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.

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		London and North Western Railway Lancashire Union Railway		Hindley Line closed, station open

References

↑ Suggitt 2004, p. 64.
↑ Butt 1995, p. xxx.
↑ Whelley Station, Disused Stations, retrieved 7 January 2011
↑ Pixton 1996, p. 119
↑ "Trains over unusual routes 1964 via psul". Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
↑ The school via its website

Sources

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.
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.

External links

The station site on a 1948 OS map via npe maps
Line and mileages via Railwaycodes
The station via Disused Stations UK

v t e Closed railway stations in Greater Manchester
Bolton	Bolton Crook Street Bolton Great Moor Street Chequerbent (1831) Chequerbent (1885) Chew Moor Darcy Lever Horwich Lostock Lane Plodder Lane Rumworth and Daubhill The Oaks
Bury	Ainsworth Road Halt Bradley Fold Brandlesholme Road Halt Bury Knowsley Street Greenmount Holcombe Brook Knowles Level Crossing Halt Molyneux Brow Radcliffe Black Lane Radcliffe Bridge Ringley Road Sunny Wood Halt Tottington Withins Lane Woodhill Road Halt Woolfold
Manchester (city centre in italics)	Baguley Chorlton-cum-Hardy Clayton Bridge Dean Lane Didsbury Fallowfield High Street (Metrolink) Hyde Road Levenshulme South Longsight Manchester Central Manchester Liverpool Road Manchester Mayfield Manchester Oldham Road Miles Platting Mosley Street (Metrolink) Newton Heath Northenden Park Wilbraham Road Withington and West Didsbury
Oldham	Delph Derker Diggle Dobcross Failsworth Friezland Grasscroft Grotton and Springhead Hollinwood Lees Measurements Middleton Junction Moorgate Oldham Central Oldham Clegg Street Oldham Glodwick Road Oldham Mumps Oldham Mumps (LNWR) Oldham Werneth Royton Royton Junction Saddleworth Shaw and Crompton Uppermill
Rochdale	Broadfield Broadley Middleton Milnrow New Hey Shawclough and Healey Wardleworth
Salford	Agecroft Bridge Barton Moss Cadishead Cross Lane Dixon Fold Ellenbrook Irlams o' th' Height Little Hulton Manchester Exchange Monton Green Oldfield Road Ordsall Lane Pendlebury Pendleton Pendleton Bridge Seedley Walkden Low Level Weaste Worsley
Stockport	Cheadle (CLC) Cheadle (LNWR) Cheadle Heath Cheadle North Hazel Grove (Midland) High Lane Heaton Mersey Heaton Norris Stockport Portwood Stockport Tiviot Dale
Tameside	Ashton Moss Ashton Park Parade Audenshaw (1st) Audenshaw (2nd) Droylsden Dukinfield and Ashton Dukinfield Central Godley East Hooley Hill Micklehurst Oldham Road Park Bridge Staley and Millbrook
Trafford	Altrincham (1st) Bowdon Broadheath (Altrincham) Cornbrook Dunham (W&SR) Dunham Massey Partington West Timperley
Wigan	Amberswood (Hindley) Astley Atherleigh Atherton Bag Lane Bamfurlong Boar's Head Golborne North Golborne South Hindley Green Hindley South Howe Bridge Leigh Lower Ince Lowton Pennington Platt Bridge Red Rock Tyldesley Westleigh West Leigh and Bedford Whelley Wigan Central
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Sources

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