The water is muddied still further by Butt's bare statement that Flow Moss Cottage was simply renamed "Astley" implying no change of location.
[6] It can readily be seen that the meeting point had evolved by 1888 to a roadway or track running adjacent to the south side of the Liverpool and Manchester line eastwards to Astley station.
[8] This tramway was part of an early scheme to bring in first Marl, then later manure and human excrement to "improve" the Moss.
Later schemes greatly expanded this enterprise,[9][10] which had the intended effect of turning land from unproductive to very fertile.
These can be clearly seen on the 1888 map overlay, running northeast and southeast from sidings immediately east of Glazebury station, with the British Moss Litter Works being prominent.