We need your help by supporting us with match funding contributions towards a £2 million pound grant application to help completely renovate the roof, and internal timber structure of an original East Lancashire Railway building built in 1856, this building is grade two listed.

This building acts as the main engineering works for our railway, with facilities such as lifting jacks, wheel turning lathe, heavy industrial machinery required for repair and renovation of all our railway vehicles. The roof structure has obviously deteriorated over the many years and it now requires extensive repair to keep the building serviceable for many years to come.

The ELR over recent years has been investing heavily into trying to keep the building wind and water tight, but we are struggling financially to meet the requirement needed year after year with our current repair program. Hence why we have sought to obtain grant funding through the Community Ownership Fund.

A bit about the history of the building.

When built in 1856 by the original East Lancashire Railway the building served as the railway company’s main engineering workshop where the ELR locomotives were repaired, the ELR was taken over by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1859, the first locomotive was built in this works in 1862 and a further 15 built between 1862 and 1877. Locomotive building and repair was transferred to Horwich L&Y works near Bolton around the same time. The building was then used as a carriage repair shed from 1889 to 1916.

In 1916 it became the maintenance facility for 1200v DC third rail trains that operated between Bury and Manchester Victoria, and continued all the way through until 1991 when the Bury – Manchester railway closed to standard train operation for conversion to Metrolink the building became redundant, it was used for a short while by Metrolink for commissioning the new trams. In 1993 after the current ELR obtained a grade 2 listing, it was leased to the ELR from Bury Council for our use.