Longton Bridge railway station

Longton Bridge
General information
Location	South Ribble England
Coordinates	53°43′17″N2°47′25″W / 53.7214°N 2.7903°W / 53.7214; -2.7903 Coordinates: 53°43′17″N2°47′25″W / 53.7214°N 2.7903°W / 53.7214; -2.7903
Grid reference	SD479252
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	West Lancashire Railway
Pre-grouping	Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
18 May 1882	Opened as Longton
1 January 1892	Renamed to Longton Bridge
7 September 1964	Closed

Longton Bridge was a railway station on the West Lancashire Railway in England. It served the village of Longton.

History

The station opened as Longton on 18 May 1882 as the temporary terminus of the West Lancashire Railway when it opened the section of line from Hesketh Bank. ^{[1] [2]}

The station became a through station when the section of line to Preston Fishergate Hill opened on 16 September 1882. It was renamed to Longton Bridge on 1 January 1892. ^[1]

The station was located on an embankment at the southern edge of Longton to the east of the road running south (now Liverpool Road). ^[3] The line was double track and platforms were provided on both sides. The main station building, "built in the company's typical red brick style" was to the north of the running lines, there was a signal box at the end of the Preston bound platform. ^[4] There was a small goods yard to the north and east of the station able to accommodate most types of goods including live stock, it was equipped with single line shed and a one-ton crane. ^{[3] [5]}

Early services

Upon opening a service of nine trains in each direction was advertised for each weekday, an additional train on Saturdays for the market and four trains each way on Sundays. ^[6]

Takeover

The railway company had financial difficulties which led to it being absorbed by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) on 1 July 1897. ^[7] The L&YR amalgamated with the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) on 1 January 1922 just one year before being grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) on 1 January 1923. ^[8]

Later services

In 1922 the L&NWR service had increased to 18 trains stopping here from Southport Chapel Street mainly going to Preston, otherwise one went to Todmorden and one to Accrington. There were an extra three trains on Saturdays and the Accrington train carried on to Colne. The services in the other direction were similar, there were five services each way on Sundays. ^[9]

By 1939 the LMS service was 22 trains each way on weekdays (all to or from Preston, except one to Todmorden, one to Accrington (except on Saturdays) and one to East Lancashire) with three additional services on Saturdays, there were 9 trains each way on Sundays. ^[10]

By January 1962, the London Midland Region of British Railways were operating 11 trains each way, with three to six additional services on Saturdays. There were no trains on Sundays. ^[11]

Closure

The station closed to passengers and goods on 7 September 1964 a casualty of the programme of closures advocated by the Beeching Report. ^{[1] [12] [13]}

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Hoole Line and station closed		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway West Lancashire Railway		New Longton and Hutton Line and station closed

References

Citations

1. Quick 2022, p. 295.
2. Grant 2017, p. 599.
3. "Longton Bridge Station on OS Six-inch map Lancashire LXVIII.NE (includes: Hutton; Longton.)". National Library of Scotland. 1894. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
4. Biddle 1989, Photo 100.
5. The Railway Clearing House 1970, p. 346.
6. "West Lancashire Railway: Opening of Longton Section" . Preston Herald. 24 May 1882. p. 2. Retrieved 21 September 2020– via British Newspaper Archive.
7. Marshall 1969, p. 170.
8. Grant 2017, pp. 301, 331 & 337.
9. Bradshaw 1985, p. 564.
10. LMS Railway 1939, table 188.
11. BR:LM Region 1962, table 149.
12. Hurst 1992, p. 29 (refs 1398 & 1399).
13. Beeching 1963, p. 116.

Bibliography

• Biddle, G. (1989). The Railways Around Preston - A Historical Review. Scenes from the past. Vol. 6. Foxline. ISBN   1-870119-05-3.
• Beeching, Richard (1963). "The Reshaping of British Railways" (PDF). HMSO.
• BR:LM Region (1962). "British Railways:London Midland Region Passenger Services Timetable - 10 September 1962 to 16 June 1963". Timetableworld. British Transport Commission. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
• 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.
• Grant, Donald J. (2017). Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain (1st ed.). Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd. ISBN   978-1-78803-768-6.
• 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.
• Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. Vol. 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   978-0-7153-4352-4.
• Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society.
• 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

• Cotterall, J.E. (1982). The West Lancashire Railway. The Oakwood Press. ISBN   0-85361-288-9.

External links

• "Longton Bridge". Disused Stations. Retrieved 23 September 2020.