New Station, Rawtenstall for the East Lancashire Railway Company

The station, 18 miles from Manchester, has a very neat edifice on the right for the station offices, waiting rooms etc which were designed by Messrs Holden, architects, Manchester, who also designed the central offices and the station at Bury, all the other stations on the line being designed by Mr Perring, the company’s resident engineer. It is a one storey building, containing booking offices, and waiting rooms in the centre, an inspector’s office and a dwelling for the station master, etc. An engine shed is at the west end of the station office. In front is the passengers’ platform, with its flagged floor and projecting roof or awning, supported by neat slender iron columns. [Manchester Guardian 11 August 1849 page 10 – Trips on the East Lancashire Lines]

Rawtenstall station opened on 25 September 1846 as the terminus of the Clifton Junction to Rawtenstall line of the East Lancashire Railway (later incorporated into the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway). At the time of opening the line was single track served by one platform. The line reached Waterfoot in 1848 and Bacup in 1852.  After being listed for closure under the Beeching Axe passenger and goods services to Bacup were withdrawn on 3 December 1966 (up to the last day services were regular at least every half an hour, every fifteen minutes at peak times and on Saturdays) and passenger services to Bury on 3 June 1972. The station finally closed in 1980 when a regular coal train was withdrawn by British Rail. The station was then rescued and saved in 1987 by the 'then newly re-opened' East Lancashire Railway. The station, reopened on 27 April 1991, was extensively rebuilt by the East Lancashire Railway, as nothing was left of the original buildings at closure.

Reference           Manchester Guardian 11 August 1849 page 10 – Trips on the East Lancashire Lines.