Bolton and Preston Railway

v t e North Union Railway
Legend
1834 – 1889
Lancaster & Preston Jn Rly to Lancaster Maxwell House ( closed 1844 ) Preston Preston Butler Street (ELR) Victoria Quay goods Preston Fishergate Hill (WLR) River Ribble West Lancashire Railway to Southport East Lancashire Railway to Liverpool Farrington (renamed Farington) Blackburn & Preston Rly to Blackburn Golden Hill (renamed Leyland) Euxton junction Lancashire Union Railway to Blackburn Euxton (NUR) Euxton (B&PR) Coppull Chorley Rawlinson Bridge Standish Lane (renamed Standish) Adlington White Bear Blackrod Red Rock Lancashire & Yorkshire Rly to Horwich and Horwich Works Lancashire & Yorkshire Rly to Hindley Boar's Head Liverpool and Bury Railway to Hindley Lancashire Union Railway to Hindley Lostock Junction Bolton Trinity Street Manchester, Bolton & Bury Rly to Salford Wigan Wigan Goods Springs branch Liverpool and Bury Railway to Liverpool Lancashire Union Railway to Hindley Ince Moss Junction London & North Western Rly to Manchester Lancashire Union Railway to St Helens Bamfurlong Liverpool, St Helens & South Lancs Rly to St Helens Central Liverpool, St Helens & South Lancs Rly to Lowton St Mary's Golborne LNWR Winwick cut-off (opened 1864) Preston Junction (renamed Lowton) Liverpool & Manchester Rly to Manchester Parkside (second) Liverpool & Manchester Rly to Liverpool Parkside (original) London & North Western Rly to Warrington
North Union Railway and predecessor: Bolton and Preston Railway Other lines (not all shown): Great Central Railway predecessors: Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and predecessors: Blackburn and Preston Railway East Lancashire Railway (1844–1859) West Lancashire Railway Manchester and Leeds Railway predecessors: Liverpool and Bury Railway Manchester, Bolton and Bury Railway London and North Western Railway and predecessors: Lancashire Union Railway Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway Liverpool and Manchester Railway

The Bolton and Preston Railway (B&PR) connected Bolton and Preston, in Lancashire, England. Its authorising act of Parliament forbade its early completion to protect the North Union Railway (NUR) and imposed other restrictions that limited the success of the B&PR. A change of route was authorised to bypass the delay making it dependent on the goodwill of the NUR to reach Preston. The NUR saw the B&PR as a competitor and used underhand tactics to harm the success of the B&PR.

The B&PR opened the first part of its line in 1841, but faced with extremely difficult ground conditions when constructing a tunnel north of Chorley, it only opened from Bolton to a junction with the NUR at Euxton in 1843.

A bitter rate-cutting war with the NUR ensued, and the B&PR was forced to sell its line to the NUR in 1844. The NUR was taken over and became jointly owned by the London and North Western Railway and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, but in 1888 the Bolton to Euxton section, the original B&PR line, was transferred to the L&YR. The main line is in operation as part of the Manchester to Preston main line.