Back out on the Station Count, and today, 19th August, I’m continuing my journey along the line between Wigan Wallgate and Headbolt Lane, with Headbolt Lane being the newest station on the Merseyrail network, having opened in 2023. On this trip, I’ll be visiting Wigan Wallgate, Pemberton, Orrell, Upholland, Rainford and finally Headbolt Lane. I’ve previously visited Headbolt Lane earlier in the challenge, so it will be great to return and finish off this section of the line. But for now, let’s get back to the main task and head towards our first station of the day, Orrell. Orrell station opened in November 1848 on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway and remains an important stop on what is now the Wigan–Kirkby branch line.

I arrived at Orrell station on time and had around 35 minutes between trains, giving me plenty of time to have a look around. I really like Orrell, with its traditional design giving it a strong Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway feel, similar to some of the stations found along the Ormskirk and Southport lines. Orrell is also within the Makerfield constituency, which is currently represented by our Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, following his election earlier this year. From Orrell, I then made my way to Pemberton, another interesting station along the route. The timetable includes a slightly longer stop at Pemberton for some services, with trains sometimes waiting here before continuing towards Wigan or onwards towards Headbolt Lane, making it another interesting part of this journey. 

From Pemberton, I then took the train all the way to Rainford, the final station before Headbolt Lane and another station that I absolutely love visiting. In fact, I’d go as far as saying Rainford is one of my favourite railway stations in the UK! There’s something about this lovely little station that really stands out to me, particularly its rural feel and the railway history that surrounds it. The station was originally known as Rainford Junction, opening in 1858 when it became an important interchange between the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway’s Liverpool–Wigan line and the lines towards Ormskirk and St Helens. 

Rainford really was a much more significant railway location than it might appear today, with platforms and connections serving several different routes. Passenger services once ran between Rainford Junction and both Ormskirk and St Helens, with connections allowing passengers to travel onwards across the wider network. The former platforms and railway infrastructure from these routes could still be seen around the station, while the signal box at the junction controlled movements through this busy area of railway. The station was eventually renamed simply Rainford in 1973, and although the junction itself is long gone, you can still get a sense of just how important this little station once was. 

From Rainford station, I then headed towards my penultimate station of the day, Upholland. This is another station I really enjoyed visiting, with its quiet setting and the impressive Upholland Tunnel just to the north of the station making the approach from Orrell particularly interesting. The current station dates back to 1848, although it originally opened as Pimbo Lane before being renamed Up Holland in 1900 and then Upholland in 1902.  From Upholland, I caught my final train of the day towards Headbolt Lane, a station I’ve previously visited earlier in my Station Count challenge. Opened on 5th October 2023, Headbolt Lane became the newest addition to the Merseyrail network and an interchange between Merseyrail services from Liverpool and Northern services towards Wigan, with its opening also making use of Merseyrail’s new battery-powered Class 777 trains. 

Well, that’s it for this latest Station Count adventure! My next trip will take me between Huyton and Wigan North Western, where I’ll be ticking off even more Northern stations along the way. I’m also planning to visit the stations between Ormskirk and Preston, another route I’m really looking forward to exploring and documenting, and this one will feature over on my YouTube Shorts channel, where I’ll be sharing plenty of images and video from the journey for you to enjoy. I really hope you’re enjoying these posts and following along with my Station Count challenge once again, as I’m now getting very close to reaching my first 100 railway stations visited, which will be a fantastic milestone in the challenge!