North Union Railway
| Locale | Lancashire |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1838–1846 |
| Predecessor | Wigan Branch Railway and Preston and Wigan Railway |
| Successor | London and North Western Railway |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The North Union Railway was an early British railway company, operating in Lancashire and formed in 1834 by an Act of Parliament which authorised its founding as the first-ever railway amalgamation. The two companies were the Wigan Branch Railway and the Preston and Wigan Railway. The North Union was short-lived as an independent company. In 1846, it was leased jointly by the Grand Junction Railway and the Manchester and Leeds Railway.
Even before completion of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR), an Act of Parliament in May 1830 granted the Wigan Branch Railway Company the right to develop a seven-mile branch line from the L&MR at Parkside Junction, near Newton-le-Willows, serving local coal mines (particularly by a branch to New Springs) and the town of Wigan. A single line was opened on 3 September 1832. In what was a unique arrangement at the time, the Wigan Branch Company declined to hire its own staff or provide motive power and rolling stock. Instead, they decided to have the line worked by the L&MR. By 1838, the branch line had been doubled to facilitate a planned onward extension from Wigan to Preston.
The Wigan and Preston Junction Railway was incorporated on 22 April 1831 but made slow progress in achieving its aim of connecting Wigan with Preston, now the county town of Lancashire. In August 1833, before work on the Wigan–Preston line had begun, it was agreed to amalgamate the two companies with the title of The North Union Railway. The merged company was formed on 22 May 1834. Ratified by Act of Parliament, it was the first-ever amalgamation of railway companies.
The major engineering work on the extended line was the construction of the Ribble Bridge near Preston. The foundation stone was laid on 1 September 1835 and the line took another three years to complete. A trial run was held on 22 October 1838 with a train running from Wigan to Preston, and the line opened to the public nine days later.
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