Wigan Album

what a wonderful station .we used to walk from Abram going through the big tunnel at Maypole colliery then past the apple and pear under the little tunnel then come out at the left hand side of the station.I know where the trains came from(Wigan) but have'nt got a clue were they ended up.the smell of the steam and the smoke was better than Chanel.happy days

In answer to your query the trains came from Wigan and went
through to Glazebrook and then onto Manchester Central.
The stations in between Wigan Central and Glazebrook were Lower Ince
Hindley South,Bickershaw and Abram,Westleigh and Bedford,Lowton St Marys,and Newchurch Halt.

Cliff,
Culcheth station was also on the line and between Lowton St. Mary’s and Newchurch Halt. However, where was the big tunnel referred to in the original post? The smaller one referred to, I am assuming, was underneath the mineral line which branched off left from the GCR line just before Bickershaw and Abram station. This then went over to the Wigan Junction colliery and then re-joined the mineral line from Maypole colliery. This line had forked off the GCR line about half a mile after leaving Westleigh and Bedford station which was the station before Bickershaw and Abram station. Any help much appreciated.

Dave. I have uploaded a picture of the tunnel you requested, with some info. Look out for it.

is this the station that was at the top of Crankwood Rd

I was born 300 yards down the lane from the station.When I was a young lad of 7 or 8,my grandad would take me to the box where a friend of his,Jack Bramhall, was the signal man.He would let me pull the leavers to work the signals and turn the big wheel to open and close the gates.Do toast and make tea on the pipe stove.This was 1949-52,very very fond memories.

I too was born not far from station (360 bickershaw lane). mary johnson kept the signal box when i was a kid. she had a son that lost all his teeth at a very early age. we caught the train to wigan every saturday and got off at the ritz pictures. if there was nothin interestin on we went to the court or county

forgot to say, the trains went from wigan to the steel works at irlam

I lived in Bickershaw from 1947 to 1965, I left School in 1957 and in 1958 got a job in Manchester. I used to travel on the train from Bickershaw station every day to Manchester Exchange Station. It was slow journey, but beat travelling into Wigan to get the train from Wigan Wallgate to Manchester Victoria. Happy Days. I had the perfect childhood in Bickershaw and have many happy memories.

jack bramhall in the signal box at bickershaw was my grandfather sadly he passed away when i was young.the family lived in stanley rd platt bridge.would welcome any info on him on ashur49@gmail.com

It's nice to read people's recollections. After all these years, and after remembering the station from when it was a functioning station to when it just became a gap in the landscape, my strongest memory is as the place where the holiday to Blackpool began. Bickershaw-Wigan-Blackpool-joy. That was the early '60s.

What a pity this station isn't here any more, just like the one that was in Golborne, it would be much better and ease traffic if all these small stations remained,I'm sure people would rather travel by train from a local stationthan be stuck in traffic !

You can see where the lens went here: http://www.ponies.me.uk/maps/osmap.html and I agree that there should be metro link style trams put back on these routes that largely still exist as walkways/cycling routes.

Hi Doreen -only just seen your comment.Mary Johnson didn't run the signal box ,it was always a bloke-never did know his name.Remember he used to let us walk down thetrack to the GC when no trains were due.Mary Johnson and Mrs Cunliffe ran the ticket office and the platforms,the boy 's name was Colin.

I obtained a station lamp case when it was knocked down

This photo can be seen on the disused stations website. According to the site the year of the photo is 1956 and not the early 60s. The station closed completely on 2nd Nov 1964. Wish more photos of these stations existed in the public domain, but back in those days people didn't exactly take pics of train stations and long lost buildings. I bet this was a great station that benefit many, especially local people. Bring these stations back I say, far too much traffic on the roads. I did hear some stations may be brought back, the Skelmersdale line and the Southport to Preston line using the Burscough curve. I wouldn't get my hopes up though.