Leigh (Greater Manchester) railway station
| Leigh | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Leigh |
| Area | Metropolitan Borough of Wigan |
| Coordinates | 53°29′50″N 2°30′40″W / 53.4971°N 2.5111°WCoordinates: 53°29′50″N 2°30′40″W / 53.4971°N 2.5111°W |
| Grid reference | SD661001 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | London and North Western Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | London Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| 1 September 1864 | Station opened as Bedford Leigh |
| 1 August 1876 | Renamed Leigh and Bedford |
| 1 July 1914 | Renamed Leigh |
| 5 May 1969 | Station closed |
| Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
| Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z |
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Leigh railway station, originally Bedford Leigh and later Leigh and Bedford, was a railway station in Bedford, Leigh, in the historic county of Lancashire, England.
Leigh station, in common with other stations on the Tyldesley Loopline, was opened by the London and North Western Railway in the Bedford township on 1 September 1864. At a junction to the west of Tyldesley station, the line from Eccles to Wigan headed north west and the branch to Bedford Leigh, Bradshaw Leach (renamed Pennington) and Kenyon Junction headed south west.
On 1 August 1876 Bedford Leigh was renamed Leigh & Bedford and on 1 July 1914 was named Leigh. The station joined the London Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping in 1923. It passed to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The station closed on 5 May 1969 leaving the town without a passenger railway.
Coal deposits were the chief motivation for building a railway in the area and the railway's supporters included many local colliery owners and industrialists. In 1874 John Speakman sank Bedford Colliery to the south of the railway. The colliery railway was linked to the main line at Speakman's Sidings between Bedford Leigh and Tyldesley stations in 1882.
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