Haslingden's Railway and Station

Train entering Haslingden Station after coming through the North Hag Tunnel

(Painting by the late Mr. Arthur Kirby)

Please click over the painting to enlarge

This photo above shows Haslingden Station in the 1950s with train No. 42785 approaching the station having just come through North Hag Tunnel
 and you can just see the start of Donkey Row (Bridge Street) to the right. 

Photo: Arthur Kirby

This old postcard shows Station Steps, in the foreground is the old Commercial Mill,
and the little shop on the corner of what was Railway Road (or Pag House Lane),
You can see the old newsagents shop midway and the tall building to the back
of the postcard was the old Baxters Brewery which was on Lower Lane

This seems a very antiquated etching with strange resemblance eg: the
headers of North Hag shown on Bridge Street

This is a photo taken from up on Donkey Row (Bridge Street) looking down on the Station and it's goods yards and sheds and other buildings.

I can remember the British Railways Truck in its dark red and county cream livery, it was a Scammell 3 wheeler with a flat trailer. Here above is a picture of one which I took at last years Tram Sunday at Fleetwood... I would see one identical to this up and down that cobbled road, on a daily basis...

The main approach to the Station was via a wide cobbled road made up of highly polished setts, and the road swung round in a mighty arc (see photo above). On your approach and to your right was the Station yard which was solidly enclosed with side by side timber railway sleepers stood on end with pointed tops.

This is another photo showing from that wide cobbled approach
(see previous photo), here it shows a party of children awaiting their
day out on the train.  There must have been this large boarding
with all the adverts of the day which included, Bass, Bovril, Althams Teas

This photo may well have been from around a similar time period as the one previous
This is the "Fresh Air Fund Trip" from Haslingden Station.

I remember, all the lights on the station platforms where gas lit, there where waiting rooms and toilets on both platforms. I also remember there was always a mass of timetables for various destinations throughout Lancashire, these seemed to always be neatly set out in a timber framed mount which had lots of little shelf pockets to house these timetables.... The station was generally manned by a staff of 2 or 3, I think it was one or two porters and the Station Master..

Every weekday a shunter train would come to the Haslingden sidings, usually it would be a very old looking heavy duty train of the WD Class numbered in the 90000 ranges or it would be a 3 or 4F type... They would come up mainly to shunt the W.H. Shaw coal wagons about, bring new filled up coal wagons from the pits of Lancashire and Yorkshire and would take away the empties, they would spend up to 4 hours a day working within the sidings.

I loved it during the school holidays when occasionally I would go along to the Station and try and help out, or probably get in the way, or now and again the drivers of the shunters would shout down and ask if I wanted to climb the footplate and drive the train down the track a little, they where great times and times that have created great memories for me.

The regular service trains that came through Haslingden where coming from Manchester and going to Colne (or the other way!), and the next stop on from here was the Baxenden Station and goods yard (which was just a little further on than the Hollands Pies factory near Rising Bridge) and then it was onward and downward to Accrington, then on via Rosegrove, Burnley, etc to Colne. Usually on this route where local "stanier" class trains which where in the main shedded at Accrington or Rosegrove... but besides these regular service trains, there would also be goods trains, and special excursions, especially for the wakes weeks annual "cotton towns" holiday fortnight...

This is a nice photo I obtained which shows steam still coming from the
North Hag tunnel, where the double header steam train is by now
approaching the signal box, just a hundred yards before the
Carr Hall Street crossing. Obviously its one of the last photos
when Haslingden Station had already finished, the waiting rooms on
the left hand side platform had already gone!
(Click over photos to enlarge)

Above is a litho print photo of the old bridge on Hud Hey Road, it was in part cased in with 
deep metal with a interesting triangular post which mentioned on it as far as I can
remember unladen weights etc....You can see the railway track side of the
bridge in the next photo below...

I like many others in the 50s was a train spotter armed with my Ian Allen book together with shed book which those days cost 10/6d (thats ten shillings and sixpence), and from where I lived at 110 Hud Hey Road, it was great. I could see the trains come into the Station or through North Hag Tunnel, watching from my back window and then nip out the front door and watch them from close range coming under the bridge at Hud Hey (see picture here on left). Sometimes there would be "namers" usually "Jubilee or Patriot" Classes. Sometimes you would see "double-headers" with many carraiges behind them.... they where really great times...... The famous photo above was the view I would see everyday from my back window at Hud Hey. The photo was taken on 3rd July 1964 by the late Mr. Eric Bentley 

The Haslingden "Signal Box" was about 250 yards North of Haslingden Station on the same side and almost in line with Martincroft Farm which was to West, and also it was almost in line with Carr Mill which lie to its East. Another 100 yards further on was the level crossing which was accessed from Carr Hall Street or the Old Laundry and Martincroft on the other side... (there is still a crossing at this point for pedestrians to cross the local by-pass)

And here are two very old photos of Helmshore Station.. but first is a more recent (1966s) photo showing a double header passing Prinny Hill. The photo taken by the late Eric Bentley..

I am currently working on a small section here 

which will depict the final stages of the Station

and its buildings and the actual track etc

after the railway had ceased as a railway

and everything was sadly deteriating and

awaiting demolition etc 

These are the old Goods Shed close to the Haslingden Station.
The photos were being offered for sale on Ebay

 These are the old Goods Shed close to the Haslingden Station.

The photos were being offered for sale on Ebay

These are the old Goods Shed close to the Haslingden Station.

The photos were being offered for sale on Ebay

 This shows the last photos before the sad destruction of the North Hag Tunnel.
Here was the stretch that ran past St. James and St. Marys Football Grounds
on approach to the "North Hag Tunnel"
(Photographer: unknown)

 Here is a old photo taken from within North Hag Tunnel looking out and showing
CWS Brittania Mill with first chimney and in the far background it looks
like Clough End Mill (Hud Hey Road)
Photographer: unknown

 Sadly the last photos showing the cutting through of North Hag,
with Hutch Bank Quarry in the near background
Photographer: unknown

Sadly another one showing the final stages of the removal of the North Hag Tunnel

at Bridge Street (Donkey Row)

Photographer: unknown

This is before and after photo created by the late Arthur Kirby
It shows the area which was the old Railway station towards Hud Hey
The top photo is around the 1960 and the bottom photo is 1993
Thanks to Chris Kirby for sharing with us.

(Photo: Jean Tomlinson)

This photo is something really special to actually see the old Grane Road Signal Box

Thanks Jackie Ramsbottom for sharing with us.

(Received Email from Joan B on 12th April 2014)

We then moved on to Rising Bridge and were friends with Alan and Margaret Birtwistle and their children who took over the butcher's. Their son is now a surgeon.

Margaret's brother,Gordon Dakin,my husband and other friends knocked down part of Haslingden railway station building and used the stones as foundations for houses that were being  built at Baxenden.

Regards, Joan B.

Yes you did have us “beat” with that one Mr. Chin - g!

And now 50 years are passing this week!

I guess you felt it right on the day for us, and other days for them,

Maybe you thought not enough folk travelled on it to Bury or Manchester,

Or maybe tuther way to Baxenden, Accrington, Burnley and Cowne.

Wakes trains were always full and steamed from under North Hag or (bonk!)

And Donkey Row was completely fogged owt!

Not Now!

And now 50 years are passing this week!

We’ve still got our “arches” down at Shore dear Sir,

And now we do have Ravens crossing its many bows,

And we’ve still got our memories of chugging (rather than buzzing!)

And the delightful (in its own way) smells of steam,

And fifteen years on in 1981 a “By Pass” shall be built,

Just where that very Stations weeps!

28^th November 2016