Widnes railway station
General information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Farnworth, Halton England | ||||
Coordinates | 53°22′43″N 2°44′01″W / 53.378502°N 2.7336°W | ||||
Grid reference | SJ512871 | ||||
Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||
Platforms | 2 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | WID | ||||
Classification | DfT category E | ||||
History | |||||
Original company | Cheshire Lines Committee | ||||
Pre-grouping | Cheshire Lines Committee | ||||
Post-grouping | Cheshire Lines Committee | ||||
Key dates | |||||
1 August 1873 | Opened as Farnworth for Widnes | ||||
ca. 1914/15 | Renamed Farnworth for Appleton | ||||
ca. 1938/39 | Renamed Farnworth (Widnes) | ||||
5 January 1959 | Renamed Widnes North | ||||
6 July 1964 | Closed for goods | ||||
6 May 1968 | Renamed Widnes | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2018/19 | 0.438 million | ||||
2019/20 | 0.457 million | ||||
2020/21 | 0.107 million | ||||
2021/22 | 0.359 million | ||||
2022/23 | 0.377 million | ||||
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Widnes railway station (formerly Widnes North) is a railway station serving the industrial town of Widnes, Halton, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[1] The station is operated by Northern Trains.
History
[edit]The station opened as Farnworth for Widnes on 1 August 1873 when the Cheshire Lines Committee opened the line between Glazebrook and Cressington & Grassendale to passengers.[a][3][4] Farnworth being at the time a village over 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Widnes, but has since been absorbed to become a northern suburb of the town.[5]
The station is located where the line is bridged by Birchfield Road, now the B5419. The main station building is of the "common twin-pavilion type adopted by the CLC" with a larger, two-storey, projecting pavilion forming a house and a smaller single-storey one. Linking them is an entrance hall, ticket office and three-bay iron-arcaded waiting shelter. The building is decorated with elaborately fretted bargeboards. The station was equipped with a carved stone drinking fountain.[6] Opposite the main building was a matching waiting shelter, this was replaced sometime after 1961 with a steel and glass type shelter.[7]
It had two platforms, both accessed by steps down from the road overbridge[b] on either side of two running lines, the platforms had sidings at their back the one to the north was equipped with a cattle pen.[9] There was a goods yard and shed to the north of the lines and west of the station.[10][11] The goods yard was able to accommodate most types of goods, it was equipped with a five-ton crane.[12]
In about 1914/15 the station was renamed Farnworth for Appleton and then Farnworth (Widnes) around 1938/39.[3] The station was renamed Widnes North on 5 January 1959 , the former LN&WR station becoming Widnes South at this time and finally Widnes on 6 May 1968 after Widnes Central and Widnes South had closed.[3][13]
The station closed to goods traffic on 6 July 1964 and the goods yard demolished.[14][15]
"Homeward Bound" by Paul Simon
[edit]Widnes railway station is generally believed to be where Paul Simon composed the song "Homeward Bound",[16] although some think it more likely that it was Ditton railway station, in order to get to London by train. Simon is quoted as saying "[i]f you'd ever seen Widnes, then you'd know why I was keen to get back to London as quickly as possible."[17] However, rather than actually being 'homeward bound' (Simon temporarily lived in London at the time), he was on tour and had just performed at local DJ Geoff Speed's Howff Folk Club and was reportedly dropped off at Widnes station by him.[18][19] Simon was not headed for London but for Humberside and Widnes station would have been the logical choice of station to travel there.[20]
Facilities
[edit]A footbridge now connects the two platforms. The station is staffed, but only until early afternoon. There is a car park outside. The station was refurbished in 2009 and as of 2010 houses a station shop and a beauty parlour, though there are still no toilet or waiting facilities for passengers other than the already existent shelter on the Manchester-bound platform. The platforms and footbridge have recently been refurbished. A ticket machine has been installed on both platforms. Digital display screens and automated announcements provide train running information.
