| Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | closed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | North West England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheLiverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway, was formed in 1889, but no services ran until 1895 and then only freight. Passenger services did not start until 1900. It incorporated theSt Helens and Wigan Junction Railway.[1] It was taken over by theGreat Central Railway in 1906.[2]
| St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1885 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Citation | 48 & 49 Vict. c. cxxi |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1886 | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Citation | 50 Vict. c. xxxiii |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1889 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 52 & 53 Vict. c. xci |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Liverpool, St. Helens and South Lancashire Railway Act 1891 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to extend the time for the compulsory purchase of lands for certain railways authorised by the St Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1885 and the St Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1886 and to provide for the issue of preference or guaranteed shares or stock and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 54 & 55 Vict. c. cxv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 July 1891 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The railway was incorporated by theSt. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. cxxi) and theSt. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1886 (50 Vict. c. xxxiii) to enable the construction of a line from St Helens toLowton (eight miles) and St Helens to Liverpool (ten miles). The lines had share capital of £210,000 and £340,000 respectively. In 1887 a prospectus was published inviting subscriptions for the full 550,000 pounds.[3] The first sod was cut on 25 January 1888 by theEarl of Derby on the site of what becameSt Helens Central railway station (Great Central Railway). In July 1889, theSt. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. xci) extended the completion time until July 1893. The opening ceremony took place on 2 January 1900.[4]
The original intention was to connect to theCheshire Lines CommitteeNorth Liverpool Extension Line atFazakerley junction, to form a route toHuskisson Dock andSouthport, but nothing ever came of the scheme west of St Helens.
Henry Seton-Karr was chairman of the railway both at the time of the 1887 prospectus and at its opening.[5] In 1888, the railway`s solicitor wasRobert William Perks.[6]
The line ran fromSt Helens Central (GCR) railway station toLowton St Mary's.[7]
The line closed to passengers in 1952. It was reduced in stages as freight traffic ebbed and flowed. The key milestones were:
In 2015 very occasional trains still served the Hanson plant.
On 7 March 2015 an enthusiasts' excursion titled "Sabrina's Tea Train" traversed the line.[8]
A quarter-mile headshunt which ends at bufferstops approx 50 yards east of Bridge 13 over Edge Green Lane is the sole remaining section of the original route in use.
After purchasing the land surrounding the line at Edge Green in 2011, PF Jones Ltd worked with Hansons to restore the Kelbit line off the Haydock Branch Curve. The Kelbit line was reopened in 2018 and is used by Heidelberg (formerly Hanson) to transfer raw materials from Shap Quarry, Cumbria to distribute across the north west.
Between and Golborne and GlazebrookHigh Speed 2 proposed use of an alignment similar to the disused line in Phase 2b.[9] This "Golborne Link" was removed from HS2 plans before the northern leg was abandoned by the Conservative government in 2023.
