yard where lines of goods wagons, as well as various warehouses and stock sheds could once be seen.