Have you ever been to Hoscar railway station in Lathom, near Ormskirk? If you answered no you probably aren’t alone.
It’s considered to be the least-used railway stations in Lancashire- and one popular YouTuber paid a visit to it to see exactly how disused it is.
The station dates back to 1871 when it was built by Manchester and Southport Railway.
It once had a goods yard and was used by local farmers to transport good around the north.
However, its usage has declined significantly in the following years and the latest figures suggest less than 1000 passengers enter and exit the station per year.
Geoff Marshall is a train enthusiast who has been to every railway station in the country.
He even holds a Guinness World Record for travelling to all London Underground stations in the fastest time possible.
He currently has 235,000 subscribers with his subscribers eager to see where he will be travelling to next.
As part of his ‘least used stations’ segments, he visited Hoscar railway which he said was the least used in the whole of Lancashire.
In the YouTube video, he is seen travelling to the station with his friend, Karl; in true Lancashire fashion he was met with grey skies and rainy conditions.
Speaking to one member of staff in the video, Geoff said: “I bet that’s a rare treat for you- passengers getting off here.
The staff member replied: “I think you’re the first passengers we’ve had in three years- to me personally anyway!”
Karl said: “There’s a station house down there, one house there, a row of houses there and another farm there- and that ladies and gentlemen is your lot.”
The duo revealed some facts about visitors to the station; they said that between 2017-2018- 1432 stopped by the station, which is an average of 3.9 people per day.
According to railwaydata.co.uk, between 2019-2020 this figure dropped even further to around 956- entries and exits- an average of 2.6 per day making it the 50th least used station in Great Britain.
While the pair acknowledged that the station wasn’t quite “desolation” they did acknowledge that it was lacking in basic amenities.
Geoff added: “There are fields, plants and trees- there’s just not a lot in terms of stuff and facilities.
“Within 10 minutes walking distance there is naff all”
“There are fields, plants and trees- there’s just not a lot in terms of stuff and facilities.”
Trains are two or three hours apart and don’t run on Sundays.
Karl said: “There’s no trains from Hoscar on a Sunday at all- but there is a Sunday timetable… why not just put the words ‘no trains’?
Geoff added: “Why are the platforms so long?- from here to the other end of the platform… that’s quite a way.”
Heading the east bound platform, the pair remarked just how empty the station is.
They said: “We’ve seen no-one- not a soul. You do wonder whether the people that live in the private residents in the station house ever get the trains here.”
Many fans and train enthusiasts flocked to the comment section to give their input on the video and on Lancashire least used station.
Writing about the poor weather, one person said: “Geoff, as Les Dawson used to say ‘Lancashire is only there to keep the rain off Yorkshire’”.
Another wrote: “I've actually used this one. I was on a walk and gave up around the Ring O'Bells pub in Lathom.
“Had to wait an hour but back then Hoscar got trains every two hours. I would have thought New Lane or Bescar Lane (just up the line) were quieter actually, they seem much further removed from society.”
“That's a nice station house,” wrote another “It must have had far more importance in the past.”
You can watch ‘Hoscar - Least Used Station in Lancashire’ and more of Geoff’s videos over on his YouTube page.
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