Hoscar - Least Used Station in Lancashire 

I was sat next to you on the train last week on the way back to Manchester. You looked busy editing, so I left you to it. The video you were editing happened to be this one.

Network Rail are lifting the crossing surface and inspecting the rails while the road is closed

Kyle might be one of the most charismatic guests you have had, Geoff. Bring him on more trips, he's very good.

Just look at the quality of that litterbin, still standing tall and proud after 40+ years of jolting. ¡ To the Pacers, all of them ! 13:50

Regarding the road closure enquiry, they are lifting the surface units of the level crossing to carry out a technical inspection of the rails beneath. As for what that actually entails, you'd need to speak to Network Rail (I work in the Streetworks Department for the Council and processed the request form)

Geoff, as Les Dawson used to say " Lancashire is only there to keep the rain off Yorkshire".

If the Ormskirk - Preston line is working as well as it usually does, Geoff and Karl are probably still waiting to get to their destination...

I suppose it would be cheating to just measure one of the platform edge slabs, and then count them?

Watching one of your videos is the best thing to do whilst on a train!

Good to meet you both on the way back from your trip at Preston on that day!

If you look out of the window as the train left Burscough Bridge heading towards Wigan, on a clear day (we do get them) you can clearly see the curves of the two chords that join the Ormskirk Preston line. The embankments are still there, and typically are covered in trees. They have been talking of reinstating the link from Burscough Bridge to Burscough Junction so Merseyrail trains could have an alternative route to Southport via Ormskirk. Also Southport to Preston or on to Blackpool, the trains reversing at Burscough Junction. Whether it happens is another thing. The new class 777s for Merseyrail are designed to be future proofed for dual voltage, although they will need pantagraphs and transforms installed. That way should Network Rail electrify either route with 25kv, through electric services from Ormskirk or Southport will be possible.

Karl is funny. I like him loads. I will visit Manchester one day

Kevin Owens conducting trains in rural Lancashire.

Why are your videos so informative yet incredibly strange

Being a Lancastrian, I can assure you Oscar/Hoscar *(other spellings are available) only ranks a mere 3 on the desolation scale which is not influenced in any way by rain or Pacers.

Hoscar is what the missus calls me when she's angry with me.

Being born in Southport and living for the past 23 years in Leeds I have travelled along that line many times. New Lane and Bescar Lane cannot be far behind Hoscar as least used railway stations and have the same stopping pattern as Hoscar and there is equally nothing there. Trains, as I recall, have stopped more frequently there over distant years. The pleasant fertile fields you noted are what local Southport people call the ‘Moss’ and used to be under water and were drained for farming. As a child I used cycle around the little lanes around there and watch the trains. The Moss is very much on the boundary of West Lancashire as it boarders with Merseyside, once you reach Meols Cop and Southport Railway Stations you are in Merseyside. There is still much debate that Southport should return to Lancashire and it was highly controversial move following local government reorganisation in 1973. The Burscough curves remain very much overgrown and there have been discussions over the years of restoring them particularly the north curve which would reinstate Southport with a direct rail service to Preston. Beeching closing the direct Southport to Preston line, together with the Burscough curves. It was also intended the Southport, Wigan, via Daisy Hill to Manchester Victoria line should have closed as well!

Will you ever do anything associated with merseyrail? Like secrets of the MerseyRail line or the Hamilton square station facts? Just curious bc it would be nice to see my local toc being on your channel

Good luck with the campaint to rename Hoscar, Oscar! If you succeed I'll start a campaign to get Henley-on-Thames renamed to Henry-on-Thames!

That was a good laugh. I looked up the least used station in The Netherlands: 142 per "average" working day for Maastricht Randwyck. This is only NS, other train companies are not included in that list (this does cover the majority of the stations though). This also excludes people just changing trains, counting is done on check-in/check-out with a chipcard. For perspective: the most used station using the same metric is Utrecht Centraal, with 194385 passengers per "average" working day.

Wow. A rare sighting of Geoff wearing a head garment...

Oscar looks abandoned Geoff. Sorry, Hoscar. That was a bit Wilde of me to say that 😂

It's called 'Oscar in the local vernacular. We drop the H when referring to the hamlett. Drove past the station daily for work for a few years.

Desolate? Just a bit wet. Seems like a perfectly pleasent rural stop. I wish I could have seen the stations around before beeching got stuck in. Would have made a lovely series

Least used stations needs a proper logo/graphic 🚂🤷‍♂️😁

Rename your son “Hoscar”, obviously.

My local station, Heighington, has staggered platform on the 'wrong' side of the level crossing

Cool video Geoff and I always enjoy your videos.

Also you can walk on the Burscough curves and even the Preston-Ormskirk line but not from the road

Loving the Rose On the station sign

Hii Geoff I was wondering if you might do a video on the old national rail section of Queen’s Park tube station if your on the north bound platform and face away from the other platforms you can see it behind a green fence but if you look on a national rail and tube map the lines don’t go anywhere near it but trains run through it anyways! this is the only one I could find because at Kensal Green and Willesden Junction there is no evidence of a platform ever being there! I was hoping you could solve the mystery or maybe just take a look? Anyways thanks and loved the video

12:49 welcome to my world.

Used to scuttle through Hoscar twice a day in the early 80’s on my way to and from Burscough Priory High School (as was) by rattly old train from Parbold (my ATS adopted station) . Don’t think I ever saw anyone get on or off even back then! BTW I guess the nearby Wastewater Treatment works wasn’t too ripe that day, or maybe you were upwind 😊

Enjoy these videos from the old country. Was a driver in England, now in NZ. Down here your videos contain Air New Zealand (Air All blacks) ads, ready for the up coming World Cup.

