Westleigh railway station

Westleigh
Location
Place Leigh
Area Wigan
Coordinates 53°29′55″N 2°31′36″W / 53.4985°N 2.5268°W / 53.4985; -2.5268Coordinates: 53°29′55″N 2°31′36″W / 53.4985°N 2.5268°W / 53.4985; -2.5268
Grid reference SD651003
Operations
Original company Bolton and Leigh Railway
Pre-grouping London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping London Midland and Scottish Railway
Platforms 2
History
13 June 1831 Station opened as "Leigh"
1 August 1876 Renamed "West Leigh" or "Westleigh"
29 March 1954 Station closed[1]
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
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Westleigh or West Leigh was a station in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England on the Bolton and Leigh Railway line. Westleigh was situated within the historic county of Lancashire. Its station opened in 1831 and closed in 1954.[2]

History

The Bolton and Leigh Railway reached Leigh in 1830 and was extended by the construction of the Kenyon and Leigh Junction Railway, which received Royal Assent in 1829, to Kenyon Junction by 1831 creating a junction with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The station at Westleigh was named Leigh when it opened for passengers in 1831 and its name changed in 1876. Following amalgamations, from 1846 it was owned by the London & North Western Railway.

Structure and operations

1911 map showing the station's location (centre right) to the west of Leigh and south of Westleigh

The station had two platforms. In the 1930s up to 20 trains per day operated between Kenyon Junction and Bolton via Westleigh.[3] Stations on the line became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923 and the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. They were closed by the British Transport Commission six years later in 1954 when the line to Bolton Great Moor Street closed.[4]

Holiday excursion trains and Rugby League specials called at the station up to 1958.[2]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Butt 1995, p. 246
  2. 1 2 Westleigh, disused-stations.org.uk, retrieved 23 November 2015
  3. ↑ Sweeney 1996, p. 55
  4. ↑ Sweeney 1996, p. 11

Bibliography

  • 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 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
  • Sweeney, D.J. (1996), A Lancashire Triangle Part One, Triangle Publishing, ISBN 0-9529333-0-6 

Further reading

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Pennington
Line and station closed		   Bolton and Leigh Railway
London and North Western Railway		   Atherleigh
Line and station closed
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