The West Lancashire Railway (WLR) ran northeast from

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 Iris ...

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

in northwest England.

History

Construction was started by Samuel Swire the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Southport, on 19 April 1873. It opened on 15 September 1882. A branch was constructed from Penwortham to the Blackburn line at Whitehouse Junction allowing direct services from East Lancashire Railway to Southport. In 1881 a further branch was constructed from east of Hesketh Bank station southwards to Tarleton

Lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

on the Rufford Branch of the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

by the River Douglas. This was mainly intended for goods, but a passenger service did run on the branch until 1912/3. The branch closed completely in 1930.

Expansion, bankruptcy and take-over

It also sponsored the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway, opened in 1887 to provide greater access to Liverpool (in competition with its rival the

Lancashire and 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 ...

) and in an attempt to forge a commercial alliance with the

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...

. At one time the line featured as a potential alternative route to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

. The line was never successful and its construction

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

ed the West Lancashire Railway. Finally in 1897 the two railways were taken over by their competitor, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Up to the take-over, the WLR used its own stations at each terminus. These were

Central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

in Southport and Fishergate Hill in Preston. The new owners built a west-to-north connecting chord at Whitehouse Junction which enabled them to redirect all of the WLR passenger trains into their own Preston (ELR) Station. Likewise at the Southport end, passenger trains were rerouted into the adjacent Chapel Street Station. Both WLR termini became goods depôts with that at Preston seeing occasional passenger use when it played host to special services during the Preston Guild.

Electrification

From 22 March 1904 the line from to Southport was electrified using a

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

to provide an electric service all the way to Liverpool. From 15 February 1909, electrification was extended to ; most electric trains between Southport and Crossens called at Meols Cop and reversed out. Euxton, Farington & Preston RJD 62

Closure

Hundred End station closed in 1962. Passenger services, including the electric ones, ceased in September 1964 (as a result of 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 ...

) and most of the line was closed. The line was quickly lifted beyond Hesketh Park in 1965. A goods service to Hesketh Park continued until November 1967, and the remaining track was lifted in late 1968- though a small stump remained in place as far as Roe Lane in Southport until the very early 1970s as part of the complex of Meols Cop electric depot.

References

Notes

Sources

* Biddle, G., (1989), ''The Railways Around Preston - A Historical Review'', Scenes from the Past: No. 6, Foxline Publishing, * Brookes, G. (2004
History
''New Longton On-Line'', www page, accessed 6 February 2007 * Cotterall, J.E., (1982), ''The West Lancashire Railway'', The Oakwood Press, * * * * Nock, O.S. (1969), ''The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway - A Concise History'', Ian Allan, * Robertson, B. (2003-2007
St. Lukes to Preston Whitehouse North Jn., (including Whitehouse West Jn. to Todd Lane Jn., Whitehouse South Jn.)
''British Railways Routes in 1960'', www page, accessed 6 February 2007 * Taylor, S. (1996), ''Journeys by Excursion Train from East Lancashire: Southport via the West Lancashire Line ... '', Scenes from the past, No. 26, Part 2, Foxline Publishing,

External links

* http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/ * http://www.rcts.org.uk/railways%20around%20preston.htm * http://www.southportpast.com/altcarbob.shtml * http://www.heskethbank.com/history/photos/railway.html {{Authority control Historic transport in Merseyside Closed railway lines in North West England Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Historic transport in Lancashire