Whelley railway station

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.

Whelley
LocationWhelley, Wigan
England
Coordinates53.5547°N 2.6137°W / 53.5547; -2.6137
Grid referenceSD594066
Platforms2[1]
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyLancashire Union Railway, "Whelley Loop"
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 January 1872Station opened
1 March 1872Station closed to passengers[2]
c1970Station closed completely
Lines around Wigan in 1907

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. (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.
  • 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.


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