Notes: Whelley Station was located on the Whelley Loop which was constructed to allow trains to bypass Wigan on route from Blackburn to St Helens. The line which was built primarily for Freight opened in 1869.
On the 1st January 1872 the Lancashire Union Railway opened two stations on the line, one at Whelley and one at Amberswood.
Whelley station was located on the south side of a road overbridge that carried Whelley Road. The station had two platforms and a station master’s house was provided. At the time of opening Whelley was served by three trains per day which ran to Liverpool. The service was not a success and ceased after only two months. Whelley Station closed on the 1st March 1872. After cessation of the passenger services the station survived for nearly a century as a goods station.
The Whelley Loop itself carried numerous goods, excursion and diverted passenger trains well into the 1960's. The line was closed in 1970 but reopened briefly in 1972 when it was singled and it went out of use in 1976.
Today steps up to road level at the site of the northbound platform are used as an access point to and from the bridleway that runs along the trackbed of the Whelley Loop but they may not be of railway origin.
See also Amberswood |