Many from the area will perhaps think of the Old Tram Road as bridleway/cycle path/footpath that follows a route from Todd Lane North in Walton le Dale to the Old Tram Road Bridge over the River Ribble leading into Avenham Park. This is because this section is still intact today. However, the full route went from Walton Summit to a Canal Basin in Preston. Walton Summit was not the Industrial Estate that has taken the name in recent years, but the actual Walton Summit which was a high point (geographical feature) in the area. This is slightly further south than the modern day place that has adopted the name an would be now considered to be in Clayton Green. There is very little evidence of what was once at Walton Summit remaining today. The ‘mound’ still exists on the landscape, but is now just a recreational area that doesn’t appear to be much used.
Whilst it may not really resemble Tram Road of old, the route from Todd Lane North in Walton le Dale to the River Ribble is on the exact path of the original line and has not much changed in the last two and a quarter centuries. At the time of writing, it is not possible to use the route to get to Preston via Avenham Park as the Tram Road Bridge is currently being completely rebuilt. The last bridge had been closed since 2019 due to safety concerns, demolished in 2024 and a new construction is due to be completed in early 2026.
What is the Old Tram Road and why is it there?
The Tram Road dates back to the early nineteenth century and was constructed by the Lancaster Canal Company. They were in the process of creating a Canal from Tewitfield near Carnforth in Lancashire to the north connecting to Westhoughton in Lancashire (at the time). They completed a section to a place known as ‘Bark Hill’, where there was a colliery, which was in modern day Aspull (Wigan).
The company were low on funds when they came to crossing the River Ribble. The original plan was not to cross the river between south Preston and Walton le Dale, but further west towards Penwortham. As they had done in Lancaster, over the River Lune, they had planned to cross the Ribble using an aqueduct. Unfortunately, the company had spent a great deal of money on the River Lune crossing and didn’t have enough capital available construct the planned Ribble Aqueduct. This put the company in a difficult situation, as it prevented the smooth transit of goods from north to south (and vice versa), which was the ultimate purpose of the route. The company subsequently investigated alternatives and devised as solution that used a horse-drawn rail system, which was a precursor to the modern day railway.
To allow the construction of new infrastructure, an Act of Parliament was required. The original Lancaster Canal Act 1793 gave parliamentary consent to make and maintain a Navigable Canal from Kirkby Kendal, in the County of Westmorland, to West Houghton, in the County Palatine of Lancaster. It also allowed for various branches to be constructed. The later Lancaster Canal Act 1800, which had the long title of, “An Act for better enabling the Company of Proprietors of the Lancaster Canal Navigation to complete the same”, gave permission to make and maintain the Tram Road.
Five Hundred Yards in Length of Cast Iron Rails for a Waggon Way
The following is an advert from the local newspaper at the time, which was placed by Samuel Gregson who was the Lancaster Canal Company General Manager. It is a request to tender for the production of the rails for the Tram Road. At the time, they referred to The Tram Road as a ‘WAGGON WAY’. The quotations were to be sent to William Cartwright who was the Chief Engineer on the project. This would have been perhaps the first batch. It is for 500 yards of the rails, which were approximately a yard long each (3 feet). The entire route was approximately 5 miles long.
CAST IRON WANTED.
THE Lancaster Canal Committee hereby give Notice, That they are ready to receive Proposals, and to treat with any Person for supplying them with FIVE HUNDRED YARDS in LENGTH of CAST IRON RAILS for a WAGGON WAY, according to the Dimensions and Specifications which may be had by applying to Mr. Cartwright, at the Canal Office, in Lancaster ; and all Proposals for such Cast Iron Rails are to be sent to the Canal Office, in Lancaster, on or before the Hour of Twelve o’Clock at Noon, on the Second Day of January, 1801.
S. GREGSON.
The newspaper cutting comes from the ‘Advertisement and Notices’ of the Leeds Intelligencer (Volume: 48 , Issue: 2396) that was published on Monday 15th December 1800.
Publication:
https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=BNCN&u=lancs&id=GALE%7CGW3227050789&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-BNCN&asid=0df41318
When these rails were manufactured they would have been laid on top of a series of stone blocks. Like on modern railways, these were known as ‘sleepers’. However, they were not a long length set perpendicular to (across) the rails, like we see today, but separate blocks under each rail. The blocks were positioned where the rails joined.
These are a replica of a slightly later design used on a railway in Scotland. The ones of the Old Tram Road were very similar.
