Reaching Out
The signaller at Rainford Junction prepares to lower down the token for the single line section to Kirkby to the driver of Northern Class 156, 156 427. The 'Super Sprinter' was forming the 2K66 11:58 Wigan Wallgate to Kirkby service.
Rainford Junction station - built in 1858 - used to be a busy intersection of the Liverpool and Bury Railway, the East Lancashire Railway's Skelmersdale Branch and the St. Helens Railway. However, lines gradually closed during the 1950s and 1960s and by the 1970s the line was down to just the single route between Wigan and Kirkby and the station was renamed plain old "Rainford".
The signal box retains the full "Rainford Junction" name and - along with the semaphores - is a reminder of a much busier railway in times gone by at this location.
Reaching Out
The signaller at Rainford Junction prepares to lower down the token for the single line section to Kirkby to the driver of Northern Class 156, 156 427. The 'Super Sprinter' was forming the 2K66 11:58 Wigan Wallgate to Kirkby service.
Rainford Junction station - built in 1858 - used to be a busy intersection of the Liverpool and Bury Railway, the East Lancashire Railway's Skelmersdale Branch and the St. Helens Railway. However, lines gradually closed during the 1950s and 1960s and by the 1970s the line was down to just the single route between Wigan and Kirkby and the station was renamed plain old "Rainford".
The signal box retains the full "Rainford Junction" name and - along with the semaphores - is a reminder of a much busier railway in times gone by at this location.