Lowton St.Marys - Haydock - St Helens Central. Great Central Revisited. Lost railways of Lancashire
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2022
- Walked another challenging route from Lowton St Marys to St Helens Central. Disuse for over 40 years has allowed nature to take a hold as well as man made developments throughout, but clues still exist.
History:-
The Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway, which ran from a junction with the Wigan Junction Railways (WJR) to the north of Lowton St Mary's, opened for goods and mineral traffic in 1895, but passenger services did not commence until January 1900, being operated by the Great Central Railway, which was already operating the WJR. Most services ran through to Manchester Central. The station opened on 3 January 1900 and was originally named St Helens.
Overall, the station and goods facilities covered 8 acres, however the passenger section only consisted of one platform with a somewhat rudimentary wooden canopy shelter (compared to the brick-built booking office). This was in stark contrast to the comprehensive goods sidings, weighbridge, travelling crane and large goods shed. Rail access to this complex was from the north-eastern corner via a double track bridge over Standish Street. The line then divided into two, the northern branch proceeding into Pilkington's Cowley Hill Plate Glass Works being purely for goods traffic, the other line running to the east. This crossed the LNWR line at Pocket Nook on a single line viaduct.
Similar financial considerations caused the line to terminate at St. Helens. The original plan was for the line to continue westwards towards Liverpool via proposed stations at Dentons Green, Knowsley and Croxteth Park to a junction with the CLC Lines at Fazakerley, from which point there would be easy access to both Southport and Liverpool.
The station was renamed St Helens Central on 1 March 1949 but closed to passenger traffic three years later on 3 March 1952. It continued to be used for goods until 4 January 1965, when it closed completely.
Haydock railway station served the village of Haydock, formerly in Lancashire, now in Merseyside, England. East of Haydock station was the 99 yards 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.
From 1952 until 5 October 1963 some race day specials to Haydock Park had deposited their passengers at the racecourse then travelled to St Helens for servicing, turning and to await their turn to return in the evening. Others did the same at Ashton-in-Makerfield. A more recent source states that the last such trains ran on 4 January 1965. Enthusiasts' railtours travelled the line on 29 September 1956 and 21 September 1963.
The final such tour visited the station on 24 August 1968. Although a last, this tour was also a first, being the first passenger train over a new connection between the line to Ashton and the WCML at the new "Haydock Branch Junction" north of Golborne, which had opened on 22 April 1968. By providing this connection the line between Edge Green and Lowton St Mary's could be abandoned and, in particular, its bridge over the to-be-electrified WCML could be removed. This occurred in 1971.
Services to and through Ashton finally ended in 1988, but its last years were not mere decline. Two services used the station and one passed through it. In 1963 Lowton Metals started to use the station's goods yard as a rail-served base for its scrap metal business. This traffic ended in 1987. In July 1968 the line to the west was reopened to serve a new oil distribution depot at Haydock. This traffic continued until 1983. In 1975 an experiment was conducted in reviving race traffic, using Ashton station instead of Haydock Park. Special trains were run to at least five meetings, but the experiment was not continued.
Haydock Park railway station was a railway station adjacent to Haydock Park Racecourse. The station's sole purpose was to handle race day traffic. It did not feature in public timetables and normal service trains passed through the station without stopping. Race Day specials were very heavily patronised until well after WW2, as were other specials such as those serving Wakes Weeks and football matches. Although railways are always best suited to regular, day-in-day-out traffic, with cheap labour and plentiful old rolling stock available until the 1960s such intermittent services could make money and be seen as worthwhile. The corporate climate and economics were shifting, however. The station was closed in October 1963.
Golborne station was built of wood and had very sparse facilities. The station was referred to locally as "Golborne GC" to distinguish it from the ex-LNWR Golborne station on the West Coast Main Line in the centre of the town. In 1949, the ex-LNWR station was renamed Golborne South and the ex-GCR station was renamed Golborne North.
Allan Roach & Nick Melling.
![เจอประจำ ตอน เปิดเทอมวันแรก [EP.29]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eFK-B836i60/mqdefault.jpg)
Really enjoyed that 👍🏻 I spent many an hour on Lowton St Mary’s station with lovely grandad Jack Atherton in the 60s watching the trains when I was a wee boy lol 😆 That expirerencs got me into trains that I still love to this day at 66 🤩
I remember trains running from the oil depot, past the race course, and onto the WCML. The line around Golborne has been back in use courtesy of Hanson aggregates on Edge Green Road in Ashton-in-Makerfield. The stone train originates from Ribblehead virtual quarry, comes off the WCML down to that buffer stop just before the bridge and reserves back up the spur for unloading.
