| The Muck Hole was a slang term used by train spotters at Crewe in the 1950's and 1960's, when referring to the avoiding lines which burrowed underneath Crew North Junction, providing freight trains to/from the North and the the Manchester lines a direct route to Crewe South Goods yards, bypassing Crewe station. The tunnel mouths were clearly visible from the western end of the metal footbridge at the north end of the platforms. There was a further freight avoiding line from the Chester direction, which swung round the North shed and passed beside the main station, eventually linking with the two tunnel lines. The tunnels and avoiding lines are still in use today, but carry rather less freight than they did half a century ago. | ||||
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Diagram of routes through Crewe |
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The west end of the footbridge was the ideal location for viewing all of
the passenger and freight activity at the north end of the station. It
was also a route to the adjacent Crew North shed, and many illegal
visits to 5A commenced with a walk from the footbridge. However the
Railway police frequently removed trainspotters away from the
footbridge, only to find that a while later that they had
all returned. A wide range of Freight Locomotives were to be seen, including Classes WD 2-8-0, 8F 2-8-0, Bowen Cooke 0-8-0, (Duck 8), Hughes 5MT 2-6-0 (Crab), Stanier 5MT 2-6-0, Midland 4F 0-6-0 (Duck 6), Stanier 5MT 4-6-0 (Black 5), and also the occasional Jubilee or Patriot 4-6-0 on fitted freights. |
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