Amberswood railway station

Amberswood (Hindley) railway station was in Hindley, Wigan (now in Greater Manchester, England) on the Whelley Loop section of the Lancashire Union Railway. The station was situated where the A577 passed under the line.

Amberswood (Hindley)
Location
PlaceHindley
AreaWigan
Coordinates53.5365°N 2.5882°W / 53.5365; -2.5882
Grid referenceSD611045
Operations
Original companyLancashire Union Railway
Platforms2
History
1 January 1872Station opened
1 March 1872Station closed to passengers[1]
c1970Station closed completely
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
Lines around Wigan in 1907

History

The two stations on the Whelley Loop - Amberswood and Whelley - are believed to be among the shortest lived passenger stations in the country, opening at the beginning of 1872 and closing in March of the same year. Their goods yards remained open until the Whelley loop closed in the 1970s.[2]

Services

The key purpose of the Whelley Loop was to enable trains to avoid Wigan. It is therefore surprising that passenger stations were even constructed on the loop. All lines to or through Wigan were radial, as the accompanying map shows. The loop was connected to every one of them, allowing trains arriving at Wigan from all points except Southport and Pemberton to leave Wigan to all points, without gridlocking the centre.

The dominant traffic was goods, especially coal, but passenger diversions used the line from time to time.

The loop came into its own in passenger terms with Summer seaside specials, notably to and from Blackpool. Pixton, for example, has a fine 1961 shot of a Summer Saturday Sheffield to Blackpool train at Lowton St Mary's. It would bear right at Hindley South onto the Whelley Loop and then join the WCML at Standish, bypassing Wigan altogether.[3][4]

Accident

On 24 July 1900, a passenger train was derailed at Amberswood, killing one person.[5]

The station in the 21st Century

The station has been demolished. The trackbed is a public footpath.

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Whelley
Line and station closed		   London and North Western Railway
Lancashire Union Railway		   Hindley South
Line and station closed
    Bamfurlong
Line and station closed
    Bryn
Line closed, station open
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References
  1. Butt 1995, p. xxx.
  2. Amberswood Station, Disused Stations, retrieved 4 November 2015
  3. Pixton 1996, p. 119
  4. "Trains over unusual routes 1964 via psul". Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  5. Spence 1975, p. 76

Sources
  • Butt, R. V. J. (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.
  • Pixton, Bob (1996), The Archive Photographs Series Widnes and St Helens Railways, The Chalford Publishing Company, ISBN 0 7524 0751 1
  • Spence, Jeoffry (1975), Victorian & Edwardian Railways from old photographs, London: Batsford, ISBN 0 7134 3044 3


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