White Bear railway station

White Bear railway station, on Station Road, Adlington, Lancashire, England, was on the Lancashire Union Railway line between St Helens and Blackburn. The station was named in some timetables as White Bear (Adlington) or White Bear for Adlington.

White Bear
General information
Location	Adlington, Chorley, Lancashire England
Coordinates	53.61244°N 2.60681°W / 53.61244; -2.60681
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Joint Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway/Lancashire Union Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 December 1869	Opened
4 January 1960	Closed to passengers
October 1971	Line closed to all traffic

Lancashire Union Railway
Lancashire & Yorkshire Rly to Accrington Blackburn Lancashire & Yorkshire Rly to Bolton Mill Hill Cherry Tree Lancashire & Yorkshire Rly to Preston Feniscowles Withnell Brinscall ROF Heapey Heapey Heapey Bleachworks North Union Railway to Preston Chorley Rawlinson Bridge Ellerbeck Colliery North Union Railway to Bolton White Bear Red Rock North Union Railway to Preston Boar's Head Whelley Wigan Amberswood North Union Railway to Warrington Bryn Garswood Carr Mill St Helens London & North Western Rly to Liverpool

The station opened on 1 December 1869 one month after the line that it was situated on, the Lancashire Union Railway from Boars Head Junction in Standish to Rawlinson Bridge, opened for goods traffic. Passenger services also opened on the same date at Boars Head Junction and at Red Rock.

The joint line was constructed because the Wigan coal owners wanted better transportation links to the mills and factories of East Lancashire. The coal owners also wanted a line that would allow trains to go south and gain direct access to Garston Dock where shipping charges were far less than Liverpool dock.

The station was closed to passengers on 4 January 1960, but the line was used for freight and diversions until 1971.

Adlington railway station, serving the Manchester to Preston Line, is now the sole station in the village.

The tracks have been lifted and the station site has been completely built over.

References

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
• 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.
• Shannon, Paul; Hillmer, John (2003). Manchester and South Lancashire. British Railways Past and Present. Kettering: Past & Present Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85895-197-3. No 41.

External links

• Station history Adlington town website
• Station history Subterranea Britannica
• The station and nearby lines Rail Map Online
• Adlington's stations on navigable old OS maps, with current satellite overlay National Library of Scotland
• Adlington's stations on navigable late 1940s OS Map npe Maps
• The station, line and mileages Railway Codes
• The station from the air in 1950 Britain from Above (free login needed to zoom)

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Chorley Line closed, station open		London and North Western Railway Lancashire Union Railway		Red Rock Line and station closed