The Wigan Branch Railway was an early
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
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 ...
company operating 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 ...
. It was constructed to link the
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 ...
coalfield to the
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 ...
(L&MR).
Background
The Wigan Branch Railway obtained an Act of Parliament on 29 May 1830 to build a
branch line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industri ...
from the
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 ...
L&MR at Parkside to Wigan. The Act included another branch off the Wigan line (the Springs branch) to collieries in the district.
The Act stipulated that the railway must be built by L&MR engineers and in June 1830
Charles Vignoles
Charles Blacker Vignoles (31 May 1793 – 17 November 1875) was an influential British railway engineer, and eponym of the Vignoles rail.
Early life
He was born at Woodbrook, County Wexford, Ireland in May 1793 the son of Capt. C ...
was appointed engineer at a salary of £500 (equivalent to £ in ). He was familiar with the area having been involved with the L&MR.
The line was promoted by a number of Wigan coal proprietors, one of whom, Ralph Thickness was the first chairman. The railway from
Parkside on the L&MR ran to Chapel Lane in Wigan. The Parkside station was inconvenient for Wigan Branch passengers as it was on the Liverpool side of the junction and the branch tracks ran onto the L&MR in the Manchester direction (that is only east curve into the L&MR was constructed).
The line was constructed by contractors Pritchard & Hoof who were awarded a two year maintenance contract. The Springs branch was not constructed at this time due to a lack of funds.
Operations
The line opened to traffic on 3 September 1832. The intention had been to construct a double track railway but money was in short supply and the line was constructed as a single track with three passing loops per mile, provision was made for a later doubling of the track.
The railway opened with two stations.
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Parkside station was opened by the L&MR on 15 September 1830.
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Wigan Chapel Lane station was the only station opened by the WBR, it opened on 3 September 1832 and closed on 31 October 1838 when it was replaced by Wigan station opened by 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 ...
further north when its line opened. Wigan station was renamed
Wigan North Western railway station
Wigan North Western railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
It is a moderately-sized station on the West Coast Main Line. It is operated by Avanti West Coast, and is also ...
on 2 June 1924.
In what was a unique arrangement, the Wigan Branch Railway did not to hire its own staff or provide motive power and rolling stock. Instead the line was worked by the L&MR. Parkside station was the terminus of the Wigan Branch Railway with passengers changing onto L&MR trains to get to Liverpool or Manchester.
Some colliery owners ran their own goods trains, Thomas Legh transported coal and coke from his Haydock Collieries to Edge Hill, Liverpool and to Liverpool Road, Manchester provided he used his own locomotives and wagons because he had an arrangement with the L&MR to use their railway.
The railway announced in October 1832 that it would begin moving goods along the line and constructed a warehouse at Wigan for this purpose.
In 1834 the railway decided to offer
John Hargreaves, an established carrier in the north west, the lease for carrying freight. Hargreaves, in partnership with his son (also
John Hargreaves) declined and made a counter offer which was accepted by the North Union Railway who by then had taken over the railway.
By 1838, the branch line had been doubled to facilitate an onward extension from Wigan to
Preston.
Merger
The construction of the
Preston and Wigan Railway
The Preston and Wigan Railway would have been an early British railway company operating in Lancashire.
The Preston and Wigan Railway obtained an Act of Parliament on 22 April 1831 to build a line between Wigan and Preston.
On 8 August 183 ...
was authorised in 1831 but construction was delayed. The directors of the Wigan Branch Railway and Preston and Wigan Railway decided to merge and an Act of Parliament gained royal assent on 22 May 1834 incorporating the two merged railways as 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 ...
.
Later years in date order
In October 1838 a new station opened at Parkside on the Manchester side of the junction which improved the interchange between the railways. The station was jointly constructed by the L&MR, the North Union Railway and the
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company w ...
. The former station became a goods station. Parkside junction acquired a west curve in 1847 facilitating the running of through trains.
The Springs branch to the New Springs area of Wigan was opened by the North Union Railway in 1838.
The North Union Railway opened Golborne station in about 1839, it was renamed Golborne South on 1 February 1949 and closed on 6 February 1961.
In 1847 the L&NWR opened a west curve onto the L&MR and a station was opened at the juncture of the two curves in 1849. In its early days it was sometimes known as North Union Junction, sometimes as Preston Junction before being renamed to Lowton & Preston Junction on 1 February 1877 and finally in 1880, the station closed on 26 September 1949.
station was opened on 1 April 1878 by the L&NWR and closed on 27 November 1950.
There also was a temporary station opened by the L&NWR to serve Haydock Racecourse near to the end of the century, but this was closed as early as 1902.
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{{LMSconstituents
Early British railway companies
Historic transport in Lancashire
Rail transport in Lancashire
History of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
Railway companies established in 1830
Railway lines opened in 1832
1830 establishments in the United Kingdom
British companies established in 1830