Lowton railway station

[2][3] The station was a single storey wooden building on the east side of the line where the two lines diverged south of Southworth Road, the southbound platform was of low construction and ran from the station building back towards Southworth Road overbridge, this platform then ran under the road bridge and northwards at a more normal height.

The station building and southbound platform was accessed by steps down from the road overbridge.

[4] Lowton signal box was opposite the station building was an unusually high structure necessary to see the lines to the north over the road overbridge.

[20] By 1850 this practice appears to have ceased, both tables in Bradshaw showing the station name as Preston Junction.

These trains comprised through northbound carriages from both Manchester and Liverpool which met the southbound service from Preston at the station, the trains were re-organised before proceeding onwards in three different directions (towards Preston, Manchester and Liverpool), quite how this was achieved at the simple diverging double track at the junction is not known.

[28] The lines from Newton-le-Willows through the west facing Parkside junction and Lowton junction formed a secondary West Coast Main Line (WCML) route that was electrified as part of the WCML modernisation which was completed in 1974.

[29][30][31] Electrification needed Southworth Road overbridge to be rebuilt to provide the necessary clearance.

[32] The east facing curve and the main line between Newton-le-Willows and Castlefield Junction in Manchester was electrified on 9 December 2013.