Wigan Album

Ribble at one time did operate a Wigan/Blackburn direct service which called at Chorley bus station. Don't know what the route no.was. This was discontinued and going to Blackburn by bus then involved a change of buses at Chorley.

Ribble operated two or three Wigan to Blackburn services. They were numbered 239/249/259 and the only variation was the variation of routes taken. I know one via Old Parish in Coppull and another served Abbey Village between Chorley and Blackburn.

I'm rather puzzled as I grew up in Coppull and I don't recall any of those bus service numbers,The Ribble services that ran when I was a kid were the 124-the Blackburn to Wigan via Chorley service and the 125-the Preston to Wigan via Chorley,the other Wigan routes were operated by North Western,but their route numbers began with a number three.

Sarah. You must be a lot younger than us old timers. The numbers to which you refer are the ones that existed after 1986 when bus routes were deregulated. The original routes from Wigan through Coppull were the 125 (Wigan - Chorley - Preston) and the 239/249/259 as stated previously. Deregualtion created a new company (North Western now Arriva)who extended the 352/362 Wigan - St Helens service to Chorley to create a Chorley - St Helens service and the old 239/249/259 became just a 124 operated by Blackburn Transport. Ribble (later Stagecoach) operated the 125 until that too was changed to operate from Preston to Bolton instead.