The ticket office is staffed on a part-time basis between the hours of 07:00 and 14:25 Mon-Sat. Step free access is available to both platforms.[21]
Services
[edit]There is an hourly local service (operated by Northern Trains) in each direction calling here, running eastbound to Warrington Central and west to Liverpool Lime Street. This stops at most stations en-route to Liverpool and at Warrington West before terminating at Warrington Central. A small number of peak and late evening trains between Liverpool and Manchester Oxford Road also stop here. On Sundays, the service is hourly to Liverpool and Manchester Oxford Road.
An express service also operates hourly in each direction (run by East Midlands Railway), from Liverpool to Manchester Piccadilly, Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich. The journey time on most of these trains to Manchester is 30 minutes, whilst Liverpool can be reached in 18 minutes.[22]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Historic England. "Widnes North Railway Station (1106340)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
- ^ Bolger 1984, pp. 4–6.
- ^ a b c Quick 2022, p. 482.
- ^ Bolger 1984, p. 12.
- ^ Cassini (2007). "Warrington, Widnes & Runcorn" (Map). Past & Present Map 1842 to present day. 1:50,000. Cartography by Ordnance Survey. Cassini Publishing. §§ 1842 & present day. ISBN 978-1-84736-418-0.
- ^ Biddle 2003, pp. 469–471.
- ^ Pixton 1996, p. 32.
- ^ Pixton 2007, p. 69 compare the two photographs.
- ^ Lancashire Sheet CXV.5 (Map). 25 inch. Ordnance Survey. 1941.
- ^ Bolger 1984, p. 40.
- ^ Lancashire Sheet CXV.5 (Map). 25 inch. Ordnance Survey. 1907.
- ^ The Railway Clearing House 1970, p. 197.
- ^ Pixton 2007, p. 69.
- ^ Pixton 2007, p. 68.
- ^ Clinker 1978, p. 148.
- ^ Carter, Helen (25 April 2001). "Homeward Bound: Widnes station tribute marks Paul Simon's unlikely inspiration". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Backtrack - BACKTRACK BRIEFS . . . Northern Echo (Darlington); 21 November 2008; Mike Amos; p. 11
- ^ "Folklore: Remembering 'Folkscene' presenter Geoff Speed and his tales of Paul Simon". The Leader. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ "The hit man and his mate; Geoff Speed has a very special reason for being in the audience at tonight's Big Top concert by music legend Paul Simon, as JANE GALLAGHER reports . . . - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ "Paul Simon and Garfunkel - England 64/65 tour : 1965". www.paul-simon.info. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ Widnes station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 12 December 2016
- ^ GB eNRT May 2023 Edition, Table 86 (Network Rail)
Bibliography
[edit]- Biddle, Gordon (2003). Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: An Oxford Gazeteer of Structures and Sites. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198662471.
- Bolger, Paul (1984). An illustrated history of the Cheshire lines committee. Heyday. ISBN 978-0-947562-00-7.
- Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1977. Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 0-905466-19-5. OCLC 5726624.
- Pixton, Bob (1996). Widnes and St Helens railways. Stroud: Chalford. ISBN 0-7524-0751-1. OCLC 877182742.
- Pixton, Bob (April 2007). Liverpool and Manchester 2: Cheshire Lines. Kestrel Railway Books. ISBN 978-1-905505-03-6.
- Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2022.
- The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. ISBN 0-7153-5120-6.
External links
[edit]- Train times and station information for Widnes railway station from National Rail
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hough Green | Northern Trains Manchester to Liverpool Line |
Warrington West | ||
Warrington Central | ||||
Sankey for Penketh | ||||
Liverpool South Parkway | East Midlands Railway Liverpool - Norwich |
Warrington Central | ||
Hunts Cross |
- Grade II listed railway stations
- Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire
- Railway stations in the Borough of Halton
- DfT Category E stations
- Former Cheshire Lines Committee stations
- Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1873
- Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway
- Northern franchise railway stations
- Buildings and structures in Widnes