Wigan Album

This Special was used as an experiment, and also short-lived. Other photos of this station ('less colourful than Ray's') can be seen on the Disused Stations site.
I also like the 1930s Railway Poster-feel about this photo -The sun in Chantilly is no different than when shone in Ashton-in-Makerfield.

I can recall going to Haydock Park on a special train from Wigan Wallgate, a very hot summer of 1976 or perhaps 1977. The train pulled up on the old line that went almost to the main gate of Haydock Park and it was an old wooden platform.

Nice one Ray.
See item 25917 now and then.

The 'Disused Stations' website says they ran five such specials in 1975 as an experiment, but did not continue with any others thereafter. The station looks very clean and tidy, considering it had previously been out of use for years. I wonder if they spent a tidy sum on the cleanup prior to abandoning it.

History, and a collection of photos can be seen here:
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/a/ashton_in_makerfield/

The race goers from Liverpool would have got off at Bryn station for Haydock Park, I would have thought.

Ashton Station? Where was that then?

Although it was named Ashton In Makerfield station it was just over the boundary in Haydock.

Ashton station was on the Haydock side of Byrchall school. The land is now occupied by a small office development, previously Welsby brothers scrap metal business.
It was on the St. Helens branch of the LNER. The next stop was Haydock Park and then on to Lowton St. Mary’s.

The station was situated near byrchall high school and the parks on the A49

Jarvo, Disused Stations shows its mapped location.

Like AW said the station was just across from the main entrance and it was an old wooden platform unlike in the photo. I used this service several times because I went to quite a few race meetings although I remember catching the train from Wigan North Western?

Ashton station was next to the old prisoner-of-war camp, so any prisoners that escaped could get the next train back to Berlin.

I tried to post earlier but message must have got lost? I used this service several times and like AW said the platform was made of old sleepers I think unlike the one in the photo, also I remember catching the train from Wigan N W. It stopped just across the main entrance from the racecourse?

This line started from St.Helens Central and as Keith Beckett says ran through Ashton in Makerfield and Haydock Park onto Culcheth and Lowton St. Mary's

Haydock Park station, mentioned in the above comments also has a page on the disused stations site. Photo, here:
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/h/haydock_park/haydock_park(c1905)old1.jpg

LNER? You sure about that? Don't you mean Great Central?

Jarvo, on the occasion of grouping into the 'Big Four', Great Central was incorporated into LNER. though this particular 'outlier' soon reverted to LMS for reasons of simple practicality. Cheshire Lines Committee metals, had, in any case been run jointly with Midland by Lincolnshire, Manchester and Sheffield RLY prior to grouping.

Thank you, Priscus. This was never a line that I was familiar with. Just a bit before my time.

As has been mentioned, this was the branch line from Lowton to St Helens Central built by the Great Central Railway in 1900 (the other partners of the CLC wouldn't stump up the cash). At the 1923 grouping, this became part of the LNER (as did the line to Wigan Central) and it was only after nationalisation in 1947 that British Railways started to rationalise and this line became part of their London Midland Region (not the LMS). The station closed to normal passenger traffic in 1952 but remained open for race day specials until 1963 or 1965. This picture shows an experiment conducted in 1975 and as stated above, it wasn't repeated. This was possible because there was an oil depot in Haydock that received freight trains up until 1983, keeping the line open.