Wigan Album

Ron - Just had a look at an old OS Map circa 1890, and it appears to be a short loop, rejoining the mainline at the other end of the station.
Could it have been for goods traffic at the quarry and brick and tile works?

Could it be for Finch's quarry?

Theres still two bridges that cross mill lane so maybe the line did go to the brick works.

You can see stone flags propped up in the yard, so probably from Finches quarry. You wouldn't want to leave them lying about these days!

When I was a lad in the 1950s and went to the Mission School a little further down Appley Lane North the circular line behind the station was in working order

Hi,
If you look close at the photo's the railway waggons look like they are carrying coal the was 2 coal mines in Appley Bridge at the time in Dalton both of them drift mines and later becoming material for Redland Brick Factory one was quite big the second one I worked at when I was working for Todd's who had equipment on hire to remove and transport the shale I remmber one we hit a very large coal seam and took by truck the coal for sampling to NCB but what happen later I don't know but we back filled where the seam was

The station photo was taken pre 1923, the loco is a Lancashire and Yorkshire railway 0-6-0 goods engine and hasn't been re-painted into LMS livery (post 1923). It is in the goods yard, the second bridge was carrying the loop into the goods yard from the main line. There was a siding on the west side of the Appley Lane bridge serving the Lino Works (Thomas Witters in the 50's/60's). The traffic to this siding was Bitumen in Tank Wagons and was usually shunted from the goods yard by the morning pick-up goods train loco.