The Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway, was formed in 1889, but no services ran until 1895 and then only freight. Passenger services did not start until 1900. It incorporated the St Helens and Wigan Junction Railway. It was taken over by the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

in 1906.

History

The Railway was incorporated by

Acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament ...

in 1885-86 to enable the construction of a line from St Helens to

Lowton Lowton is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is around from Leigh, south of Wigan and west of Manchester city centre. The settlement lies across the A580 East Lancashire Road. Wi ...

(eight miles) and St Helens to Liverpool (ten miles). The lines had share capital of £210,000 and £340,000 respectively. The first sod was cut on 25 January 1888 by the

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end ...

on the site of what became

St Helens Central railway station St Helens Central railway station (previously known as St. Helens Shaw Street) is a railway station serving the town of St Helens, Merseyside, England. It is on the Liverpool to Wigan Line from Liverpool Lime Street to Wigan North Western. The ...

. In July 1889 an Act of Parliament extended the completion time until July 1893. The opening ceremony took place on 2 January 1900. The original intention was to connect to the

Cheshire Lines Committee The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire an ...

North Liverpool Extension Line The North Liverpool Extension Line was a railway line in Liverpool, England in operation between 1879 and 1972. It was at one stage intended to become the eastern section of the Merseyrail Outer Loop, an orbital line circling the city. Histo ...

Fazakerley Fazakerley is a suburb of north Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of the Liverpool Walton Parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 16,786. Description Fazakerley is in north Liverpool; neighbouring dist ...

junction, to form a route to

Huskisson Dock Huskisson Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, which forms part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Huskisson Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall and two branch docks to the ...

and

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

, but nothing ever came of the scheme west of St Helens.

Henry Seton-Karr Sir Henry Seton-Karr (5 February 1853 – 29 May 1914) was an English explorer, hunter and author and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1906. Seton-Karr, born in India in 1853, was the son of George Berkel ...

was chairman of the railway at its opening.

Route

The line ran from St Helens Central (GCR) railway station to Lowton St Mary's.

Closure

The line closed to passengers in 1952. It was reduced in stages as freight traffic ebbed and flowed. The key milestones were: * 1965 line closed and lifted west of Lowton Metals, Ashton (inclusive). * 1968 line reinstated west of Lowton Metals to serve a new oil depot at Haydock * 1968 new "Haydock Branch Curve" built to connect the line to the WCML north of Golborne * 1968 line east of the new connection closed and lifted (the bridge over the WCML was removed in 1971) * 1975 passenger trains ran to five race meetings, using Ashton station, experiment not repeated * 1983 Haydock oil depot traffic lost to road, line cut back to Lowton Metals, Haydock. * 1987 Lowton Metals ceased trading, line cut back to Golborne Colliery headshunt * 1987 Kelbit opened rail-served business at Edge Green, using trackbed of Edge Green Colliery branch * 1989 Golborne Colliery closed, line cut back to headshunt for the Kelbit traffic * after 2000 the Kelbit site was taken over by Hanson as their "Ashton" plant *In 2011 the site was purchased by PF Jones Ltd and began work to restore the Kelbit rail line In 2015 very occasional trains still served the Hanson plant. On 7 March 2015 an enthusiasts' excursion titled "Sabrina's Tea Train" traversed the line. A quarter-mile headshunt which ends at bufferstops approx 50 yards east of Bridge 13 over Edge Green Lane is the sole remaining section of the original route in use.

Re-Opening

After purchasing the land surrounding the line at Edge Green in 2011, PF Jones Ltd worked with Hansons to restore the Kelbit line off the Haydock Branch Curve. The Kelbit line re-opens in 2018 and will be used by Hanson's to transfer raw materials from Shap Quarry, Cumbria to distribute across the north west. Between and Golborne and Glazebrook

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

will use an alignment similar to the disused line in Phase 2b.

References

Sources

External links

Haydock Branch Jct and Kelbit via ''Wigan World''
Historic transport in Merseyside Pre-grouping British railway companies Great Central Railway Closed railway lines in North West England Railway companies established in 1889 Railway lines opened in 1895 Railway companies disestablished in 1906 1889 establishments in England British companies established in 1889 {{England-rail-transport-stub