TOWARDS COLNE

As we head out of Burnley, we pass the Burnley & Pendle bus depot and it would be rude not to call in, especially as there's an old Leyland Tiger, surviving as a driver trainer.

 Inside, a Leyland Leopard/Duple coach, along with an ex Tayside Bristol VR.

Following the former L&YR line, we come to Brierfield station, here in pre-grouping days.

Ben Brooksbank took this photo in 1962.

Stagecoach buses once served Brierfield. Behind the bus is......

.......the Waggon & Horses, once a cracking boozer, but now closed.

The Wigglesworth is also a pub of the past now.

Brierfield doesn't seem worth stopping at now, so let's move on to Nelson, once served by this warehouse on the Leeds & LiverpoolCanal.

To Manchester Road in Nelson town centre, once served by trams.

Here's another period view of Nelson town centre.

Nelson station area was once controlled by this fine ex L&YR signal box.

Another pair of trams pass on Leeds Road.

Colne once had its own trams. Car 2 is seen at Reedyford terminus outside Nelson.

Our next stop is Barrowford. This is Gisburn Road, with yet another tram.

The Nelson Corn Mills were situated in Barrowford.

The White Bear and the Park Bridge in Barrowford.

At last! A pub that's still open! The next post will see us in Colne itself.

A CLOSE LOOK AT BURNLEY

 Let's start with Burnley Central railway (NOT 'train') station. Here it is in September 1962, photographed by Ben Brooksbank.

Moving forward to 1982, several items of infrastructure are still in place.

By 2011, there's just a single line, served by the Colne service.

There's one more station, Burnley Barracks, still open today. It's seen here in 1962, again photographed by Ben Brooksbank.

As we saw in the last post, Burnley once had trams. Here are some in the middle of town.

It's 1926 and a single-deck tram passes under the Leeds & Liverpool Canal via the new aqueduct.

Burnley, Colne & Nelson, as the local municipal bus operator was known (normally abbreviated to 'BCN'), was one of the last operators to regularly use half-cab single-deck buses.

BCN also had some more modern Leyland vehicles, such as this Tiger Cub.

BCN, after 1974, became Burnley & Pende and a new livery was adopted.

However, the old tram colours were applied to bus No. 158.

The standard colours of Burnley & Pendle changed as time wore on.

But no-one expected Burnley & Pendle to buy Routemasters!

It's a long story, but Burnley & Pendle fell into the hands of the Blazefield Group and is now part of Transdev.

Ribble Motor Services was the other major operator in Burnley.

Two other council-owned bus companies ran into Burnley's bus station, West Yorkshire PTE and Rossendale Transport.

Over recent years, since deregulation, various independents have run services into Burnley. Most have now vanished. Here are examples from (top to bottom) Northern Blue, Pennine of Gargrave, Tyrer Bus, M&M Coaches, and Border Buses.

So much for the transport, it's now time for the pubs. Sadly, the Wheatsheaf is no longer a Moorhouse's establishment and seems to be shut.

Thankfully, the Coal Clough is well and truly in buisiness and has a rare beer. More info on Whatpub.

The Ministry of Ale, with its internal brewery, would appear to be a recent casualty.

I've left the best until last, the Bridge Bier Huis, a wonderful free house. Learn more here.

That's it for now. The next post will see us leaving town and heading up the valley.

A ROUNDABOUT ROUTE TO BURNLEY TOWN CENTRE

As we arrive in Burnley, we find Manchester Road station, which closed in 1961. Ben Brooksbank took this photo a year later.

Re-opening came in 1986 and it's now quite a smart station. (Photo from Wikipedia - Creative Commons License).

The Leeds & Liverpool Canal is close by.

Before we head into the town centre, we'll take a little wander around the western suburbs, starting at Rose Grove station.

The railway here was owned by the L&YR, who had a shed at Rose Grove. Ex L&Y 12278, owned by the LMS, is seen here.

52095 doesn't look quite as smart, circa 1959.

Not far from Rose Grove station is Moorhouse's Brewery.

Let's take a look inside, during 2009, while the brewing equipment was being renewed. Here's the old kit.....

......and the new.

The brewery tap was nearby, called the General Scarlett (a local hero who led the Charge of the Heavy Brigade). I don't know why, but it has since closed as a pub.

The nearby Grey Mare, owned by Hyde's Brewery, is also now shut.

Buses run frequently along this road, fortunately.

Not far away is the western portal of Gannow Tunnel on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

A mile or so to the north is Padiham, once on the L&YR.

No trains to Padiham these days, but Burnley & Pendle Buses were frequent visitors. Here's Bristol VR/East Lancs No. 154 at Padiham terminus in 1978.

We approach Burnley, naturally enough, along Padiham Road, once served by trams.

So, we arrive in Burnley town centre by tram, outside a Thwaite's house, the Boot Inn.

I'm pleased to say that the Boot Inn is still in business, now as a Wetherspoon's house.

That seems a good place to take a rest. The next post will see us having a tour of central Burnley. Meanwhile, follow the travels here.