The Manchester and Wigan Railway refers to a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

, opened in 1864 and closed to passengers on 3 May 1969, which was part of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

before the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

of 1923. This route was an alternative to the surviving route through Swinton,

Walkden Walkden is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, northwest of Salford, and of Manchester. Historically in the township of Worsley in Lancashire, Walkden was a centre for coal mining and textile manufacture. In 2014, ...

and Atherton (which was part of the

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

before 1923).

Route

The first part of the route remains between

Manchester Victoria Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was ...

and Eccles on part of the original

Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It was also the first railway to rely exclusively ...

opened in 1831. After Eccles, the line branched off in a north westerly direction crossing what is now the M602 motorway, calling at stations at

Monton Green Monton is a suburb of Eccles, Greater Manchester, England, in the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford. Geography and administration Historically in Lancashire, Monton was administered by the municipal borough of Eccles until its abolition ...

and

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

. After

Roe Green Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooke ...

the line split, with one branch continuing to

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

; and the Manchester to Wigan line continuing westward to stations at Ellenbrook and

Tyldesley Tyldesley () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, southeast of Wigan ...

. After Tyldesley the line split, the

Tyldesley Loopline The Tyldesley Loopline was part of the London and North Western Railway's Manchester and Wigan Railway line from Eccles to the junction west of Tyldesley station and its continuance south west via Bedford Leigh to Kenyon Junction on the Liver ...

continued to Kenyon Junction while the Wigan line continued to the north west to Howe Bridge Station before crossing the

Bolton and Leigh Railway The Bolton and Leigh Railway (B&LR) was the first public railway in Lancashire, it opened for goods on 1 August 1828 preceding the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) by two years. Passengers were carried from 1831. The railway operated inde ...

line. The next station was

Hindley Green Hindley Green is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the village had decreased to 11,186 at the 2011 Census. The village lies to the east of Hindley, Greater Manchester, Hindley and is c ...

on the northerly (straight) section and it then passed

Platt Bridge Platt Bridge, colloquially known as Platt Wazz, is a settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south of Wigan town centre along the spine of the A573 road. Historically part of the Hindley Urban District, i ...

and approached a complex junction south of

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

on what is now the

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 ...

Colliery sidings

The route also served the collieries in the area. Sidings for

Shakerley Collieries Ramsden's Shakerley Collieries was a coal mining company operating the Nelson and Wellington Pits from the mid 19th century in Shakerley, Tyldesley in the historic county of Lancashire, England. History Coal had been dug in Shakerley since the ...

(Ramsden's) and the

Tyldesley Coal Company Tyldesley Coal Company was a coal mining company formed in 1870 in Tyldesley, on the Manchester Coalfield in the historic county of Lancashire, England that had its origins in Yew Tree Colliery, the location for a mining disaster that killed 25 ...

(Greens) were located to the east of Tyldesley Station and for

Fletcher, Burrows and Company Fletcher, Burrows and Company was a coal mining company that owned collieries and cotton mills in Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. Gibfield, Howe Bridge and Chanters collieries exploited the coal mines (seams) of the middle coal measures ...

's Chanters Colliery between Tyldesley and Howe Bridge.

References

* * {{cite book, title=A Lancashire Triangle, first=D.J., last=Sweeney, publisher=Triangle pubs., isbn=978-0-9529333-2-8 Closed railway lines in North West England Rail transport in Greater Manchester Closed railway lines in Greater Manchester