Chequerbent railway station

Chequerbent railway station was in Westhoughton to the south-west of Bolton, Greater Manchester, on a deviation of the original Bolton Great Moor St to Kenyon Junction line. The station replaced an earlier station on the original line of the railway that had been served by a stationary engine. It was open from 1885 until 1952 for passengers and 1965 for freight.

Chequerbent
Location	Chequerbent, Westhoughton, Bolton England
Coordinates	53.5505°N 2.4944°W
Grid reference	SD673060
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	London and North Western Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
2 February 1885	Station opened
3 March 1952	Station closed to passengers
25 February 1965	Station closed completely

LNWR lines to Bolton
Deansgate Goods Bolton Crook Street Goods Bolton Great Moor Street Original alignment shown in grey Rumworth and Daubhill Daubhill ( original and incline ) Plodder Lane Shed Plodder Lane Chequerbent Chequerbent ( original and incline ) Little Hulton Manchester–Southport line (LYR) to Wigan Wallgate Walkden High Level Atherton Bag Lane Walkden Low Level Hindley Green Howe Bridge Manchester & Wigan Rly to Wigan North Western Plank Lane Tyldesley Loopline Atherleigh Tyldesley Westleigh Ellenbrook Leigh Bolton and Leigh Railway Kenyon & Leigh Junction Rly Worsley Leeds & Liverpool Canal Bridgewater Canal Monton Green Pennington junctions to Bury Pennington Eccles East Lancashire Road Liverpool–Manchester lines Kenyon Junction Bridgewater Canal Liverpool–Manchester lines Some stations omitted in dotted sections

History

The Bolton and Leigh Railway (B&LR) opened for goods traffic in 1828, followed by passenger services in 1831.[1] The original railway included two inclines worked by stationary engines, one of which was situated north of Atherton Bag Lane railway station with the line climbing up through Chequerbent before dropping towards Bolton.

The stationary engines played a prominent role on the line for at least 15 years and it is believed they remained in operation until about 1846.[2] Cable haulage was discontinued once locomotive performance had improved sufficiently.[3]

The incline at Chequerbent was superseded by a deviation built by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1885, the LNWR was by then the owner and operator of the line.[4] At the same time the opportunity was taken to lay double track from Bag Lane through to Bolton.[5]

The route of the new line passed under the A6, whereas the previous line had crossed at road level, the station was sited in a cutting on the north side of the road-over bridge, complemented by a new Station Masters house and a number of railway cottages.[6]

The old track alignment continued in use from the north end to access Hulton Collieries.[6]

The station opened in 1885, replacing the earlier station which had opened in 1831. The new station was sometimes known as Chequerbent for Hulton Park.[7]

The station had two platforms reached via steps.[8][9]

The station had a goods yard situated to the north of the passenger station capable of handling "Live Stock, Horse Boxes and Prize Cattle Vans, and Carriages by Passenger Train".[10]

Freight traffic

The 1885 deviation eased the gradients somewhat, but the climb northwards from Atherton Bag Lane to Chequerbent remained arduous, with a nominal gradient of 1 in 30.5 for 1.6 miles - appreciably steeper than the Lickey Incline. This gradient was, however, purely nominal, as over the years colliery subsidence resulted in a continuous climb with an uneven gradient, including a stretch at 1 in 18.[11] This imposed severe restrictions on loads, locomotives and men[12] and resulted in this relative backwater becoming a Mecca for cameramen and film makers as dense loads such as sand were carried well into the 1960s.[13][14][15][16]

Closures

The station closed to passengers in 1952, though local passenger trains continued to pass through for two more years and excursion traffic for four years after that.[7] It finally closed completely in 1965.

The goods yard closed on 27 February 1965.[6]

The final closure of the line through Chequerbent was in January 1969 when the last remaining section of line between Howe Bridge Junction and Hulton Sidings was closed to Freight Traffic.

References

1. Shaw 1983.
2. Simpson 1990.
3. Sweeney 1996, p. 7.
4. Holt & Biddle 1986, p. 184.
5. Sweeney 1996, p. 8.
6. Sweeney 1996, p. 17.
7. Butt 1995, p. 59.
8. Holland 2001, p. 36.
9. Dart 2010, p. 20.
10. RCH (1904) 1970, p. 29.
11. Holland 2001, pp. 34 & 36.
12. Holland 2001, pp. 99–100.
13. Holland 2001, pp. 36, 92 & 128.
14. DVD4 2003, 24 mins from start.
15. DVD57 2003, 52 mins from start.
16. Gilbert & Knight 1975, Plate 126.

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
• Dart, Maurice (2010). Images of Lancashire and Cheshire Railways: Classic Photographs from the Maurice Dart Railway Collection. Wellington, Somerset: Halsgrove. ISBN 978-0-85704-056-5.
• Gilbert, A.C.; Knight, N.R. (1975). Railways Around Lancashire, a Pictorial Survey. Castleton, Greater Manchester: Manchester Transport Museum Society. ISBN 978-0-900857-09-6.
  • Holland, Bert (2001). Plodder Lane for Farnworth. Leigh: Triangle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9529333-6-6.
• Holt, Geoffrey O.; Biddle, Gordon (1986). The North West. A Regional history of the railways of Great Britain. 10 (2nd ed.). David St. John Thomas. ISBN 978-0-946537-34-1. OCLC 643506870.
• Lancashire & Yorkshire. Carnforth: Telerail. 2003 [1959–65]. Steam World Archive Volume 4.
• Lancashire & Yorkshire Memories Part 4 (Burnley to Bolton). Uffington, Shropshire: B&R Video Productions. 2003 [1959–68]. Volume 57.
• The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. ISBN 0-7153-5120-6.
• Shaw, William Stuart (1983). "A Concise History of the Bolton & Leigh Railway". Wigan: Wigan MBC Leisure Department. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
• Simpson, Bill (1990), Railways in and around Bolton: An historical review, Foxline publishing, ISBN 1-870119-11-8
• Sweeney, Dennis J. (1996). A Lancashire Triangle Part One. Leigh: Triangle Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9529333-0-4.

External links

• The station Disused Stations UK
• The station on a 1948 OS map npe maps
• The station on an 1892 series OS map overlay National Library of Scotland
• The station and line Rail Map Online
• The station and line railwaycodes

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Atherton Bag Lane Line and station closed		London and North Western Railway		Rumworth and Daubhill Line and station closed