Bamfurlong railway station

Bamfurlong
Remains of the station in 1962
General information
Location	Bamfurlong, Wigan England
Coordinates	53°30′34″N2°36′17″W / 53.509377°N 2.604660°W / 53.509377; -2.604660
Grid reference	SD600015
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	North Union Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 April 1878	Station opened
27 November 1950	Station closed completely

v t e North Union Railway
Legend
1834 – 1889
Lancaster & Preston Jn Rly to Lancaster Maxwell House ( closed 1844 ) Preston Preston Butler Street (ELR) Victoria Quay goods Preston Fishergate Hill (WLR) River Ribble West Lancashire Railway to Southport East Lancashire Railway to Liverpool Farrington (renamed Farington) Blackburn & Preston Rly to Blackburn Golden Hill (renamed Leyland) Euxton junction Lancashire Union Railway to Blackburn Euxton (NUR) Euxton (B&PR) Coppull Chorley Rawlinson Bridge Standish Lane (renamed Standish) Adlington White Bear Blackrod Red Rock Lancashire & Yorkshire Rly to Horwich and Horwich Works Lancashire & Yorkshire Rly to Hindley Boar's Head Liverpool and Bury Railway to Hindley Lancashire Union Railway to Hindley Lostock Junction Bolton Trinity Street Manchester, Bolton & Bury Rly to Salford Wigan Wigan Goods Springs branch Liverpool and Bury Railway to Liverpool Lancashire Union Railway to Hindley Ince Moss Junction London & North Western Rly to Manchester Lancashire Union Railway to St Helens Bamfurlong Liverpool, St Helens & South Lancs Rly to St Helens Central Liverpool, St Helens & South Lancs Rly to Lowton St Mary's Golborne LNWR Winwick cut-off (opened 1864) Preston Junction (renamed Lowton) Liverpool & Manchester Rly to Manchester Parkside (second) Liverpool & Manchester Rly to Liverpool Parkside (original) London & North Western Rly to Warrington
North Union Railway and predecessor: Bolton and Preston Railway Other lines (not all shown): Great Central Railway predecessors: Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and predecessors: Blackburn and Preston Railway East Lancashire Railway (1844–1859) West Lancashire Railway Manchester and Leeds Railway predecessors: Liverpool and Bury Railway Manchester, Bolton and Bury Railway London and North Western Railway and predecessors: Lancashire Union Railway Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway Liverpool and Manchester Railway

Bamfurlong railway station served the village of Bamfurlong part of Abram, to the south of Wigan.

The line before the station

The line was opened by the Wigan Branch Railway (WBR) in 1832 from Parkside to Wigan as a single track with passing places although the trackbed had been engineered for double track. ^[1] In 1834 the WBR became part of the North Union Railway (NUR) and they doubled the track in time for the opening of the line northwards to Preston in 1838. ^[2]

From 1 January 1846 the NUR was leased jointly by the Grand Junction Railway (GJR) and the Manchester and Leeds Railway (M&LR). Later in 1846 the leases passed, by amalgamation from the GJR to the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) and from the M&LR to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. ^{[3] [4]}

The station

The station opened on 1 April 1878. ^[5] It stood immediately south of Lily lane, which became the A58, as it bridged over the line in the village of Bamfurlong, 2 miles 47 chains (4.2 km) from Wigan North Western. ^{[lower-alpha 1] [6]} It was located in a cutting to the west of Bamfurlong Hall. ^[7] There were no facilities for goods traffic, the station was only provided for passenger and parcel traffic. ^[8]

The station building was on the east platform, to the south of the road overbridge which crossed the platforms, which extended under the bridge at the north. The building was a two-storey brick-built building accessed from Lily Lane with the booking hall at road level, steps went down to each platform, the west-side platform steps descending from a pedestrian bridge crossing the lines. There was a wooden shelter on each platform. The maps and photographs show a line to the west of the station, this was a mineral line connecting Cross Tetly's Bamfurlong and Mains Collieries. ^{[9] [10]} At the time of opening the station hosted four trains to and five from Wigan. ^[11]

The running lines through the station site were quadrupled in 1892 with "fast" lines being provided to the east of the station, these lines effectively by-passed the station. ^[12]

In 1922 thirteen northbound and twelve southbound services called at Bamfurlong on Mondays to Saturdays, most were local services. Northbound they mainly started from Warrington, with two starting from Crewe, two from Liverpool Lime Street and one from Hartford. All went to Wigan, three terminated at Preston and one at Carlisle. Southbound they mostly started from Wigan, the first train, the 0623, began at Preston. Destinations were mostly Warrington with two services running short journeys to Earlestown and one going onto Hartford. There were no Sunday services. ^[13]

Services under the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) remained much the same as previously, in 1939 there were 17 services in each direction on weekdays, mostly local trains between Warrington and Wigan with one service from Liverpool, one from Crewe and a few shortened services terminating at Newton-le-Willows, there were slightly less trains on Saturdays and six on Sundays. ^[14]

The station closed on 27 November 1950. ^[5]

After closure

Following the dismantling of Bamfurlong railway station, a platform remained for many years, increasingly overgrown. By 2015 the only remaining evidence was the track alignment.

