Bolton and Leigh Railway
Encyclopedia
The Bolton and Leigh Railway (B&L) was the first public railway in the historic county of Lancashire
, England. It opened in 1828 for goods.
to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
at Leigh
", allowing steam haulage and stationary steam-hauled inclined planes. George Stephenson
was appointed as the chief engineer.
The single-track line built to carry goods, mainly coal
and raw cotton to the cotton mills from the Port of Liverpool
, was 7½ miles (12 km) long. The first section opened on 1 August 1828 between Derby Street Bolton and William Hulton
's Collieries
at Pendlebury Fold near Chequerbent. Fletchers sidings near Bag Lane provided a connection for Fletcher's
collieries at Howe Bridge
in Atherton
. The railway opened two years before the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
(L&MR). The route was surveyed and prepared by George Stephenson
, but engineered by Robert Daglish
, a local man who built a locomotive for the Orrell Colliery Railway. The railway was single track with two rope worked inclines using stationary steam engines, one 20 horse power at Daubhill and one 50 horse power at Chequerbent. The first locomotive, Lancashire Witch
was built by George and Robert Stephenson
; originally intended for the L&MR it was delivered temporarily to the B&LR as it opened first, and later returned to the L&MR for use in its construction. While with B&LR it was used to haul trains up the 1 in 33 gradient at Daubhill. After the Rainhill Trials
it was replaced by Timothy Hackworth
's Sans Pareil
. The line was completed to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Leigh by end of March 1830.
The railway operated from Bolton Great Moor Street
to Leigh. In 1829, the 2.5 miles (4 km) long Kenyon and Leigh Junction Railway (K&LJ) was incorporated to link the Bolton & Leigh Railway with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, joining it at Kenyon Junction
near Warrington
. The Act of Parliament (10 George IV. Cap.36) receiving Royal Assent on 14 May 1829. At first, the railway was freight only, but a passenger service started on 13 June 1831.
Early locomotives include Lancashire Witch
and Sans Pareil
, which had competed in the Rainhill Trials
. Sans Pareil was used on the railway until 1844, when it was sold to the Coppull Colliery, Chorley
and used as a stationary engine until 1863 when it was presented to the Science Museum.
In 1831 the railway owned three other locomotives, "Union" built in 1830 by Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell
Bolton, "Salamander" and "Veteran" both built by Crook & Dean in Bolton.
in Westleigh
. Kenyon Junction
, on the L&M, opened on 1 March 1831. Further stations opened at Daubhill and Chequerbent in 1846, along with Bradshaw Leach
on the K&LJ. In 1871, the original station at Bolton Great Moor Street was closed by the London and North Western Railway
(LNWR) for reconstruction, and a temporary station opened at Crook Street, which was open from 1 August 1871 to 28 September 1874. The new Great Moor Street station opened on that date, having been rebuilt on its original site but some ten feet (three metres) higher. A new direct line to Manchester via Roe Green opened on 1 April 1875.
In the 1880s, the LNWR decided to remove the inclines at Daubhill and Chequerbent. A new alignment was built at Daubhill, and a new station opened to replace the original. The new alignment included a short tunnel. The original line was retained as a freight line at each end, but severed in the middle. The new Daubhill station opened on 2 February 1885, and was renamed Rumworth & Daubhill on the 28 April of that year. At Chequerbent, a new alignment and station was also built, but the original line remained in its entirety, serving the Chequerbent Pits. The last station to open was Atherleigh
which the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
opened on 14 October 1935 as there had been new housing development in the area.
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England. It opened in 1828 for goods.
History
The company obtained its Act of Parliament on 31 March 1825 to build a line "from the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal at BoltonBolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
at Leigh
Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....
", allowing steam haulage and stationary steam-hauled inclined planes. George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
was appointed as the chief engineer.
The single-track line built to carry goods, mainly coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and raw cotton to the cotton mills from the Port of Liverpool
Port of Liverpool
The Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed 7.5 mile dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the river...
, was 7½ miles (12 km) long. The first section opened on 1 August 1828 between Derby Street Bolton and William Hulton
William Hulton
William Hulton was an English landowner and magistrate.William Hulton was the son of William Hulton and Jane of Hulton Park, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford...
's Collieries
Hulton Colliery Company
The Hulton Colliery Company was a coal mining company operating on the Lancashire Coalfield from the mid 19th century in Over Hulton and Westhoughton, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England....
at Pendlebury Fold near Chequerbent. Fletchers sidings near Bag Lane provided a connection for Fletcher's
Fletcher, Burrows and Company
Fletcher, Burrows and Company was a coal mining company that owned collieries in Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. Gibfield, Howe Bridge and Chanters collieries exploited the coal mines of the middle coal measures in the Manchester Coalfield...
collieries at Howe Bridge
Howe Bridge
Howe Bridge is a suburb of Atherton in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated to the south west of Atherton town centre on the B5215, the old turnpike road from Bolton to Leigh...
in Atherton
Atherton, Greater Manchester
Atherton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire. It is east of Wigan, north-northeast of Leigh, and northwest of Manchester...
. The railway opened two years before the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
(L&MR). The route was surveyed and prepared by George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
, but engineered by Robert Daglish
Robert Daglish
Robert Daglish was an English steam engineer.Robert Daglish was born in Northumberland but by 1804 had moved to Wigan, Lancashire as engineer and manager of the Haigh Ironworks of the Earl of Balcarres...
