Wigan Central railway station

Wigan Central railway station was a railway station near the centre of Wigan, Lancashire, England.

Wigan Central
A locomotive arriving at the station in 1963
General information
LocationWigan, Wigan
England
Coordinates53.54586°N 2.62813°W / 53.54586; -2.62813
Grid referenceSJ585057
Platforms1 plus Island[1]
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyWigan Junction Railways
Pre-groupingGreat Central Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
3 October 1892 (1892-10-03)Station opened
2 November 1964Station closed to passengers[2]
5 April 1965Station closed completely[3]
Lines around Wigan in 1907

Location and construction

Wigan Central station was on Station Road, some way from the two main stations (North Western and Wallgate) which are on the western edge of the town centre.[4]

Wigan Central was the eventual terminus of the Wigan Junction Railways from Glazebrook West Junction.[5][6] It was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (later to become the Great Central) and opened on 3 October 1892, when it replaced the temporary Wigan Darlington Street terminus, which had opened on 1 April 1884. Central was about 1⁄3 mile (540 m) nearer the town centre than Darlington Street.

Operations

According to Beeching's Reshaping of British Railways (see Appendix Passenger Line Usage Map) the line was more heavily used than many which did not close, however, as with many unmodernised and heavily used commuter lines it was deemed uneconomic. The line's main passenger traffic was workers travelling from the Wigan area to industrial plants in Cadishead and Partington and around the docks in Salford and Manchester; until the late 1970s the Lancashire United bus company operated a replacement bus service from Wigan to Partington.

Steam remained the dominant motive power to the end of services,[7] though some DMUs made an appearance.[8][9]

Services

The service patterns in 1895, 1947 and 1962 are fully documented in the authoritative Disused Stations website.[10]

In April 1884 the service pattern to Wigan (Darlington Street temporary terminus) was straightforward. Seven "Down" trains arrived from Manchester Central, one "express" called at Glazebrook only and three called at all stations. The remaining three missed some stations between Manchester and Glazebrook. With the exception of the "express", all trains called at all stations between Glazebrook and Wigan. The "Up" service was similar.[11]

In 1922 six "Down" trains arrived, All Stations from Manchester Central on "Weekdays" (Mondays to Saturdays), with a further evening train from Lowton St Mary's only. Three other trains arrived, apparently All Stations from Culcheth, but it is possible they originated at Liverpool Central and turned west to north at Dam Lane Junction.[12] One of these trains ran on Fridays and Saturdays only and the other two ran on Saturdays only. The "Up" service was broadly similar, but the mix of Saturday-only trains was even more complicated. There was no Sunday service.[13]

Closure and after

The station closed to passengers on 2 November 1964 and closed to all traffic the following April. It was demolished in 1973.[14][15] The Grand Arcade shopping centre was built between 2006 and 2008 on the station site, of which no trace remains.[16]

See also

References
  1. Dow 1962, p. 232
  2. James 2004, p. 46.
  3. "The station via Disused Stations UK". Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  4. "The station on a 1948 OS Map via npe maps". Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  5. "The line and mileages via railwaycodes". Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  6. Smith & Turner 2012, Map 45
  7. Cooke 1964, p. 898.
  8. Fields, Gilbert & Knight 1980, Photos 126 & 128
  9. Sweeney 2013, pp. 103–121
  10. "The station via Disused Stations UK". Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  11. Dow 1962, p. 354
  12. Pixton 2007, p. 82.
  13. Bradshaw 1985, pp. 714–5
  14. "The station via Disused Stations UK". Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  15. "Station demolition via Wigan World". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  16. Shannon & Hillmer 2003, p. 96

Sources
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Terminus   Great Central Railway
Wigan Junction Railways		   Lower Ince
Line and station closed
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