Notes: West Leigh Station opened as Leigh and was situated
on the Kenyon Junction to Bolton line which had opened in stages
from 1828 to 1831 as the 'Bolton and Leigh Railway'. The first
section of the line from Bolton to Chequerbent opened on 28.8.1828.
The line had been engineered by George Stephenson and it was
one of his locomotives, the Lancashire Witch, that made the
inaugural run. The line had reached Leigh by March 1830 but
it was not until 2.6.1831 when the line had reached Kenyon Junction
on the famous Liverpool and Manchester Railway that passenger
services began. The first passenger run was an excursion from
Bolton to Newton for a horse racing event.
The station was renamed as West Leigh on 1 August 1876. The
name sometimes appeared as Westleigh rather than West Leigh,
but the latter version was used in all the timetables. The station
was provided with two platforms. The station was served by trains
running between Great Moor Street and points to the west of
Kenyon Junction. By the 1930's over 20 trains per day operated.
By the 1950's traffic levels had dwindled to six services running
between Bolton and Kenyon Junction or Warrington. West Leigh
Station closed to regular passenger services on 27.3.1954.
For several years after formal closure, the station was used
for holiday excursions and for rugby specials for the nearby
Leigh RLFC ground at Hilton Park. The line was on a low embankment
which was removed during the construction of Atherleigh Way.
The only indication of the existence of a former railway is
the nearby Railway Hotel.
To see the other
stations on the Bolton Great Moor Street - Kenyon Junction line
click on the station name: Kenyon
Junction, Pennington,
Atherleigh, Atherton
Bag Lane, Chequerbent
1st, Chequerbent
2nd, Daubhill 1st,
Rumworth
& Daubhill & Bolton
Great Moor Street
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