Halton railway station served the village of Halton in Lancashire, England. It closed in 1966, but the

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

building and part of one platform survive beside the cycle path along the disused line. In reference books the station is sometimes referred to as Halton (Lancs) to distinguish it from another Halton railway station in Cheshire.

History

The station was opened on 17 November 1849 by the

"little" North Western Railway The North Western Railway (NWR) was an early British railway company in the north-west of England. It was commonly known as the "Little" North Western Railway, to distinguish it from the larger London and North Western Railway (LNWR). The NWR w ...

.Butt, p.112 It was linked to Halton village by a railway-owned narrow toll bridge across the River Lune. A rebuilt version of the bridge is still in use, free of charge. The original timber station was destroyed by fire on 3 April 1907. A spark from the engine of a passing

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal town in Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a Heysham Port, ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two Heysham nuclear power station, nuclear power stations. Demogra ...

– boat train set fire to a wagon of oil drums by the goods shed. The fire brigade were unable to cross the narrow bridge and it was left to a special trainload of railway workers from Lancaster to pass buckets of water from the river. The station was rebuilt in brick and timber and the building survives to this day, used as storage by

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

Rowing Club, with a public car park occupying the former track bed. The station closed on 3 January 1966, along with the whole line between and

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

. No other station survives. Cyclists and walkers can travel along the former line in either direction. Beneath the trackbed, east of the station, can be heard running water that is extracted from the river to an underground pumping station in Quernmore Park.Vinter, p.137

Notes

References

* * Suggitt, G. (2003, revised 2004) ''Lost Railways of Lancashire''
Countryside Books, Newbury
* Vinter, J. (1990), ''Railway Walks: LMS'', Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud,

External links

"Millennium Park Cycle Route & Walk"
''Leeds–Lancaster–Morecambe Railway'' website, accessed 19 December 2008
"Disused Stations Site Record — Halton (near Lancaster)"
accessed 19 December 2008 {{City of Lancaster Disused railway stations in Lancaster Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1849 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Former Midland Railway stations Beeching closures in England 1849 establishments in England