Wigan Album

It seems odd that I don't remember it, but I never went further down Station Road in the 1960s than The Ritz for the Saturday morning pictures and I have no recollection whatsoever of Central Station.

i vaguely remember it & the junction at the bottom of king st with the barriers across .

I remember it very well - I always thought it was a quaint station more picturesque than the others. Also the bridge over Scholes which was dismantled and the Darlington one.
Irene this one was more like the one in our favourite film "Brief Encounter" ; you could imagine the cafe inside there, although I had never been inside it. ( if there was one.)

whups.. what barriers?

It's on the same line as Lower Ince station Irene.

I agree Veronica,it was a quaint looking station,a more attractive building than the other two.

I'm with you Irene, went to the ABC as it became then, and walked past the Casino ( Emp ) many times but don't remember it being a station. It came to my attention when the busses began parking on it. Perhaps Makinson's frontage made it look like something else.

Whups, the line from Central station crossed the bottom of Scholes on a bridge and further on crossed the junction of Darlington Street/Warrington Lane/Darlington Street East on a bridge as well. I don't understand how King Street fits in with this line.

Stan. As I believe you are aware. The railway station in Ince Green Lane, was the one near to the Manley public house, and not the one near to Ince Parish Church. Mentioned just in case someone is unaware.

Central Station had wooden platforms and still had gas lamps long after electricity came in.
Our bus stop was just across the road and on the rare occasions when a train came in us kids would dash across to watch the spectacle.
It was like stepping back in time.

Ron - An excellent photograph of the Central, just as I remember it together with the old tank engines that were used on this line. I travelled into Wigan on most Saturday mornings from Westleigh and Bedford during the 1940s and fifties. My recollection is that there was seldom a shortage of passengers. I believe that Dr Beeching may have ended this era.

WN1 Standisher Just about remember the station. I was 5 when it closed. Living in Greenough Street I could see the trains arriving and departing, Must have been an early memory. An old friend of mine today states he remembers same: standing on my parents bedroom sill and watching. Must have been the final days 1964

Remember Scholes Bridge very well. Walking underneath on St Georges Walking Days

Some very interesting information, with photos, about Wigan Central station here: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/w/wigan_central/

Seen this tank 42456 many times at Hindley South many times.

I travelled to manchester from wigan central,the stations i recall ; lower ince , hindley south, bickershaw , lowton st marys ,culcheth, glazebrook , irlam ,trafford park,manchester central [G MEX].i remember lowton st marys signs being blue & white , not the BR maroon & cream

There was also Westleigh and Bedford as already mentioned,used to get off there to go fishing in Pennington Flash.

That must have been a great sight Tony seeing the steam trains coming and going into Wigan :)

The last main line passenger train to be hauled by a steam locomotive on British Rail was on the 11th of August, 1968.
The last time that I travelled on one, was on the 6th, July, 1964. ‘The City of London’. Wigan to Euston.

Just think what a bonus this line would be today had it been kept open.

Yes WN1 Standisher. going on holidays to Blackpool mid 60s. Always a steam train from Wigan North Western platform 5. Mum used to put her fingers in my ears as the train arrived. It took about an hour to get to Blackpool. It was always Blackpool North. I have one recollection, a day trip of going to Blackpool Central. On a day trip about 1964 before the the station closed.

We used to go on specials from Hindley South to Blackpool Central around Easter time.

In the summer of 1943, went to Blackpool, from Wigan. It took over three hours. Several times the train was held up for periods of time to allow troop trains free passage.