Wigan Central railway station

v t e GCR lines to St Helens and Wigan
Legend
Wigan Central Wigan Darlington Street Springs Branch Manchester–Southport line Ince Lower Ince Wigan avoiding line to Pemberton Hindley to Springs Branch Junction Manchester–Southport line Lancashire Union Railway Lancashire Union Railway "The Whelley Loop" Strangeways West Junction Hindley South Strangeways East Junction Platt Bridge Manchester and Wigan Railway St Helens Central (GCR) St Helens Central Liverpool–Wigan line Haydock Haydock Colliery Tunnel Bickershaw and Abram Ashton-in-Makerfield Haydock Park Park Lane Halt Golborne South West Coast Main Line Golborne North West Leigh and Bedford Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway Wigan Junction Railways Lowton St Mary's Junction Lowton St Mary's Chat Moss line Kenyon Junction Culcheth Newchurch Halt Liverpool–Manchester lines Glazebrook

Wigan Central railway station was a railway station near the centre of Wigan, Lancashire, England.

Location and construction

Wigan Central station was on Station Road, some way from the two main stations (North Western and Wallgate) which are on the western edge of the town centre.^[4]

Wigan Central was the eventual terminus of the Wigan Junction Railways from Glazebrook West Junction.^[5][6] It was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (later to become the Great Central) and opened on 3 October 1892, when it replaced the temporary Wigan Darlington Street terminus, which had opened on 1 April 1884. Central was about 1⁄3 mile (540 m) nearer the town centre than Darlington Street.

Operations

According to Beeching's Reshaping of British Railways (see Appendix Passenger Line Usage Map) the line was more heavily used than many which did not close, however, as with many unmodernised and heavily used commuter lines it was deemed uneconomic. The line's main passenger traffic was workers travelling from the Wigan area to industrial plants in Cadishead and Partington and around the docks in Salford and Manchester; until the late 1970s the Lancashire United bus company operated a replacement bus service from Wigan to Partington.

Steam remained the dominant motive power to the end of services,^[7] though some DMUs made an appearance.^[8][9]

Services

The service patterns in 1895, 1947 and 1962 are fully documented in the authoritative Disused Stations website.^[10]

In April 1884 the service pattern to Wigan (Darlington Street temporary terminus) was straightforward. Seven "Down" trains arrived from Manchester Central, one "express" called at Glazebrook only and three called at all stations. The remaining three missed some stations between Manchester and Glazebrook. With the exception of the "express", all trains called at all stations between Glazebrook and Wigan. The "Up" service was similar.^[11]

In 1922 six "Down" trains arrived, All Stations from Manchester Central on "Weekdays" (Mondays to Saturdays), with a further evening train from Lowton St Mary's only. Three other trains arrived, apparently All Stations from Culcheth, but it is possible they originated at Liverpool Central and turned west to north at Dam Lane Junction.^[12] One of these trains ran on Fridays and Saturdays only and the other two ran on Saturdays only. The "Up" service was broadly similar, but the mix of Saturday-only trains was even more complicated. There was no Sunday service.^[13]

Closure and after

The station closed to passengers on 2 November 1964 and closed to all traffic the following April. It was demolished in 1973.^[14][15] The Grand Arcade shopping centre was built between 2006 and 2008 on the station site, of which no trace remains.^[16]

See also

• List of closed railway stations in Britain
• Wigan North Western railway station
• Wigan Wallgate railway station
• Liverpool, St Helens & South Lancashire Railway
• Old railway lines in Wigan

References

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.
• 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.
• Cooke, B.W.C. (December 1964). Cooke, B.W.C. (ed.). "Panorama". The Railway Magazine. 110 (764). London: Tothill Press Ltd. ISSN 0033-8923.
• Dow, George (1962). Great Central, Volume Two Dominion of Watkin 1864-1899. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-1469-5. OCLC 655324061.
• Fields, N; Gilbert, A C; Knight, N R (1980), Liverpool to Manchester into the Second Century, Manchester Transport Museum Society, ISBN 978-0-900857-19-5
• James, David (2004), Lancashire's Lost Railways, Stenlake Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84033-288-9
• Pixton, Bob (2007). Liverpool Manchester 2:Cheshire Lines. Southampton: Kestrel Railway Books. ISBN 978-1-905505-03-6.
• Shannon, Paul; Hillmer, John (2003). British Railways Past and Present, Manchester and South Lancashire No 41. Kettering: Past & Present Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85895-197-3.
• Smith, Paul; Turner, Keith (2012), Railway Atlas Then and Now, Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7110-3695-6
• Sweeney, Dennis (2013). The Wigan Junction Railways. Leigh: Triangle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9550030-5-9.

External links

• "The station's history". Disused Stations UK.
• "The station on a 1948 OS Map". npe maps.
• "The station on an 1888-1913 OS map with overlays". National Library of Scotland.
• "Station and line overlain on many maps". Rail Map Online.
• "The line and mileages". Railway Codes.