I have often wondered if the line from Central towards Hunts Cross was used to evacuate spoil from the contruction of the loop and associated works.
If not,the line was effectively moth-balled until the openning of the link in 1978.

Did all freight-traffic cease with the closure of Brunswick in 1971?I remember a siding(perhaps at Cressington)equipped for oil-tankers,still in situ when the newly electrified line to Garston openned in 1978.