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
Location	Bickershaw, Wigan England
Coordinates	53.5023°N 2.5732°W / 53.5023; -2.5732
Grid reference	SD620007
Platforms	2 (probable)
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	Great Central Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
Key dates
by 1923	Station opened
Closed to passengers on 2 November 1964	Station closed[1][2]

v t e GCR lines to St Helens and Wigan
Legend
Wigan Central Wigan Darlington Street Springs Branch Manchester–Southport line Ince Lower Ince Wigan avoiding line to Pemberton Hindley to Springs Branch Junction Manchester–Southport line Lancashire Union Railway Lancashire Union Railway "The Whelley Loop" Strangeways West Junction Hindley South Strangeways East Junction Platt Bridge Manchester and Wigan Railway St Helens Central (GCR) St Helens Central Liverpool–Wigan line Haydock Haydock Colliery Tunnel Bickershaw and Abram Ashton-in-Makerfield Haydock Park Park Lane Halt Golborne South West Coast Main Line Golborne North West Leigh and Bedford Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway Wigan Junction Railways Lowton St Mary's Junction Lowton St Mary's Chat Moss line Kenyon Junction Culcheth Newchurch Halt Liverpool–Manchester lines Glazebrook

Map showing the area in the early 1900s

Location and nearby stations

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

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

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

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

1. Butt 1995, p. xxx.
2. Croughton, Kidner & Young 1982, p. 111.
3. The line and mileages via railwaycodes
4. Sweeney 2013, p. 57.
5. Croughton, Kidner & Young 1982, p. 35.

Sources

• 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

• Bradshaw, George (1985) [July 1922]. Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation guide for Great Britain and Ireland: A reprint of the July 1922 issue. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-8708-5. OCLC 12500436.
• Dow, George (1962). Great Central, Volume Two Dominion of Watkin 1864-1899. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-1469-5. OCLC 655324061.

External links

• "The halt not shown". Disused Stations.
• "The halt not on a 1948 OS Map". npe maps.
• "The halt not on a 1913 OS map". National Library of Scotland.
• "The halt on a 1926 OS map". National Library of Scotland.
• "The halt on a 1938 OS map". National Library of Scotland.
• "The halt on a 1948 OS map". National Library of Scotland.
• "The halt not on a 1953 OS map". National Library of Scotland.
• "The line and mileages". Railway Codes.