NORTH TO CHORLEY

First stop today is Rainford Junction, on the L&YR.

 

Not far from Wigan (though we're not going there just now) is Orrell, where Walthew House Colliery had this Haigh Foundry 0-4-0ST for internal shunting.

A new bus for Preston Royal Blue Motors, photographed at Orrell.

Standish station, LNWR, on the West Coast Main Line.

'Black 5' no. 44939 at nearby Standish Junction.

Standish has a Market Place.

A later view of the cross and the stocks (Creative Commons License).

St Wilfrid's church, Standish (Creative Commons License).

Wigan Corporation's trams reached Standish and, here, the tracks are being laid.

Almond's Ales, brewed in Standish, have long vanished.

There is, however, a good range of pubs in Standish. First up, the Black Bull.

There's also the Boar's Head.

The Crown is also worth a visit.

A former Burtonwood house, the Horse Shoe, is now shut.

Back to the WCML and Balshaw Lane & Euxton station (Ben Brooksbank - Creative Commons License).

LMS 'Royal Scot' class no. 6115 passes Euxton.

Next stop is the town of Chorley. Here are a pair of postcards from my collection.

Chorley Market is worth looking at. There's a good "chippie" and a micro bar called the Bob Inn.

Fishwick's of Leyland used to run into Chorley.

Stagecoach operate most of the buses today.

Arriva and Transdev bus can also be found.

There are plenty of real ale outlets in Chorley, but you'll get none at the Shepherd's Arms, as it's shut.

In contrast, the Shepherds' Hall is Chorley's first micro pub.

I've not been in the Plough since 2000, when it sold a decent pint. I'm told it still does.

Another micro pub, the Ale Station. It's since been renamed as Inn The Dog House.

The Crown is a classic town centre boozer.

As the light fades, we approach the Potters Arms, only to find it's "long term closed".

So, that was Chorley. Next time, we'll be heading south east. Meanwhile, here's a link to the route so far.

ST HELENS

First stop today is the railway station called St Helens Junction, the scene of a mishap in 1906.

 

Moving into St Helens itself, we cross over a re-watered section of the long closed St Helens Canal.

As we approach the town centre, we arrive at St Helens Central station, once controlled by a fine LNWR signal box.

A contrast in trains calling here in 1994.

St Helens town hall, before the fire.

The Town Hall loses its steeple a second time, permanently, in 1913.

The top of Bridge Street, when trams were running.

Here's Church Street.

St Helens tram no. 3 at the depot, circa 1935.

St Helens Corporation Transport was absorbed into Merseyside PTE. On early PTE days, AEC Regent V no. 4 is seen at the depot, in the town centre.

More PTE buses at the depot.

The depot is now a museum and houses some nice vintage vehicles. This one is from Oldham.

More Merseyside PTE buses on the streets of central St Helens.

Halton Buses, from Widnes, run into St Helens.

Lancashire United and North Western both served the town.

Ribble Motor Services had a presence here too.

Arriva is one of today's main operators.

In 2004, Selwyn Motors of Runcorn were operating a minibus powered by batteries.

Various independents have been seen on the streets of St Helens. These have included Aintree Coachline, HTL Buses, Nip On, South Lancashire Transport, Town Flyers and Victoria Shuttle.

Ogden's was a short lived company, with its depot in the town.

Beechams was a famous building in St Helens. 

The Beechams building was later to become a brewery and bar. Sadly, no longer.

Another St Helens pub, a classic, was the Phoenix Inn, surrounded by industrial waste ground. It has since seen its last customer.

We do eventually find a pub that is still trading, the Abbey at Dentons Green (see the map here if you're lost). It's a Holt's house.

That's where I'll end this post. Next time, we'll head northwards.