Wigan Album

In 1864 the LNWR built it’s main line from Springs Branch No. 1 to Eccles via Tyldesley, Ellenbrook and Worsley. Part of this scheme was to build a connecting branch from Pennington South Jct. on the Kenyon to Bolton (Gt. Moor St.) line to Tyldesley thus giving an alternative through route from the Liverpool direction to Manchester. Indeed when the route west of Bickershaw Jct. to Springs Branch closed to regular passenger working around 1964, the DMU’s which plied from Liverpool Lime St. station to Manchester Exchange would be the last services along the ex-LNWR main line between Wigan and Manchester until the unfortunate total demise of the route in 1969.

The following views are all of the demolition of the bulk of the viaducting between the site of the station (now the ubiquitous lorry park of course) and where it returned to embankment as it headed approximately south towards the canal and the then BICC works. By far the biggest chunk to go was where the Bradshawgate by-pass (AKA Spinning Jenny Way) now runs.
However small sections still remain intact to this day between Lord St. South and Chapel St. All taken February 1988

Looking across the builder’s yard from Lord St. south with the remains of the viaduct in the background