Photo-a-Day  (Monday, 10th April, 2017)

Oh dear. Many years ago I got an open lorry loaded with old furniture stuck under that bridge. Had to let the tyres down to get it out.

But I suspect the damage has been done Alan. The signs are clear to see.
The HGVs should be taken off our roads and put on railways.

The bridge was built in the horse and cart days, opened in 1855 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway co.
Who would have thought transport would get bigger and bigger every year, and carry more weight.
We really do need to get heavy freight back on our railways.
Passenger travel is on the increase which is good news for our road systems.

Alan, yours has got to be one of the funnier comments on this site for a while.
I assume a traffic jam ensued.

So I take it Alan that you now do detours to avoid this quaint bridge???you wouldn't want to be reminded of what went on there!!

Photo would have been better with a train going over and a car going under :)

Someone once told me that they used to drive a Mini though the pedestrian archway at the side.

That is a very interesting perspective,
Great shot Mick.

Howard if we took HGV's off the road how would we transport the goods to or from the railway station ?

Good Point Allan. This is easy explained. The railway infrastructure has been damage by closing the shunting/goods yards that most stations had. They need to be rebuilt but on a modern scale. Obviously goods have to be transported by vehicles from the station goods yards, but the goods yards are on the door step near it's destination. This with cut road deaths and help stop pollution from diesel exhaust emissions and save the environment. A cleaner safer Britain. I suspect not everybody to agree but it's a step forward.

Yes Dave Oy, your right this would bring the photo to life and also explain that it's a railway line on top of the bridge. If we didn't know Wigan it could be a road going over the bridge.

That would be great if possible but I think you will find that all the land that used to be the mashaling yards has been sold off and built on.

Its only a snap Dave its not trying to win any competitions and I didnt have time to wait around for the ideal moment because I had Gathurst hill to climb up on my bike.

OY, I know a man that as driven his mini through that small walkway a few times lol, (he worked at reeds)

alan, why didn't you just saw the legs off the furniture?.....Sorry mate, but I'm currently halfway through number four of my five a day.

You see Ozy, four or five bottles of Aldi Plonk and you have already stopped worrying about your health and you are now turning your mind to solving these complex problems from a different angle.
Bottoms up.

When this bridge was built in the 1850s no one was concerned about pedestrians needing their own arch to avoid sharing the main archway with the rush of horses and carts through Gathurst! The arch to the right was actually built to accommodate the existing tramway from collieries at Orrell which took coal to the wharf on the Douglas, for onward transport by barge, mainly to Liverpool.

Used to be a sweet shop next to or where white building is. One day there was wet horse muck or something under the bridge.
Whether or not this was the cause but a biker came off his bike and was dragged fifty yards up the road, ......on his backside!l. There was nothing left of the seat of his jeans and the burns on backside still make me cringe.
Poor sod!, So felt for the guy , bet he couldn't sit down proper for weeks. Was there once a stables behind where the white building is, anyone know? Have a vague memory of horses but a lot of the time there was muck under the bridge . Not sure, maybe fell off a farm vehicle . Childhood memories .. Sweet shop was old type with big jars. We stocked up before going to the wood. Spent so much of my childhood in dentists thanks to beloved sweet shops like this .. Thanks for the great picture Mick , brought back many memories for me . Doesn't time move quick? You sit down for a moment to breathe in the air , then when you get up , suddenly you are old ...

That story sounds like something from a Norman Wisdom film "A Stitch in Time" with Mr Grimsdale and Norman bandaged up with only his eyes showing. Hopefully time has healed the wounds Brian!

Hi Brian B, my mum , remembers that , she was in area seeing a sick aunt, she told us about it. That poor boy. Do you know
what happened after?

Brian G the was owned Mrs Duckworth there has been a lot of accidents there, once a lorry crashed into the white wall were a lad was sat drinking his pop and he was killed.
Another lad came down the hill on his push bike but on the wrong side of the road and he hit a car and was killed.
The pedestrian tunnel was partly bricked up during the war and was used as an air raid shelter

Mick, Thanks for your I'm from Wigan Me link on General. I didn't know about that one. Also your vids I always enjoy watching.

Thanks Mick. I mean think of it bikers, from
Orrell and Shevvy, tanked up , we all did it, let's be honest, hitting this bend? Cars, weather, you would think ..".