Whelley railway station

Whelley
General information
Location	Whelley, Wigan England
Coordinates	53°33′17″N2°36′49″W / 53.5547°N 2.6137°W / 53.5547; -2.6137 Coordinates: 53°33′17″N2°36′49″W / 53.5547°N 2.6137°W / 53.5547; -2.6137
Grid reference	SD594066
Platforms	2 [1]
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Lancashire Union Railway, "Whelley Loop"
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 January 1872	Station opened
1 March 1872	Station closed to passengers [2]
c1970	Station closed completely

Lines around Wigan in 1907

Whelley railway station was in Whelley, Wigan (now in Greater Manchester, England) on the Whelley Loop section of the Lancashire Union Railway. The station was situated where the B5238 bridged the line.

History

The two stations on the Whelley Loop - Whelley and Amberswood - are believed to be among the shortest lived passenger stations in the country, opening at the beginning of 1872 and closing in March of the same year. Their goods yards remained open until the Whelley loop closed in the 1970s. ^[3]

Services

The key purpose of the Whelley Loop was to enable trains to avoid Wigan. It is therefore surprising that passenger stations were even constructed on the loop. All lines to or through Wigan were radial, as the accompanying map shows. The loop was connected to every one of them, allowing trains arriving at Wigan from all points except Southport and Pemberton to leave Wigan to all points, without gridlocking the centre.

The dominant traffic was goods, especially coal, but passenger diversions used the line from time to time.

The loop came into its own in passenger terms with Summer seaside specials, notably to and from Blackpool. Pixton, for example, has a fine 1961 shot of a Summer Saturday Sheffield to Blackpool train at Lowton St Mary's. It would bear right at Hindley South onto the Whelley Loop and then join the WCML at Standish, bypassing Wigan altogether. ^{[4] [5]}

There is a now school called Canon Sharples C.E Primary School next to the loop line. ^[6]

The station in the 21st Century

The station has been demolished. The trackbed is a public footpath.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Red Rock Line and station closed		London and North Western Railway Lancashire Union Railway		Amberswood (Hindley) Line and station closed
Standish Line and station closed				Hindley Line closed, station open

References

1. Suggitt 2004, p. 64.
2. Butt 1995, p. xxx.
3. Whelley Station, Disused Stations, retrieved 7 January 2011
4. Pixton 1996 , p. 119
5. Trains over unusual routes 1964 via psul
6. The school via its website

Sources

• 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.
• Pixton, Bob (1996), The Archive Photographs Series Widnes and St Helens Railways, The Chalford Publishing Company, ISBN   978-0-7524-0751-7
• Suggitt, Gordon (2004). Lost Railways of Merseyside and Greater Manchester. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN   978-1-85306-869-0.

External links

• The station site on a 1948 OS map via npe maps
• Line and mileages via Railwaycodes
• The station via Disused Stations UK