Notes: Haydock Park station was built to serve the adjacent racecourse as a non time tabled station and was situated on the St. Helens Central to Lowton St. Mary's branch which left the Glazebrook to Wigan Central line at Lowton St. Maty's. This line had been sanctioned as early as July 1885 and the original intention was to create a line that would link Wigan to Southport by creating a route from Lowton St. Mary's to Fazakerley Junction on the CLC North Liverpool Extension Line.

The railway company that was formed to build the line the St. Helens and Wigan Junction Railway (became Liverpool St. Helens and South Lancashire Railway on 267.1889) was in constant financial difficulty and despite the first sod being cut on 28.1.1888 it did not open to goods traffic until 1.7.1895 and then only to St. Helens. It was to take another five years for the line to be brought up to passenger standards by which time any hope of continuing west had been abandoned. Haydock Park racecourse station was brought into use for race traffic 11 months before the rest of the line was opened to passengers.

The line remained a minor branch line that was of far more use for goods as it linked to a number of collieries in the Lancashire coalfield. Passenger services were always secondary. In 1906 the line became part of the GCR transferring to the LNER in 1923.

The station had two platforms and very sparse facilities as it was designed mainly to be used on race days. It did not survive long into the period of nationalization closing to regular services on 1.3.1952. Race specials continued to run until 1965. In 1975 the disused Ashton-in-Makerfield Station was used for race traffic.

This section of the line survived into the 1980's as in 1968 a connection was put into the West Coast Main Line to allow a goods service to operate to an oil storage facility at Haydock. Today a few remnants can be seen including sections of the footbridge but most of the station site lies under landscape planting adjacent to the Haydock Racecourse car park.

Click on the station name for other stations on the St. Helens Central - Lowton St. Mary's Line. St. Helens Central, Haydock, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne North & Lowton St. Mary's