The Oaks railway station

The Oaks
Location
Place	Bromley Cross
Area	Bolton
Coordinates	53°36′16″N 2°24′44″W / 53.60443°N 2.41217°WCoordinates: 53°36′16″N 2°24′44″W / 53.60443°N 2.41217°W
Grid reference	SD728121
Operations
Original company	Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway
Pre-grouping	Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Platforms	2
History
January 1850	Opened
6 November 1950	Closed to passengers
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The Oaks railway station was a railway station that served the community of The Oaks, Greater Manchester, England.

History

The station was opened by the Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway (BBC&WYR) in January 1850,^[1] and was 11 ¹⁄₂ mi (18.5 km) from Blackburn.^[2] The BBC&WYR was renamed the Blackburn Railway on 24 July 1851,^[3] and it was amalgamated jointly into the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) and the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) on 1 January 1858;^[4] it duly became wholly owned by the LYR in 1859 when the latter amalgamated with the ELR.^[5]

The original minutes of the railway company held at National Archives, Kew, reveal that the contract placed in 1859 to build more substantial stone station buildings along the branch line included a 'station and cottage attached' for The Oaks and the estimated cost was £270. This building survives to this day next to the level crossing and its design features are replicated with the station and nearby cottage seen at Bromley Cross. The Oaks was much expanded in 1886, with improved platforms and a new stone Booking Hall situated in what is now the front garden of the former station and now private house at the level crossing. The full design plans are held at National Archives. Further works were carried out in the early 1900s, with passing loops installed to serve the relocated long platforms. The two new platforms were reported to be 230ft long, the old ones being demolished. Unusually for the branch line, there was no provision ever made for a goods yard at this station. The Oaks Station was closed on 6 November 1950.^[1]

Notes

1. Butt 1995, p. 228
2. Marshall 1969, p. 181
3. Marshall 1969, p. 178
4. Marshall 1969, p. 185
5. Marshall 1969, p. 123

References

• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
• Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.
• Welch, S. Lancashire Steam Finale, ISBN 1-870754-61-1

External links

• The Oaks Station on navigable O.S. map