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West Lancashire Light Railway

2 ft gauge railways in EnglandBorough of West LancashireHeritage railways in LancashireUse British English from February 2017
Irish Mail at West Lancs Light Railway
Irish Mail at West Lancs Light Railway

The West Lancashire Light Railway (WLLR) is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that operates at Hesketh Bank, situated between Preston and Southport in North West England. The distance between the stations on the railway is 430 yards (393 m), though track extends eastwards beyond Delph station on ledge above the old clay pit which is too narrow to contain a run round loop. An extension of up to 435 metres (1,427 ft), running along the north bank of the fishing lake has been proposed. The railway has seven steam locomotives, three of which are in operating condition; two are currently being rebuilt and another is on static display. There are also two electric locomotives and many IC locomotives.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article West Lancashire Light Railway (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

West Lancashire Light Railway
Station Road, West Lancashire Hesketh-with-Becconsall

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

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N 53.7003 ° E -2.8387 °
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West Lancashire Light Railway

Station Road
PR4 6SR West Lancashire, Hesketh-with-Becconsall
England, United Kingdom
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Irish Mail at West Lancs Light Railway
Irish Mail at West Lancs Light Railway
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Hesketh Bank railway station

Hesketh Bank railway station was a railway station on the West Lancashire Railway (WLR) in North West England, which served the village of Hesketh Bank. The station, originally known as 'Hesketh Bank and Tarleton', opened on 20 February 1878 and was located on the western bank of the River Douglas near a dock where the WLR operated a steamship across the River Ribble to Lytham St Annes. By 1882 the station was referred to as 'Hesketh for Tarleton', but by 1895 the station appears to have been formally renamed to just 'Hesketh Bank'.The station was originally the northern terminus of what was to be the Southport-Preston Line, running from Hesketh Park on the northern outskirts of Southport; the line through to Preston was opened in September 1888 after the opening of a swing bridge over the Douglas in May of that year. An engine shed was located at the station but closed when the station became a through station, and was demolished by the following year.In 1880 a short goods line, approximately 1.25 miles (2 km) long, was opened along the west bank of the river to a terminus at Tarleton Lock, at the end of the Rufford Branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. As the WLR did not own the land upon which the line was constructed, nor was it acquired by an Act of Parliament, the company had to pay a lease fee (presumably to the local borough council) until 3 September 1881, after the land was vested by Act to the WLR on 3 June 1881.The station closed on 7 September 1964 as a result of the Beeching axe, the buildings and platforms demolished and the rails removed by February 1965, and the land later developed as a housing estate.