Isn't Edge Green Road in Golborne and not Ashton?.
@@Embracing01 Not according to the address on the website.
This line ran behind my house when i lived in William road Haydock it ran behind station road central drive william road mc donald avenue after it had crossed the the spur from the sankey canal there was a bridge that took it over the road at redgate and on to st helens central from there you could get to rainford junction through harsfinch and moss bank part of the old track bed is still there..i still live in haydock and remember this line very well i now live near where the bridge was that took this line over the sankey canal spur spent many days when i was a child watching the trains pass our house good to see mick as i know him from the east lancs railway at bury where we where both volunteers
Brilliant stuff mate, I love your videos, 🙂
Round the corner from where I live always wondered where that old central line went to ... Great video 👍
Fantastic thanks for uploading
Well done lads, a cracking tour of the trackbed. I jumped on the ladder of an oil tanker when I was a kid, as the train came slowly past Ashton Heath / Haydock Racecourse, but the rungs were caked in crude oil, and I couldn't get the stuff off my hands or clothes. There was 'trouble at t' mill' when I got home.
Their was two stations within a mile of each other Lowton St Mary's and Pennington, the line from Kenyon Junction to Bolton and a branch into Leigh was closed in the 1960s leaving Leigh without a station.! allegedly this line into Bolton was built before the Liverpool/ Manchester line, built in 1828 two years before the Liverpool/ Manchester line, the line now is the Atherleigh Byepass.
Yes very interesting where Lidi at blackbrook is there was a bridge across the road which I got photos of also bridge across road Merton bank Rd
16.15 in the video the track used to cross the road via what was known locally as the Cephos Bridge
Absolutely excellent. My friends and I ex railway would work on parts of it and it means a lot to see it along with the old photos. Many thanks.
Interesting stuff, such a shame these stations are no longer there. I regularly walk near to the site of the old Haydock Park station, I've been tempted a few times to cross the old bridge that's fenced off as there's a gap but deciced not to as I'd probably fall through it. I used to walk across it before the fence was there but it's probably that badly eroded now. I've noticed further up the line on the left side towards Haydock Park (just outside where the original fence posts were surrounding the track) there's a sort of block paved area, it's hard to explain what it is but could be a more recent construction which for some reason never got completed, it looks too modern to be from the station. It's like someone tried to build a block paved drive way there, but it's patially buried under the overgrown grass. Considering the line was still in use as goods traffic up until the 1970s, it's remarkable how quick the large trees surrounding the track bed have grown, some of those trees look ancient.
I used to spend alot of my summer holiday time in the early-mid 90s with my dad further up the line at Golborne train spotting at Haydock Junct. We'd get out of the car behind the chippy and walk down the line, back then no high fence around the track. Never did anything wrong and it did us a world of good getting out instead of being stuck indoors.
Another good exploration Allan, I hope Nick has recovered from his trip to Scandinavia
Line to Ashton is used a few times a week, to run stone trains from shap and tuebrook sidings in liverpool
Great video as always lads 👍
Quality stuff guys. Excellent exploring. I assist a TH-cam channel called Pastfinder who is very similar to what you do, canals, railways etc. Based in Cheshire and Hampshire. Going through your films and enjoying them.
I've tried following this route on google maps aerial views, but I couldn't see this much detail and I thought it had all disappeared except for the bit at Lowton still used as a head shunt for freight trains from the WCML. I'll have to have another look on google maps, and I remember seeing the remaining viaduct piers either side of the line to Liverpool via St. Helens back in january 1989.
Most of the time after it opened the line was worked virtually exclusively by J10 0-6-0s from their home shed at Wigan there wasn't a great variety of GC or LNER or BR locos on the line apart from enthusists specials even the last train was a J10
I really enjoy watching your videos, the history and your story telling are fantastic, thanks chaps
That long siding is in regular use for the former kelbits tarmac plant. Guessing you filmed this several years ago?
Thank you. Do you have any pictures of Culcheth station? My family live near Newchurch Halt.
It’s part of Glazebrook Wigan vlog plenty of piks and old video
th-cam.com/video/Wfg7K9b0J2M/w-d-xo.html
@@onemanc thanks !
great vid, you should check out the old godley east freight line up near hattersley, theres an old platform a turnrable and an old signal box, i could send you the pics of you want
Already done it. Check it out th-cam.com/video/3L1PlQ2bhW4/w-d-xo.html
Salt of the earth.
ᴘʀᴏᴍᴏsᴍ 😃