Notes: The first Wigan Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (LYR) station was situated on the Liverpool & Bury Railway (L&BR) which was authorised on 31 July 1845. The route of the line took in the towns of Wigan and Bolton and had been promoted by prominent industrialists who wanted a more direct route between the industrial areas of east Lancashire and the port of Liverpool. Since 1830 the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (L&M) had held a monopoly on trade between those areas and it did not offer a direct route. Work on the line began in January 1846 and on 9 July 1847 the L&BR merged with other companies to form the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (LYR). The line was opened on 20 November 1848 and a second route between Liverpool and Manchester was created as there was already a line between Bolton and Manchester which had opened on 29 May 1838.

The station which opened with the line was located south of Wallgate, a main street under which the line passed within the centre of Wigan. The station was a short distance north-east of the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) station. The LNWR line was at a higher elevation and passed over Wallgate. The station was accessed from Wallgate via an approach road that led down to the line.

The March 1850 timetable showed 7 trains in each direction Monday-to-Saturday as seen in the table below. On Sundays there were 3 trains in each direction.

On 9 April 1855 the LYR opened a line from Wigan to Southport. The Southport line connected to the Liverpool and Bury railway a ¼-mile west of the first station at Southport Junction.

The first LYR station does not appear to have been well regarded; the Ormskirk Advertiser newspaper described it as a ‘hovel’. On 26 May 1860 the LYR opened a new station at Wigan. It was located further west than the original on the north side of Wallgate.

In 1877 a signal box opened at the station site. It was originally called Wigan Goods Yard but it was renamed Wigan No.2 in 1894. The box was a Saxby & Farmer Type 9 structure and it controlled movements along the main line and into an adjacent goods yard until 27 July 1941.

Route map by Alan Young.

The 8D Association - Dedicated to promoting the history of South Lancashire and North Cheshire railways. Web Site

Sources:

• The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway - Volume 1 - John Marshall - David & Charles 1969

To see other stations on the Liverpool Exchange - Wigan Wallgate line click on the station name: Liverpool Exchange, Liverpool Great Howard Street,
Kirkby Royal Ordnance Factory, Rainford, Rainford Junction, Upholland 1st &
Wigan (LYR) 2nd.