Astley Bridge railway station

In 1871, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was authorised to build a branch line from Bolton to Astley Bridge, where it would serve a large business population. It was to leave the Bolton–Blackburn line at a junction on Tonge Viaduct named Astley Bridge Junction, about 74 chains (1.5 km) from the junction at Bolton station. There were to be two stations on the branch, an intermediate goods station at Halliwell and the terminus at Astley Bridge, 1 mile 184 yards (1.778 km) from Astley Bridge Junction. Construction began in 1874, and progress was slow: goods trains began running as far as Halliwell in February 1876; the line was completed in June 1877 but not opened until 15 October 1877. Both stations opened to passengers that day, and there was a service of nine trains per day in each direction. 83 passengers were carried on the first day, but within two years, many trains carried no passengers at all. As a result, it was a short-lived station, closing to passengers on 1 October 1879. Both stations remained open for goods, and Astley Bridge became a coal yard.[1][2][3][4]