| Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | closed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | North West England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway, was formed in 1889, but no services ran until 1895 and then only freight. Passenger services did not start until 1900. It incorporated the St Helens and Wigan Junction Railway. [1] It was taken over by the Great Central Railway in 1906. [2]
| St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1885 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Citation | 48 & 49 Vict. c. cxxi |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1886 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Citation | 50 Vict. c. xxxiii |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1889 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Citation | 52 & 53 Vict. c. xci |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Liverpool, St. Helens and South Lancashire Railway Act 1891 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to extend the time for the compulsory purchase of lands for certain railways authorised by the St Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1885 and the St Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1886 and to provide for the issue of preference or guaranteed shares or stock and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 54 & 55 Vict. c. cxv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 July 1891 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The railway was incorporated by the St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. cxxi) and the St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1886 (50 Vict. c. xxxiii) to enable the construction of a line from St Helens to Lowton (eight miles) and St Helens to Liverpool (ten miles). The lines had share capital of £210,000 and £340,000 respectively. The first sod was cut on 25 January 1888 by the Earl of Derby on the site of what became St Helens Central railway station (Great Central Railway). In July 1889, the St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. xci) extended the completion time until July 1893. The opening ceremony took place on 2 January 1900. [3]
The original intention was to connect to the Cheshire Lines Committee North Liverpool Extension Line at Fazakerley junction, to form a route to Huskisson Dock and Southport, but nothing ever came of the scheme west of St Helens.
Henry Seton-Karr was chairman of the railway at its opening. [4]
The line ran from St Helens Central (GCR) railway station to Lowton St Mary's. [5]
The line closed to passengers in 1952. It was reduced in stages as freight traffic ebbed and flowed. The key milestones were:
In 2015 very occasional trains still served the Hanson plant.
On 7 March 2015 an enthusiasts' excursion titled "Sabrina's Tea Train" traversed the line. [6]
A quarter-mile headshunt which ends at bufferstops approx 50 yards east of Bridge 13 over Edge Green Lane is the sole remaining section of the original route in use.
After purchasing the land surrounding the line at Edge Green in 2011, PF Jones Ltd worked with Hansons to restore the Kelbit line off the Haydock Branch Curve. The Kelbit line was reopened in 2018 and is used by Heidelberg (formerly Hanson) to transfer raw materials from Shap Quarry, Cumbria to distribute across the north west.
Between and Golborne and Glazebrook High Speed 2 proposed use of an alignment similar to the disused line in Phase 2b. [7] This "Golborne Link" was removed from HS2 plans before the northern leg was abandoned by the Conservative government in 2023.
Newton-le-Willows is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the 2021 census was 24,642. Newton-le-Willows is on the eastern edge of St Helens, south of Wigan and north of Warrington, equidistant to Liverpool and Manchester.
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward.
Wigan North Western railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
Newton-le-Willows railway station is a railway station in the town of Newton-le-Willows, in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, and at the edge of the Merseytravel region. The station is branded Merseyrail. The station is situated on the northern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Line, the former Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened in 1830. It is a busy feeder station for nearby towns which no longer have railway stations, such as Golborne, Billinge and Haydock. There is also a complimentary bus shuttle service to Haydock Park Racecourse on certain racedays.
Golborne is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies 5 miles (8.0 km) south-southeast of Wigan, 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Warrington and 14 miles (22.5 km) to the west of the city of Manchester. Along with the neighbouring village of Lowton, it recorded a population of 24,041.
Lowton is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is around 2 miles (3 km) from Leigh, 7 miles (11 km) south of Wigan and 12 miles (19 km) west of Manchester city centre. The settlement lies across the A580 East Lancashire Road.
Ashton-in-Makerfield railway station was a railway station serving the town of Ashton-in-Makerfield, although it was located in the neighbouring village of Haydock, formerly in Lancashire, England.
The Wigan Junction Railways connected Glazebrook West Junction with the Lancashire Coalfields at Wigan.
The railway system in Wigan started development in the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution. The first railway built in the town was the Wigan Branch Railway which was opened on 3 September 1832 to serve the many collieries in the area; this was a branch line of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the first inter-city railway. By the turn of the 20th century, Wigan had numerous railway stations widely available across the borough, used by both freight and passengers. Many of the lines were originally built for freight which were later converted, as the owners saw the profitability of allowing passengers, to carry passenger trains.
Culcheth railway station served the village of Culcheth, Lancashire, England. It was west of the bridge where Wigshaw Lane crossed the railway.
St Helens Central (GCR) railway station served the town of St Helens, England with passenger traffic between 1900 and 1952 and goods traffic until 1965. It was the terminus of a branch line from Lowton St Mary's.
Haydock railway station served the village of Haydock, formerly in Lancashire, now in Merseyside, England.
Haydock Park railway station was a railway station adjacent to Haydock Park Racecourse, formerly in Lancashire and now in Merseyside, England. The station's sole purpose was to handle race day traffic. It did not feature in public timetables and normal service trains passed through the station without stopping.
Golborne North railway station served the town of Golborne, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
Golborne South railway station was one of two stations serving the town of Golborne, to the south of Wigan.
Lowton St Mary's railway station served the scattered community of Lowton, then in Lancashire, now in Greater Manchester, England. It was situated immediately south of the A572 bridge over the tracks.
Bickershaw and Abram railway station served the communities of Bickershaw and Abram southeast of Wigan, England.
Lowton railway station served the village named Town of Lowton to the east of Newton-le-Willows and south of Golborne.
The Wigan Branch Railway was a short-lived early British railway company, formed in 1830 and operating from 1832 to 1834 in Lancashire. It was constructed to link Wigan and the surrounding coalfield to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR). It was involved in the first parliamentary approved amalgamation of railways to become part of the North Union Railway. Most of the line eventually became part of the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
