Wigan Album

This is the entrance from Ladies Lane bridge and booking office to the centre platforms. Towards Wigan, under the bridge you can see the iron foot bridge (still there today) and at one time number one signal box was situated next to the water tank.

Good photo.
If anyone is interested regarding the signals,
the Top arm is the down slow home signal for Hindley No 1 Signal Box(controlled by lever no 31 in Hindley No1 box).
Lower arm is the down slow distant signal for Hindley No 2 Signal Box (controlled by lever 72 in Hindley No2 box) & is 410 yards braking distance to Hindley No 2s down slow outer home signal (that was mounted on the iron bridge).

Oh dear,
I need to get a life. :-(

Colin,you can just make out on the very extreme right of the photo part of the then modern flat roofed 1950s BR (LMR) Type 15 signal box for Hindley North No1 (commissioned on the 4th March 1956 & closed/abolished on the 26th January 1969).

Circa 1963? this photo?,possibly????

Colin; Do you know who manufactured the footbridge?
I vaguely remember seeing a photo of a railway footbridge in a book of photo`s of items manufactured by Walker Bros.(Wigan) Limited

Google it Ernest, you're good at it.

Colin; had already tried Google. Don`t suppose there`s a manufacturer`s plate attached.

Ernest,If it helps I would imagine that (at least some) of the bridges on this line would date from the 1880s or so,which is around the time when the L&Y quadrupled this section in connection with the "new" line from Windsor Bridge to Crow Nest.

Many of the bridges were indeed contractor built on a job,by job basis,with many of them being made from a mixture of cast iron/wrought iron & brick.

I will do my best to find out from a railway author friend of mine just who were on the list of authorised contractors for the L&Y at the time.
Might take me a while,but I will ask him for you,the next time I go for a beer with him.

Thanks Baldylocks. Off subject, but have had no success as to finding out what happened to the tram lines in Wigan - are they still in situ? Also can`t determine what happened to the civilian type gas masks that were issued for 1939-45 war. Where they handed in or binned? Incidentally I saw a civilian type gas mask, with its box, in St.Peter`s Church, Stockport yesterday along with other 1940`s items including a `tin hat` and ration book. My mother was issued with a `tin hat` and an armband - she was an ARP warden.

Ernest,as for the tram lines I`m not too sure as tramways are not my forte,but I would imagine that a lot of them initially got tarmacked over at first & then later ripped up when roads were resurfaced properly?.
If the old tramway rails were just left in situ it would no doubt interfere with the operation of the roadplaning machines so I would think that most of the former tramway rails are now actually long gone having been removed during past resurfacing works?.

The last bit of unearthed tramway I witnessed was not in Wigan but in Horwich during resurfacing works on Chorley New Road in Horwich back in the 1990s when during resurfacing works the roadplaner exposed some of the old tramway rails that were actually still in situ here & there.

None of the old tramway rail formation at Horwich was intact in it`s entirety as it had been cut through all over over the years to allow past roadworks to be done? or to allow repairs to water?,gas? & lecky? mains that lay beneath?.

No doubt there are still some old bits of tram infrastructure lying forgotten hidden & buried all over the show.

But where exactly?,Who knows?

The wife`s elderly anutie was an ARP warden too (she passed away recently),but often told me & the wife about her coming off shift in the mills when she was younger only to then go & do some ARP duty like patrolling,or firewatching from the top of a church clock tower,or a mill roof,or helping out doing some other observation duty at possibly at Billinge Hill (in all weathers).

What is signified by the 'diamond' shape on the lattice?

I recently found a 10' long porcelain sign that says " Hindley North No 1 " on it and looking for more info on it especially if I could find a photo of it. It made its way to the Vancouver, British Columbia ,Canada area.Any info would be greatly appreciated ! Thanks, Barry