The Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway in north-west England was formed in 1846 by the ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. ccclxxxi). It was purchased by the East Lancashire Railway the following year and opened to traffic on 2 April 1849. The railway ran from a junction with the Liverpool and Bury Railway near Walton northwards via to a west-facing junction with the Blackburn & Preston Railway just east of Lostock Hall. Documents from 1847 signed by

Joseph Locke Joseph Locke FRSA (9 August 1805 – 18 September 1860) was an English civil engineer of the nineteenth century, particularly associated with railway projects. Locke ranked alongside Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel as one of the ...

, Sturges Meek and Mackenzie, Brassey & Stephenson show elevations, plans and sections for bridges on line. A direct route to from Lostock Hall was opened on 2 September 1850 and a branch line from Ormskirk to Rainford Junction via on 1 March 1858. From May 1859, it became part of the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company before the Railways Act 1921, 1923 Grouping. It was Incorporation (business)#Incorporation in the United Kingdom, incorpo ...

system, following the ELR's absorption by that company. Under L&YR ownership, it became the company's main line from Liverpool to Preston & East Lancashire and carried through express trains to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

and Scotland via , and the Settle-Carlisle Line as well as significant quantities of freight to the docks in Liverpool. From 1891, it was linked directly to 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, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

by a new connection near built as part of the work to upgrade that part of the route to four tracks. The southern end of the route was subsequently electrified by the L&YR in stages between 1906 (as far as Aintree) and 1913 (through to Ormskirk). Today the line still operates, though through services between Liverpool and Preston/East Lancashire were withdrawn in 1969/70. The section between Liverpool and Ormskirk forms part of

Merseyrail Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire in the North West England, North West of England. Merseyrail serves 69 Railway station, stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lin ...

Northern Line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

and the section between Ormskirk and Preston forming Northern's Ormskirk Branch Line. The two sections meet at Ormskirk station on the same alignment but are now separated by buffers in a rare type of cross platform interchange.

Connections to other railways

* Liverpool and Bury Railway at Walton (section from here to was under joint ownership) * North Mersey Branch and the

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 Circle route, orbital line circling th ...

at *

Manchester and Southport Railway The Manchester and Southport Railway in England was formed by an Act of 22 July 1847 to link Manchester and Southport. Before the line opened it was acquired jointly by the L&YR and the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) on 3 July 1854. Wigan are ...

at (the Burscough Curves) * East Lancashire Line at

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050410094226/http://www.railwayancestors.fsnet.co.uk/research.html
Railscot - Photos of the Liverpool, Ormskirk & Preston Railway
Historic transport in Merseyside Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Rail transport in Lancashire Liverpool Ormskirk and Preston Railway companies established in 1846 Railway companies disestablished in 1847 1846 establishments in England British companies disestablished in 1847 British companies established in 1846 {{England-rail-transport-stub