Farnworth & Bold railway station

Farnworth & Bold railway station served the Farnworth area of Widnes, England. The station was on the southern section[2][3] of the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway which was later absorbed by the London and North Western Railway.[4]

Farnworth & Bold
Location	Widnes, Halton England
Coordinates	53.386238°N 2.717560°W
Grid reference	SJ 523 879
Platforms	2[1]
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1852	Station opened
18 June 1951	Closed to passengers
1 June 1964	Closed completely

St Helens & Runcorn Gap Railway
Liverpool and Bury Railway Rainford Junction Skelmersdale branch Liverpool and Bury Railway Rainford Village Rookery Old Mill Lane Crank Halt Moss Bank Pilkington Glass Gerards Bridge Liverpool–Wigan line to Wigan North Western St Helens Central (original GCR station) St Helens Central Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway Liverpool–Wigan line to Liverpool Lime Street Peasley Cross Hays Chemicals Sutton Oak Liverpool and Manchester Rly to Manchester Victoria Robins Lane Halt St Helens Junction Liverpool and Manchester Rly to Liverpool Lime Street Clock Face Union Bank Farm Halt Farnworth & Bold Appleton Ann Street Halt Warrington and Stockport Railway Vladivar Vodka distillery Warrington Arpley Chester–Warrington line to Chester Warrington Bank Quay High Level │ Low Level West Coast Main Line Whitecross Sankey Bridges Fidlers Ferry & Penketh Fiddlers Ferry power station Cuerdley Widnes loop to Sankey Tanhouse Lane Widnes Central Cheshire Lines Committee (Liverpool–Manchester) Hough Green Widnes South Runcorn Gap (second) Runcorn Gap (first) swing bridge Widnes Dock Ditton Mill Weaver Junction–Liverpool line (LNWR) to Weaver Junction & Euston Runcorn Bridge Ditton Junction Halebank Speke 1864 extension to Liverpool Church Road Garston Garston Container terminal Garston Dock Garston and Liverpool Railway to Hunts Cross Hunts Cross chord Liverpool South Parkway to Liverpool Central Allerton West Allerton Mossley Hill Sefton Park Wavertree Liverpool and Manchester Rly Edge Hill Liverpool Lime Street

History

The station first appeared in public timetables in 1852 as plain Farnworth.[5] Its name was changed to Farnworth & Bold on 2 January 1890.[6] The station was closed to passengers on 18 June 1951, when passenger trains were withdrawn between Widnes and St Helens. It closed completely on 1 June 1964. The line through the station closed in 1981 and was subsequently lifted. The trackbed through the station and the station itself have been buried under the A557.[7]

Services

In 1922 nine "Down" (northbound) trains a day called at Farnworth & Bold, 'One class only' (i.e. 3rd Class) and 'Week Days Only' (i.e. not Sundays). The "Up" service was similar. The trains' destinations were St Helens to the north and Ditton Junction to the south, with some travelling beyond to Runcorn or Liverpool Lime Street.[8]

In 1951 the service was sparser but more complex. Six trains called in each direction, Monday to Friday, the early morning ones providing both 1st and 3rd Class accommodation. On Saturdays four trains called in each direction, 3rd Class only. No trains called on Sundays.[9]

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Union Bank Farm Halt Line and station closed		London and North Western Railway St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway		Appleton Line and station closed

References

Notes

1. Suggitt 2004, p. 49.
2. Engineers' Line Reference SOM via railwaycodes
3. Smith & Turner 2012, Map 45
4. The station via Disused Stations UK
5. The station via Disused Stations UK
6. Pixton 1996, p. 60.
7. The station via Disused Stations UK
8. Bradshaw 1985, p. 495
9. Pixton 1996, p. 86.

Sources

• 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 and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-8708-5. OCLC 12500436.
• Pixton, Bob (1996), The Archive Photographs Series Widnes and St Helens Railways, The Chalford Publishing Company, ISBN 978-0-7524-0751-7CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Smith, Paul; Turner, Keith (2012), Railway Atlas Then and Now, Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7110-3695-6CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Suggitt, Gordon (2004). Lost Railways of Merseyside and Greater Manchester. Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-85306-869-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• "Disused Stations". Subterranea Britannica.
• The station on an 1888-1913 Overlay OS Map via National Library of Scotland
• the station on a 1948 OS Map via npe maps
• an illustrated history of the line via 8D Association