Lower Ince railway station


Lower Ince railway station was a railway station in southern Wigan, Lancashire, England.

Location and construction

Lower Ince station was in a cutting on the south side of Ince Green Lane, a short distance from the LYR's rival station, Ince.
The station was on the Wigan Junction Railways line from Glazebrook West Junction to Wigan. The WJR was part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and opened on 1 April 1884, with other stations along the line.
Lower Ince Engine Shed stood north west of the station. It closed on 26 March 1952.

Services

The service patterns in 1895, 1947 and 1962 are fully documented in the authoritative Disused Stations website.
In April 1884 the service pattern was straightforward. Six "Down" trains called from Manchester Central. In addition, one "express" called at Glazebrook only and passed Lower Ince without stopping. Of the six, three called at all stations, the remaining three missed some stations between Manchester and Glazebrook. With the exception of the "express" all trains called at all stations between Glazebrook and Wigan. The "Up" service was similar.
In 1922 six "Down" trains called, All Stations from Manchester Central on "Weekdays", with a further evening train from Lowton St Mary's only. Three other trains called, apparently All Stations from Culcheth, but it is possible they originated from Liverpool Central or Warrington Central and turned west to north at Glazebrook West Junction. One of these trains ran on Fridays and Saturdays Only and the other two ran on Saturdays Only. The "Up" service was broadly similar, but the mix of Saturday Only trains was even more complicated. There was no Sunday service.

Closure and after

According to Beeching's Reshaping of British Railways the line was more heavily used than many which did not close, however, as with many unmodernised and heavily used commuter lines it was deemed uneconomic. The line's main passenger traffic was workers travelling from the Wigan area to industrial plants in Cadishead and Partington and around the docks in Salford and Manchester; until the late 1970s the Lancashire United bus company operated a replacement bus service from Wigan to Partington.
The station closed completely on 2 November 1964 and has been demolished.