Park Lane Halt railway station

Park Lane Halt railway station was an unadvertised halt which served the communities of Bickershaw and Abram southeast of Wigan, England.

Park Lane Halt
General information
LocationBickershaw, Wigan
England
Coordinates53°30′08″N 2°34′24″W / 53.5023°N 2.5732°W / 53.5023; -2.5732
Grid referenceSD620007
Platforms2 (probable)
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingGreat Central Railway
Post-groupingLNER
Key dates
by 1923Station opened
Closed to passengers on 2 November 1964Station closed[1][2]
Map showing the area in the early 1900s

Location and nearby stations

edit

The station was on the Wigan Junction Railways line, known locally as the "Wigan Central line", which ran from Wigan Central to Glazebrook.[3] It was situated immediately south of the level crossing by which Park Lane crossed the tracks. The word "Halt" in a station name usually implied that it was unstaffed.

Services

edit

The service patterns remain the subject of research. Authoritative printed and on line works on the route make no direct mention of the halt, though one does include an extract of a 1926 OS map on which the halt appears.[4] It is possible that some service trains made unadvertised calls, but more likely that all 3rd Class unadvertised workmen's trains called. No published extracts from Bradshaw, nor the 1922 version makes any mention of the halt.

An image of a printed Great Central Railway ticket issued to a "Workman" from Park Lane Halt to Wigan Central has been published.[5] This implies the halt was opened before 1 January 1923 when the Great Central ceased to exist as a separate entity.

The halt is named on OS maps between 1926 and 1952, not before and not after. This latest mention date does not confirm the halt was still open then.

Opening, naming and closure

edit

The line opened in 1884 and closed to passengers on 2 November 1964, closing completely in 1968. The track through the site of the halt was subsequently lifted.

Afterlife

edit

In 2015 the trackbed could be identified and Park Lane itself remained as an unmade private road and bridleway. No trace of the halt survived.


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Bickershaw and Abram
Line and station closed
  Great Central Railway
Wigan Junction Railways
  West Leigh and Bedford
Line and station closed

References

edit

Sources

edit
  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  • Croughton, Godfrey; Kidner, R. W.; Young, Alan (1982). Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations, Halts and Stopping Places. The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-281-0. OCLC 10507501.
  • Sweeney, Dennis (2013). The Wigan Junction Railways. Leigh: Triangle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9550030-5-9.

Further reading

edit
edit