Atherton Bag Lane railway station

Atherton Bag Lane railway station served the town of Atherton, Lancashire, England. It was located on the Bolton and Leigh Railway line which ran from Bolton Great Moor Street to Leigh Station and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and later to Kenyon Junction.

Atherton Bag Lane
General information
LocationAtherton, Wigan
England
Coordinates53.5294°N 2.5053°W / 53.5294; -2.5053
Grid referenceSD667038
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyBolton and Leigh Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and North Western Railway
Post-groupingLondon Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
11 June 1831Opened as Bag Lane
1847Renamed Atherton
2 June 1924Renamed Atherton Bag Lane
29 March 1954Closed to passengers
7 October 1963Closed to goods

History

The Bolton and Leigh Railway (B&LR) opened Bag Lane station as one of the original stations on the line on 11 June 1831.[1] The B&LR became part of the Grand Junction Railway in 1845 which became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) in 1846.[2]

The original "spartan" single platform station was constructed on the East side of the single track line in the centre of Bag Lane village, opposite the Railway Inn.[3][4]

The station was renamed Atherton in 1847.[5]

The station was rebuilt in 1880 when the line was doubled. The new station having two platforms with canopies. The platforms were accessed by an underground passage from a new road, Railway Street.[6][7] There was an adjacent goods station capable of handling "Live Stock, Horse Boxes and Prize Cattle Vans". The goods yard was equipped with a 10 ton crane.[8]

The L&NWR became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) during the Grouping in 1923.

The station was renamed Atherton Bag Lane on 2 June 1924 to distinguish it from Atherton Central on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.[9][10]

It passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948 and was closed by the British Transport Commission six years later.[11]

The line closed to all traffic in the late 1960s and in 1970 the road was re-laid over its original path.[12]

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Atherleigh
Line and station closed		   Bolton and Leigh Railway
London and North Western Railway		   Chequerbent
Line and station closed

References
  1. Butt 1995, p. 22
  2. Awdry 1990, pp. 78&88
  3. Sweeney 1996, p. 26
  4. "Location of Bag Lane station on a 1845 Lancashire XCIV OS six-inch published in 1849". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  5. Butt 1995, p. 21
  6. Sweeney 1996, p. 26
  7. "Location of Bag Lane station on a 1905 Lancashire XCIV.SE OS six-inch published in 1909". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  8. RCH (1904) 1970, p. 29
  9. Butt 1995, p. 21
  10. Sweeney 1996, p. 25
  11. Butt 1995, p. 21
  12. Sweeney 1996, p. 25

Sources

Further reading
  • Holland, Bert (2001), Plodder Lane for Farnworth, Leigh: Triangle Publishing, ISBN 0-9529333-6-5
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