Atherleigh railway station

Atherleigh railway station served an area of Leigh in what was then Lancashire, England. It was located on the Bolton and Leigh Railway line which ran from Kenyon Junction to Bolton Great Moor Street.

Atherleigh
Location	Leigh, Wigan England
Coordinates	53.5077°N 2.5208°W
Grid reference	SD656013
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	London Midland and Scottish Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
14 October 1935	Station opened
29 March 1954	Station closed completely

LNWR lines to Bolton
Deansgate Goods Bolton Crook Street Goods Bolton Great Moor Street Original alignment shown in grey Rumworth and Daubhill Daubhill ( original and incline ) Plodder Lane Shed Plodder Lane Chequerbent Chequerbent ( original and incline ) Little Hulton Manchester–Southport line (LYR) to Wigan Wallgate Walkden High Level Atherton Bag Lane Walkden Low Level Hindley Green Howe Bridge Manchester & Wigan Rly to Wigan North Western Plank Lane Tyldesley Loopline Atherleigh Tyldesley Westleigh Ellenbrook Leigh Bolton and Leigh Railway Kenyon & Leigh Junction Rly Worsley Leeds & Liverpool Canal Bridgewater Canal Monton Green Pennington junctions to Bury Pennington Eccles East Lancashire Road Liverpool–Manchester lines Kenyon Junction Bridgewater Canal Liverpool–Manchester lines Some stations omitted in dotted sections

History

Opened by the London Midland and Scottish Railway to serve local housing estates built after World War 1.[1][2] The station was located on the west side of the railway at Westbourne Avenue with a connecting footbridge between the two parts of the road.[3]

The station structure was a simple wooden building.[4] There was a platform on each side of the tracks.[5]

The station passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, only to be closed by the British Transport Commission six years later.[6]

After closure

The station is believed to have been used for Rugby League specials[7] and holiday traffic[8] after closure.

By 2015 the station site was buried under the A579 road.[9]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Westleigh Line and station closed		London Midland and Scottish Railway		Atherton Bag Lane Line and station closed

References

1. Butt 1995, p. 21
2. Sweeney 1996, p. 45
3. "Location of Atherleigh station on a 1938 Lancashire CII.NE OS six-inch published in 1947". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
4. Sweeney 1996, pp. 45–46
5. Holland 2001, p. 73
6. Butt 1995, p. 21
7. Holland 2001, p. 73
8. The station's history via Disused Stations UK
9. Smith & Turner 2012, Map 45

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.
• Holland, Bert (2001), Plodder Lane for Farnworth, Leigh: Triangle Publishing, ISBN 0-9529333-6-5
• Smith, Paul; Turner, Keith (2012), Railway Atlas Then and Now, Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7110-3695-6
• Sweeney, D. J. (1996), A Lancashire Triangle Part One, Triangle Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9529333-0-4

External links

• The station on a 1948 OS map via npe maps
• The closed station on a 1955–61 series OS map via National Library of Scotland
• The station and line via railwaycodes