Gatehead – 12-09-2014
Replica rails from the original Kilmarnock & Troon Railway on the restored Laigh Milton viaduct, built in 1810 – 12, thought to be the oldest railway viaduct in the world. The photograph is courtesy of Gordon Thomson on Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/killie65/
There are many old sleepers visible in and around the Walton le Dale area. Originally there would have been at least 35,200 of these stone sleepers along the five mile stretch. That’s four sets of 8,800 sleepers laid at 1 yard intervals. Lots of them would have been used in other constructions and are now hidden. However, you can still seem them incorporated into other things in lots of nearby places. The tell tale sign are two holes that would have been used for fastening the metal rail to the stone sleeper.
The Last Haler
The last haler to work on the Walton Summit to Preston Basin Tramroad was a man named John Proctor who was recorded living in Preston in 1883. He walked the tramroad for thirty two years, making the return journey twice a day, a distance of twenty miles. It was once estimated that he had travelled 199,000 miles walking or riding during the course of his working life. In the early part of his career he must have done more walking than riding for he needed his clogs to be resoled at the end of every week.
A haler (sometimes spelled hauler in later contexts) was a person who hauled boats or wagons by physical effort, often using a rope and walking along a towpath or tramway. The term is related to the verb “to hale”, meaning to pull or drag — particularly used in nautical and transport contexts.
- The Oxford English Dictionary traces “hale” to Middle English halen (from Old French haler, ultimately from Germanic origins).
The Steep Inclines
Whilst the the Chief Engineer, William Cartwright, tried to keep the climb from the River Ribble (the lowest level on the route) to the basins linking to the two sections of the Lancaster Canal (North and South), without building expensive embankments or high level bridges and viaducts, it became impossible. This mean that the route had three very steep inclines that had to be navigated. This was too much for the horsed to contend with, so engines were used to bull the wagons up the steep sections.
Originally there were inclines at:
- Avenham on the Preston Side
- Carr Wood on the Walton le Dale side
- Walton Summit on the Walton le Dale side
Later, a slightly different route was taken for the Carr Wood incline, which can still be followed today. This allowed for a climb that was just about manageable by the horse-drawn vehicles. That removed the additional cost of running an engine at Carr Wood, and also saved the time of coupling and uncoupling from the chain pully system.
The Following image, from the Preston Digital Archive, shows the engine house at Avenham. At this stage it was disused and would be soon demolished to allow the creation of Avenham Park.
Part of the winding gear can be seen on the far left. This consisted of an endless chain wound round an upper and lower winding drum. The lower drum was built partway along the tram bridge and can be seen in this set. Power was supplied to the upper drum by a Boulton & Watt beam engine housed in the tall building in the centre. In operation it took nine minutes for one complete revolution of the chain. This was later reduced to six minutes. After three years of use, the chain had stretched by 1/6 and in 1826 broke causing a serious accident.
The engine house was demolished shortly after this photograph was taken. Much of the stonework of the building and engine beds was re used elsewhere in the park to build steps. When the Belvedere was removed from Miller Park to make way for the Earl of Derby’s statue, it was re-erected on the ground formerly occupied by the engine house. The text accompanying the photograph on the Preston Digital Archive Flickr Album (collection) suggests that the inclined plane on the right is where the horses would have been walked to re-join the waggons between levels. I think that is still very steep, and that horses could not manage it even without the load. Getting around the engine house seems a bit precarious both left and right, so I am thinking that the horses were walked on a shallower route. Also, things have changed a bit in front (to the south of) the engine house. Originally, there was a reservoir that store water for the steam engines. It is not apparent on the photograph, so had probably already been removed.
The Route is Gradually Destroyed Over Time
The following aerial photograph, from the Historic England Aerial Photo Explorer, shows a section of the former Tram Road in 1947. At that point, the route would still have been intact in many sections. The sleepers and rails would probably have all gone by then. The Old Tram Road runs on a diagonal line from the bottom of the photograph to the left. I can be seen coming from where the Walton Summit Industrial Estate is now and crossing Station Road in Bamber Bridge near to the former Wesley Street Mill. It then crosses the railway at Meanygate, followed by Brownedge Road. It is obvious by that point that sections of the route are being destroyed by buildings adjacent to the roads.
A Potted History of The Old Tram Road Bridge
The following is a chronological list of events related to the Lancaster Canal, the Tram Road and the Tram Road Bridge over the River Ribble.
