Some time ago I came across an old picture of Blackburn Railway Station. What struck me was that it was not the one on the Boulevard. At first I thought I was mistaken but no I was correct. So where does this station fit into Blackburn’s railway history?
A little research revealed that there were two railway companies that put railway lines into Blackburn and one of them built the beauty above. But where is it now?
I discovered that this station was possibly located at Stoney Butts. To my knowledge Stoneybutts is now in the Mall. However, here is a complication, the original Stoney Butts is not under the Mall, it is only the name that is preserved there. The original Stoney Butts field was where the railway station is now located.
Trying to find the exact location is difficult because even the local historians can’t agree where the station was. I know that when the first line opened it ended at Nova Scotia, or rather at Wainwright Bridge, so possibly that was where this station was located. My first thought was that the Islington Hotel might possibly be the station, but alas no, it is not the same building.
The alternative theory is that the original station building is located where the present building is. There is a plaque in the station that would seem to support this theory as the current station is allegedly built upon the site of an earlier one. However both stations did exist at the same time having been built within a few years of each other.
At least one historian states that the station was located off Bolton Road. I hope to continue this search. We have some excellent local history sources in Blackburn and I dare say we have at least one knowledgeable authority on our forum. I think someone is hiding their light under a bushel. Either that or they just share a name with somebody who publishes books of old photographs.
Blackburn's 2nd Train Station - Provided by BwD for use in the Cotton Town digitisation project
The cottontown.org website continues the story:
“Blackburn Station and Boulevard. The electric tramcar near the centre of the picture and the steam-hauled ones at the left point to the photograph having been taken some time between 1899, when electric trams arrived in Blackburn, and 1901, when the steam variety disappeared. The station, little changed in its external appearance today, opened to passengers in September 1886, without any formal ceremony – probably because construction work was far from finished. However, the event was obviously regarded as an occasion by Mr S. Duckett, who issued the first ticket from the new office. Despite being the oldest employee and having a lost leg in the service of the railways, he stayed on duty all night in order to be able to do the honours the next day. The new building replaced the previous one which had served the town since the coming of the railway in 1846. The old station, about the quarter of the size of its replacement, with no booking hall and only two platforms just a few inches high, was built on land called Stonybutts somewhat further back than the new building and was largely hidden from view by a woodyard. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway paid £21,000 for the site of the new station and installed a clock in its turret that was guaranteed not to lose or gain five seconds in a month. Note the line of horse cabs waiting for a custom. In the centre of the Boulevard stands the old cabbies’ shelter which is said to have been part of an antique railway carriage.”
Content from www.blackburnweb.co.uk authors
What more can you add?