Haydock Railway Station
The station was on the Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway line from Lowton St Mary's to the original St Helens Central railway station where it was crossed by what is now the A599 in the centre of the village.
East of the station was the 99 yards (91 m) Haydock Colliery Tunnel, the only tunnel on the line. It was built at the railway's expense using the 'cut and cover' method. Its sole purpose was to burrow beneath Haydock Colliery's tracks.
History
Opened by the Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway, as part of the Great Central Railway, it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line and station passed to the Eastern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, being transferred to the London Midland Region later that year.
The line through the station was originally double track and the station had two platforms. In the 1930s the down (St Helens-bound) track was changed into a long siding and all trains to and from St Helens used the up line. The station's down side shelter and signs were removed.
Services
In 1922 five "down" (towards St Helens) trains called at the station, Mondays to Saturdays. These called at all stations from Manchester Central to St Helens via Glazebrook and Culcheth. The "up" service was similar.
By 1948 four trains plied between St Helens Central and Manchester Central, calling at all stations, Monday to Friday, reduced to three on Saturdays.
A fuller selection of public and working timetables has now been published. Among other things this suggests that Sunday services ran until 1914, but had ceased by 1922 never to return.
Closure
The station was closed to passenger traffic by the British Railways Board in 1952, though goods traffic through to St Helens lingered on until 1965, when the tracks west of Ashton-in-Makerfield were abandoned. A short stretch from Ashton through the Haydock station site to a new Shell distribution depot was reinstated in 1968. This ceased being rail-served in 1983, whereafter the line was cut back to Lowton Metals' scrapyard at Ashton. Tracks were eventually lifted.
The site today
By 2003 modern housing had obliterated the station site.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Ashton-in-Makerfield Line and station closed |
Great Central Railway Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway |
St Helens Central (GCR) Line and station closed |
References
- ^ Dow 1965, p. 11.
- ^ Pixton 1996, p. 124.
- ^ Shannon & Hillmer 2003, p. 104.
- ^ Suggitt 2004, p. 59.
- ^ Dow 1965, p. 10
- ^ Dow 1965, pp. 9–12
- ^ Sweeney 2014, p. 38
- ^ Pixton 1996, p. 125
- ^ The station via Disused Stations UK
- ^ The station on a 1948 OS Map via npe Maps
- ^ Jowett 2000, Map 60.
- ^ Smith & Turner 2012, Map 45
- ^ Station and line HOB3 via railwaycodes
- ^ Sweeney 2014, pp. 46–47
- ^ Sweeney 2014, pp. 39 & 40
- ^ Bradshaw 1985, pp. 714–5
- ^ The station via Disused Stations UK
- ^ Sweeney 2014, pp. 105–115
- ^ Sweeney 2014, p. 59,
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.
- Dow, George (1965). Great Central, Volume Three: Fay Sets the Pace, 1900–1922. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0263-0. OCLC 500447049.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
- Pixton, Bob (1996). Widnes and St. Helens Railways. Stroud: Chalford Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-7524-0751-7.
- 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, Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN 978-09550030-6-6
- Suggitt, Gordon (2004). Lost Railways of Merseyside and Greater Manchester. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-85306-869-0.
- Sweeney, Dennis J (2014). The St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway. Leigh: Triangle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85361-292-6.
External links
- The station in Disused Stations UK
- The station on an 1888-1913 Overlay OS Map in National Library of Scotland
- The station on a 1948 OS Map in npe Maps
- The station and line overlain on many maps in Rail Map Online
- Station and line HOB3 in Railway Codes