Local passenger traffic ceased between Crewe and Preston via Earlestown on 6 October 1969. ^[15]

The lines through the station site were electrified as part of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) modernisation in 1974, this involved the bridge carrying Lily Lane to be rebuilt during the period 1970–1 to provide additional clearance. ^{[16] [17] [18]}

The lines through the station site are still open in 2020. ^[19]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Wigan		London and North Western Railway North Union Railway 1878 - 1889 Leased line		Golborne
Wigan		London and North Western Railway 1889 - 1923 NUR dissolved		Golborne
Wigan		London, Midland and Scottish Railway London and North Western Railway 1923 - 1924 Grouping		Golborne
Wigan North Western Station renamed Wigan North Western		London, Midland and Scottish Railway London and North Western Railway 1924 - 1948 Grouping		Golborne
Wigan North Western		London, Midland and Scottish Railway London and North Western Railway 1948 - 1949 Grouping		Golborne South Station renamed Golborne South
	Current situation
Wigan North Western Line and station open		Bamfurlong Line open, station closed in 1950		Golborne South Line open, station closed

References

Notes

1. Railways in the United Kingdom are, for historical reasons, measured in miles and chains. A chain is 22 yards (20 m) long, there are 80 chains to the mile.

Citations

1. Sweeney 2008, p. 11.
2. Sweeney 2008, p. 14.
3. Greville 1981, p. 11.
4. Casserley 1968, pp. 143–146.
5. Quick 2022, p. 65.
6. "Engineer's Line Reference CGJ5 Carlisle Grand Junction Line (WCML Crewe to Carlisle) including Bamfurlong station". Railway Codes. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
7. "Bamfurlong station on OS Six-inch map Lancashire CI.NE (includes: Ashton in Makerfield.)". National Library of Scotland. 1894. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
8. The Railway Clearing House 1970, p. 37.
9. Sweeney 2008, pp. 60–61.
10. Pixton 1999, p. 30.
11. "Bamfurlong station" . Wigan Observer and District Advertiser. 5 April 1878. p. 5. Retrieved 25 August 2020– via British Newspaper Archive.
12. Steel 1914, p. 448.
13. Bradshaw 1985, pp. 412–5.
14. LMS Railway 1939, table 61.
15. Hurst 1992, p. 60 (ref 2685).
16. Sweeney 2008, p. 63.
17. British Railways Board 1968, p. 83.
18. British Railways Board 1974.
19. Network Rail. "Table T051-F Scotland, The North East, North West England - The South West and South Coast" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 24 August 2020.

Sources

• Bradshaw, George (1985) [July 1922]. Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation guide for Great Britain and Ireland: A reprint of the July 1922 issue. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   978-0-7153-8708-5. OCLC   12500436.
• British Railways Board (1974). Electric All The Way (PDF). British Railways Board.
• British Railways Board (April 1968). Route Improvements Electrification: Weaver Junction to Glasgow (PDF) (Report). British Railways Board.
• Casserley, H. C. (1968). Britain's Joint Lines. London: Ian Allan. ISBN   0-7110-0024-7.
• Greville, M.D. (1981). Chronology of the Railways of Lancashire and Cheshire (Revised and Combined ed.). Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN   0 901461 30 X.
• Hurst, Geoffrey (1992). Register of Closed Railways: 1948-1991. Worksop, Nottinghamshire: Milepost Publications. ISBN   0-9477-9618-5.
• LMS Railway (1939). London Midland & Scottish Passenger Railway Timetable- July 3rd to September 24th, inclusive, 1939. London: LMS.
• Pixton, Bob (1999). Main Line Railways Around Wigan. Runpast Publishing. ISBN   978-1-870754-45-3.
• Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society.
• Steel, Wilfred L. (1914). The History of the London & North Western Railway. London: The Railway and Travel Monthly. ISBN   978-1-297-69913-9.
• Sweeney, Dennis (2008). The Wigan Branch Railway. Triangle Publishing. ISBN   978-0-9550030-35.
• The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. ISBN   0-7153-5120-6.

Further reading

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC   22311137.
• Smith, Paul; Turner, Keith (2012), Railway Atlas Then and Now, Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN   978-0-7110-3695-6

External links

• Bamfurlong station via Wigan World
• Bamfurlong station via Disused Stations UK
• Bamfurlong station on a 1948 OS Map via npe Maps