FORTY-SEVEN years after its closure the northern line from Bury's Bolton Street Station has been partly restored by East Lancs Railway engineers.

It was full steam ahead for the ELR on Saturday when the back platform at the station was used for the first time since 1952 for trains heading north.

When a steam train left for Rawtenstall from Platform Four it provided another important landmark for rail enthusiasts.

The restoration is part of a £1.2 million project for the long-awaited Bury-Heywood link which will provide a gateway to the rest of the country via the national rail network.

The grant, received last year, included a major contribution from the Pilsworth Environmental Company.

Mr Trevor Jones, ELR chairman, said: "The project will transform the station into its former glory days during the 1940s and we will have all four platforms operational."

The "Heywood Link 2000" project is the largest voluntary scheme in the country.

It involves retracking and resignalling the entire network as well as setting down new points. The four-mile line will be completed towards the end of the year 2000, expanding the popular eight-mile Rawtenstall-Bury line.

Mr Jones said: "The people of Bury are going to see some very dramatic changes as the transformation of the station takes place. It is important to us that the public are kept up to date with progress and how the money is being spent."

He added: "The station when completed will be a real asset to Bury and its people."

Before engineers could concentrate on restoration plans for the station they had to work through the night on Friday, April 9, to answer an SOS call from a rail company in North Wales.

They repaired and prepared one of their own locomotives in time for it to pull the Conway Climber on a tourist trip around the North Wales Coast after the Welsh steam train had broken down.

Mr Jones said: "It was a very busy weekend. The engineers had only 12 hours' notice to prepare the locomotive for the Welsh tour as well as start the new restoration scheme."

He added: "Things were certainly hectic, but we managed it, and that is a credit to the hard work of the engineers who made it possible. We saved the day, and we were able to ensure the first stage of the restoration project got under way."

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