1771 – Businessmen meet at Lancaster Town Hall and resolve to create the route for a ‘Lancaster Canal’
1791 – Twenty years later the Lancaster Canal Committee meet to initiate a further survey
1792 – Act of Parliament granted for the Lancaster Canal, based on a survey conducted by John Rennie – he also designed the Lune Aqueduct and was a famous Civil Engineer of the time
The main motivation is to transport Limestone south from Lonsdale and Coal north from Wigan – This gave it the later nickname of ‘the Black & White’
1797 – A section of the north end of the canal is operational between Tewitfield and Spittal Moss (Preston)
1798 – A section of the south end of the canal is operational between Bark Hill (north Wigan) and Knowley Wharf (Chorley) – better known a Botany Bay these days
1800 – Second act of Parliament granted to carry out work to join the north and south sections
1801 – Proposals for an aqueduct to cross the River Ribble are rejected in favour of a Tram Road
1802/1803 – The Tram Road and Tram Road Bridge are completed under the guidance of resident engineer William Cartwright – it is a fully wooden structure
1862 – The Tram Road Bridge ceases to be used. However the Tram Road is still used to take coal from the canal at Walton Summit into Bamber Bridge
1867 – Avenham Park created
1872 – The Tram Road Bridge and the section of the Tram Road to the Penwortham incline taken over by the Preston Corporation (latter day equivalent of the council) and incorporated into the park
1879 – Act of Parliament obtained to close the remainder of the Tram Road
Circa 1890s – Tram Road bridge rebuilt, but still using wood. There had been a number of repairs prior to that. One had been need after a chicken shack had floated down the rive in flood and taken out some of the bridge supports. The stone pilasters at the ends of the bridge were installed at this time.
1930s – Wooden bridge supports replaced by a concrete structure. The top sections of the bridge were still wooden, including the decking. The concrete design mimics the previous
1939-1946 – Wooden decking removed from the Tram Road Bridge in an attempt to hinder enemy advances in the event of a potential invasion. It was still possible to walk across the bridge at the time
1960s – The wooden decking was replaced by a concrete decking
1980s – Regular inspections identify multiple defects with frequent reports of debris caught in the bridge supports
2019 – In February the bridge closed to the public, following it being found to be unsafe after a detailed inspection carried out for Lancashire County Council.
2024 – In August the Old Tram Road Bridge was demolished to make way for a modern replacement
General View of Preston
‘General View of Preston’ is an oil-on-canvas painting by British artist Charles Edward Shaw, who lived from 1853 to 1908. This piece was gifted to The Harris (Harris Museum and Art Gallery) by G. Brown.
The view is from Walton le Dale. The artist is stood on the Old Tram Road. If you look closely at the bottom of the painting, there are still stone sleepers from the Old Tram Road set in the earth. The people depicted in the painting appear to be near to the top of The Carr Wood Incline. Considering the features apparent in the painting, it would have been painted based on how the scene looked in the early 1880s.
I estimate them to be within metres of this location.
Grid Reference: SD 54265 27252
Grid Reference (6 figure): SD542272
X (Easting), Y (Northing): 354265 , 427252
Latitude, Longitude (decimal): 53.739637 , -2.694862
Latitude, Longitude (degs, mins, secs): 53°44′23″N , 002°41′42″W
This what3words address ( ///less.often.goals ) refers to a 3 metre square location. Tap the link or enter the 3 words into the free what3words app to find it.
https://w3w.co/less.often.goals
Charles Edward Shaw was born in Micklehurst, Yorkshire, and lived at Hudson Street in Preston around the 1880s. He then moved to Wonersh in Surrey, later returning to Preston at Riverside in 1904.
The Park Hotel can be seen in the painting and that was built in 1882/1883. The hotel opened in 1883 and was operated jointly by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and London and North Western Railway.
The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (LYR) filled in most of the arches of the Penwortham viaduct in 1883. That means that the painting must have been done in 1882, or 1883, before the arches were filled in. That, all of course, based on the assumption that there was nor artistic licence at play.
There was another comment from a member of Facebook group that said, “I have a lithograph print of this picture, according to the legend at the bottom of the print it was published in August 1882, so I assume the actual painting was made (well) before that date.”
That being the case, I don’t think that it could have been too much earlier, based on the presence of the Park Hotel. However, it could narrow it down to the first half of 1882.