Notes: Simonstone station served the village of Read and the district of Simonstone. It was located on the North Lancashire Loop line, which ran between Rose Grove (near Burnley) and Blackburn. Simonstone had two platforms. The down platform served trains from Blackburn and Preston travelling east, the up platform served trains from Burnley, Colne, and West Yorkshire going west. According to the Blackburn Times it opened two days before the advertised date.

The smallest station on the North Lancashire Loop line, and said to be one of the smallest the L&Y built, Simonstone was just 1 mile to the west of Padiham. It was known for the first 30 to 40 years as 'lamp oil junction' because when it was built, and for some time afterwards, it had no gas supply, requiring oil for the lighting.

The down platform building was built of stone with a slate roof and had a full length awning. It had a booking office, waiting room, a porter's room, ladies room and a gent’s urinal, which was not covered, at the Blackburn end. The awning was replaced at some point with a very short, ugly-looking one that only covered the booking office exit onto the down platform itself. The building itself had two chimney stacks. The up platform had only a small wooden shelter, but also had a full-length awning which survived intact right up to closure.

Both platforms were originally 15 feet wide and 250 feet long; however sometime around 1904 they were extended to 395 feet. A wooden crossing across the tracks at the Blackburn end gave access to both platforms for passengers and staff. Both platforms were only flagged for the length of the buildings. No details are given for the dimensions of the platform buildings.  At the Blackburn end of both platforms there was a bridge carrying the line over Simonstone Lane. The lane itself had to ‘dip under’ the bridge. The two platforms had an approach road each, and had the usual wooden platform fencing. Simonstone station still retained oil lamps in 1957.

The goods yard behind the down platform area was entered at the Padiham end by a short loop to the down line via a diamond crossover. Later a trailing crossover was used, giving more options to access the yard. The yard itself had four sidings, with the one nearest the station serving the goods shed. The shed itself was open-fronted and the sides did not reach all the way to ground level. It was built of wood in 1885. The yard also had a crane with a 5 ton lifting capacity. Entrance to the goods yard was from the approach road off Simonstone Lane. The entrance was provided with wooden gates; just inside the gates was a wooden weigh house containing the weighing machine. The weighing machine is reported to have gone by 1934.

Coal was the main commodity here and the yard had several coal merchants. Coke came in from Altham's Moorfield colliery by horse and cart, and was loaded into wagons for onward destinations. Cattle and horses also came in by train.

Simonstone station had one signal box. It was stone-built with a slate roof and situated next to the up line opposite the goods yard entrance. It had twelve working levers and four spare as of November 1960.

In the early years of the line, the sub-postmaster would walk down to the station from the village of Read every morning to collect and deliver the mail to the surrounding area and farms.

The goods yard was made a coal-only depot from 7 October 1957, with no general goods arriving or leaving after this date.

On Saturday 30th November 1957 at approximately 11.03pm, the last passenger train pulled out of the station. As soon as it was moving, the station lights were turned off, never to be turned on again. The one passenger who got off there was the very last one – no passenger trains ever stopped at Simonstone again, not even excursions. 

By the time of closure there was only one coal merchant left at the yard, who received 2.431 tons of coal. The railway staff had gone and the yard itself was supervised by the station master at Padiham. After closure, the yard was purchased and remained a coal yard for many years.
It is noted that by 1962 (5 years after the last passenger train) the platforms at the station were completely overgrown with grass and weeds.

The area between the two platforms can be seen filled in with the rubble from the station building, the edge of one of the platforms is still visible and some ballast can still be found in situ. It is now semi woodland with brambles (2022).

Pure speculation – not fact:

Why was this station ever built? It's true the village of Read was growing in anticipation of the line coming, and by 1870 the first of two mills was built there. But Read was already served by a road to Padiham, only 1.5 miles away, and the station was not really that much closer, being only 1 mile from Padiham.

I think that, as with Great Harwood station where James Lomax dictated where the station was to be located (near Clayton Hall), Le Gendre Nicolas Starkie, Lord of the Manor at Simonstone wanted a station here not too far from his estate. I know this was a common practice all over the country at the time... but pure speculation!

True fact:
Le Gendre Nicolas Starkie, Lord of the Manor at Simonstone, was one of the would-be directors of the Manchester & North Lancashire railway company, who proposed to build a railway line first.

Route map by Alan Young, Ticlets from Michael Stewart.

Click here for a brief history of the North Lancs Loop Line

To see stations on the North Lancs Loop Line
click on the station name:
Great Harwood & Padiham