Widnes South railway station
| Widnes South | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Widnes |
| Area | Halton |
| Coordinates | 53°21′30″N 2°44′02″W / 53.3583°N 2.7339°WCoordinates: 53°21′30″N 2°44′02″W / 53.3583°N 2.7339°W |
| Grid reference | SJ512848 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | London and North Western Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway |
| Post-grouping |
London Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| 1 March 1870 | Opened as Widnes |
| 5 January 1959 | Renamed Widnes South |
| 10 September 1962 | Closed to Passengers |
| 31 March 1969 | Closed completely |
| 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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Widnes South railway station was located in the town of Widnes in Cheshire, England on the east side of Victoria Road. It was built by the London and North Western Railway and situated on their Widnes Deviation Line, opening to passengers and goods in March 1870. This route was constructed by the LNWR to improve traffic flow on the busy Ditton Junction to Warrington Bank Quay Low Level and Manchester (the former Garston and Warrington Railway, later renamed as the St Helens Railway). It replaced an earlier station on the G&WR line located slightly further south and also had a connection to the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway, providing access towards the north.
Passenger services were primarily local in nature and provided by Liverpool Lime Street to Warrington Bank Quay & Manchester Oxford Road stopping trains and the Ditton Dodger between Ditton and St Helens Central - this pattern continued after the 1923 Grouping brought the route under the control of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway and the subsequent nationalisation of the UK railway network in January 1948. The line was also heavily used by freight, with the LNWR treating it as a key artery for through east-west traffic.
St Helens trains were withdrawn by the British Transport Commission in June 1951 - service levels on the route having been cut prior to World War 2 and never fully restored afterwards. The station was subsequently renamed as Widnes South by BR in January 1959 to differentiate it from the neighbouring Widnes Central station on the former Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway & Midland Railway Joint Widnes Loop line and "North" (now known simply as Widnes) on the Cheshire Lines Committee main line. It then closed to regular passenger traffic on 10 September 1962 with the withdrawal of services on the Ditton to Manchester via Warrington route. Special excursions run in conjunction with Widnes rugby league club home matches continued to call until 1965, whilst the goods depot remained open until 1969.
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