, a local man who built a locomotive for the Orrell Colliery Railway. The railway was single track with two rope worked inclines using stationary steam engines, one 20 horse power at Daubhill and one 50 horse power at Chequerbent. The first locomotive, Lancashire Witch
Lancashire Witch
Lancashire Witch was an early steam locomotive built by Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1828. It was a development of Locomotion.-Description:...
was built by George and Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
; originally intended for the L&MR it was delivered temporarily to the B&LR as it opened first, and later returned to the L&MR for use in its construction. While with B&LR it was used to haul trains up the 1 in 33 gradient at Daubhill. After the Rainhill Trials
Rainhill Trials
The Rainhill Trials were an important competition in the early days of steam locomotive railways, run in October 1829 in Rainhill, Lancashire for the nearly completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway....
it was replaced by Timothy Hackworth
Timothy Hackworth
Timothy Hackworth was a steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.- Youth and early work :...
's Sans Pareil
Sans Pareil
Sans Pareil is a steam locomotive built by Timothy Hackworth which took part in the 1829 Rainhill Trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, held to select a builder of locomotives...
. The line was completed to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Leigh by end of March 1830.
The railway operated from Bolton Great Moor Street
Bolton Great Moor Street railway station
Bolton Great Moor Street railway station was the first railway station in Bolton, opened on 11 June 1831 by the Bolton and Leigh Railway. Originally named simply Bolton, it was renamed Bolton Great Moor Street in October 1849...
to Leigh. In 1829, the 2.5 miles (4 km) long Kenyon and Leigh Junction Railway (K&LJ) was incorporated to link the Bolton & Leigh Railway with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, joining it at Kenyon Junction
Kenyon Junction railway station
Kenyon Junction was a junction railway station at Kenyon on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Bolton and Leigh Railway near Culcheth in Warrington, England. It was situated within the historic county of Lancashire. The station opened in 1831 and closed to passengers on 2 January 1961...
near Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
. The Act of Parliament (10 George IV. Cap.36) receiving Royal Assent on 14 May 1829. At first, the railway was freight only, but a passenger service started on 13 June 1831.
Locomotives
Lancashire Witch
Lancashire Witch was an early steam locomotive built by Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1828. It was a development of Locomotion.-Description:...
and Sans Pareil
Sans Pareil
Sans Pareil is a steam locomotive built by Timothy Hackworth which took part in the 1829 Rainhill Trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, held to select a builder of locomotives...
, which had competed in the Rainhill Trials
Rainhill Trials
The Rainhill Trials were an important competition in the early days of steam locomotive railways, run in October 1829 in Rainhill, Lancashire for the nearly completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway....
. Sans Pareil was used on the railway until 1844, when it was sold to the Coppull Colliery, Chorley
Chorley
Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. It is the largest settlement in the Borough of Chorley. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry...
and used as a stationary engine until 1863 when it was presented to the Science Museum.
In 1831 the railway owned three other locomotives, "Union" built in 1830 by Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell
Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell
Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell was an engineering company in Bolton, England.Set up in 1830, the partners became interested in the production of steam locomotives after the Rainhill Trials...
Bolton, "Salamander" and "Veteran" both built by Crook & Dean in Bolton.
Openings
The original stations on the line were Bolton, Bag Lane and LeighWestleigh railway station
Westleigh or West Leigh station was a station in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England onthe Bolton and Leigh Railway line. It was situated within the historic county of Lancashire...
in Westleigh
Westleigh, Greater Manchester
Westleigh, a suburb of Leigh, Greater Manchester is one of three ancient townships, Westleigh, Bedford, Greater Manchester and Pennington, that merged in 1875 to form the town of Leigh.-Toponymy:...
. Kenyon Junction
Kenyon Junction railway station
Kenyon Junction was a junction railway station at Kenyon on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Bolton and Leigh Railway near Culcheth in Warrington, England. It was situated within the historic county of Lancashire. The station opened in 1831 and closed to passengers on 2 January 1961...
, on the L&M, opened on 1 March 1831. Further stations opened at Daubhill and Chequerbent in 1846, along with Bradshaw Leach
Pennington railway station
Pennington Station was a railway station at Pennington, Leigh, Greater Manchester, England on the Bolton and Leigh Railway. It was situated within the historic county of Lancashire....
on the K&LJ. In 1871, the original station at Bolton Great Moor Street was closed by the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(LNWR) for reconstruction, and a temporary station opened at Crook Street, which was open from 1 August 1871 to 28 September 1874. The new Great Moor Street station opened on that date, having been rebuilt on its original site but some ten feet (three metres) higher. A new direct line to Manchester via Roe Green opened on 1 April 1875.
In the 1880s, the LNWR decided to remove the inclines at Daubhill and Chequerbent. A new alignment was built at Daubhill, and a new station opened to replace the original. The new alignment included a short tunnel. The original line was retained as a freight line at each end, but severed in the middle. The new Daubhill station opened on 2 February 1885, and was renamed Rumworth & Daubhill on the 28 April of that year. At Chequerbent, a new alignment and station was also built, but the original line remained in its entirety, serving the Chequerbent Pits. The last station to open was Atherleigh
Atherleigh railway station
Atherleigh railway station served an area of Leigh in what was then Lancashire, England. It was located on the Bolton and Leigh Railway line which ran from Kenyon Junction to Bolton Great Moor Street Station.-History:...
which the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
opened on 14 October 1935 as there had been new housing development in the area.