Farington railway station served

Farington Farington is a village and civil parish in the South Ribble local government district of Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 6,674. History The parish was part of Preston Rural District throughou ...

, south of Preston in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England.

History

The station opened on 31 October 1838 under the ownership of the

North Union Railway The North Union Railway was an early British railway company, operating in Lancashire. It was created in 1834, continuing independently until 1889. Formation The North Union Railway (NUR) was created by an Act of Parliament on 22 May 1834 whic ...

, and was originally named ''Farrington''. In October 1857 it was renamed ''Farington''. It became a junction in 1846 when the ''Blackburn and Preston Railway'' opened its line from , which joined the main line a short distance to the south. This link only survived in regular use for four years however, as a dispute between the B&PR's successor the

East Lancashire Railway East Lancashire Railway is a heritage railway line in North West England which runs between Heywood, Greater Manchester and Rawtenstall in Lancashire. There are intermediate stations at Bury Bolton Street railway station, Bury Bolton Street, ...

and the NUR over access to the main line to and the sizeable tolls the ELR had to pay to use it led to the latter company building its own independent route into the city. Thereafter original B&PR link fell into disuse and was severed (though it eventually reopened in 1886 with the main line junction altered to face south), whilst the station reverted to a purely local role, served by stopping trains between and Preston on the main line. This was quadrupled at the end of the 19th century and the station expanded to four platforms as a consequence.

Closure

Farington station was closed by the

British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...

on 7 March 1960, (before the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

of 1963) and was subsequently demolished.

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

trains run through Farington and still carry many inter-city and semi-local services and the

East Lancashire Line The East Lancashire line is a railway line in the Lancashire region of England, which runs between Preston and Colne, through Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley (Barracks and Central) and Nelson. The line formerly ran onto Skipton but this closed ...

crosses over the line close by.

Lostock Hall railway station Lostock Hall railway station is a railway station serving the village of Lostock Hall in the South Ribble borough of Lancashire, England. It is on the East Lancashire Line and is managed by Northern, who also provide all passenger trains serv ...

(on the East Lancashire Line) and

Leyland railway station Leyland railway station serves the town of Leyland in Lancashire, England. It was formerly "Golden Hill", the name of the street and area in which the station is based, but was renamed Leyland soon after opening. The original station was built ...

(on the West Coast Main Line) are the nearest stops to the village. File:Farington 2 railway station 2059928 fa05b82f.jpg, Farington Station remains, view northward 1959, File:Farington 1 railway station 2061947 ec3b8f06.jpg, Farington Station remains, with trainspotter 1959 File:Farington 4 railway geograph-2160175.jpg, Return holiday express at Farington in 1959 File:Farington 3 junction 2104727 c2a6405e.jpg, Farington Junction in 1962 Image:Farington railway station in 1992.jpg, Site of Farington railway station 1992

References

Bibliography

* Disused railway stations in South Ribble Former North Union Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1838 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1960 1838 establishments in England {{NorthWestEngland-railstation-stub