Ah, Karl should have measured the platform by the length (height) of Oscar... Chance missed.

Hoscar is pronounced 'Oscar by the locals anyway.... :)

No blowing bag in the rain?! lol. Great to see Karl again, he does make a great and amusing 'sidekick'. (Desolate Scale: Angel Road =10)

I'm sure the research has been done, but I always assumed Salwick would be the least used station in Lancashire. It's just an island platform in the middle of nowhere. I can't even remember being on a train that stopped there. Of course, I live in Australia but I've lived in Blackpool as well so I know that line well.

If you ever start a band, Geoff, you can call it "The Eleventh of Awkward".

Great editing on taking the H out!! 😂

11th of Awkward.

I do hope the old Preston/Southport line is reopnened via the Ormskirk route.

When isn't it raining in Lancashire? great to see you finally do this vid, Come to clitheroe and you can do entwistle the request stop!

but can we get a least used station in cheshire?

Platforms are so long because of the Great North Rail Project (GNRP) bringing longer trains and faster journeys to stations across the North of England

Surely it should br 'Oscar.

I love your videos Geoff, Viki will be jealous you went on a pacer.

The reason why Hoscar is the least used Station is because the population of Hoscar is 6 and there is noting there, and I drive through that crossing twice a week

11:42 Network Rail Will Probably Just Close The Road And Take Off The Barries And Lights In 8 Hours

As for bleak stations. One of the most depressing and bleak stations I've caught a train from has to be Warwick Parkway. It may have a car park, a ticket office and a small cafe. But, once you get on the platform it's bleak. It has to be one of the worst designed modern stations.

Gainsbourgh Central for #1 most desolate station in the UK.

Long platform because of former adjacent goods yard used by the local farmers to transport produce to nearby towns and cities. Ormsirk is the heart of potato production in the northwest of England.

lol the two off You peeping out of the shelter, its still raining, great film work!

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.

You managed to ressurrect Bob Hoskins to Hoscar? Neat!!

Robber @Geoff Marshall your guide Karl looks alot like Bruce Reynolds the great train Robber would love to see you do a video of where that took place

Yay Hoscar, my local station

Hoscar is only down the line from where I live which is in Southport.

I know who lives in the house right against the station! I’ve been there many a times 😂

Great to see Karl back on the channel! :)

First my home town becomes famous when Argleton hits the internet, now 15m down the road we get visited by Geoff Marshall. What next, mapmen visit the sites of the Battle of Ormskirk?

"Raindrops on lenses...whiskers on kittens????"

Should have walked to the ship inn - approx 20 mins - great beer and food!

Must be a way up, Paul & Rebecca!! @pwhitewick @rwhitewick

You could do All the Wanted Extra Stations going to places where trains run through a sizeable place that needs a station.

Karl might be the silliest and funniest of your companions so far. But I missed the facility exploration. Are there dot matrix indicators, breeze blowing bin bags, bike racks, (os)car park?

are they upgrading the Pacers to 195's on this line ?

The Hoscar, sorry Oscar, level crossing works appear to be an inspection of the rails under the level crossing "surface units". Checking for wear etc, I'd imagine.

I normally never react, but back in 2009 I have been in Southport to study a course in Dangerous Goods in Tankcontainers by Roy Boneham. Already back then, Southport was quite desolate, it was the one and only time, that I have visited the UK at all. We flew to Manchester back then.

Why is the E in Passengers italic?

hoscar once had a goods yard used by the local farmers as theres a number in the area so that might explain the size of the platforms?

These videos make me want to fly from Chicago to London just to take the tube

Had a quick look og G maps and it seems the tracks are lifted on the curve/blue line at Burscough Bridge ....

I’m at hoscar right now on a train to Wigan

When you got off the train, I thought your guide was James Burke!

This video looks like a typical summer day's weather in England. Here in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America it is a sunny 31 degrees.

Good video but can you do the least used station in devon already

11:08 - Well, that was August.

Dammmm I wish I would of known you were at burscough bridge I live there and watch all of your videos!

When you go to a station, everyone goes there and is no longer the least used station xD

Geoff on the district line going towards Upminster at West Kensington there’s a piece of track going left into a tunnel and it’s all grassed over. Any ideas of where that goes?

I moved to West Lancashire from Manchester 40 years ago and I'm still regarded as a foreigner by the locals, so calling Karl your local guide is possibly a bit of a stretch!😄

What a sad world it would be without weirdos.

What is Karl’s favorite type of car? An Oscar

I like how in a lot of cases they couldn't be bothered to paint over the turquoise on the roofs of the Pacers.

Lots of Pacers seen. Does anyone ever say their TOPS numbers, which on Northern is 142 and 144? I figured Karl came because it is near Manchester, (kind of) and he lives there.

Will you come to wales for a least used station i'd love to come and help out

u bounced in and out my home county because i live in sefton but closer to lancashire than sefton park

Dud Station..... was a nice pub next door...... sadly now a house I believe..

"DO NOT TRESSPASS ON THE RAILWAY! Sorry for the inconvenience." I love the uk. Like a strict, but caring mom

I know the people who live in the station house, and I can confirm that they do not get the train there!

Geoff, why don’t you measure the platforms with your phone

Carl and Dr Ben (Finstock) are the best sidekicks so far.

I thought least used station was savick

... The intro said Oscar not hoscar

A double-set of Pacer's . . . . what fresh hell is that?!

Rain drops keep landing on my lens

Pity you went in the wet as the countryside around Hoscar is great for walking on a sunny day. Not far from the station is a swing bridge on the Leeds-Liverpool canal from where you can follow the canal towards either Burscough (Bridge or Junction) or Parbold. You could even follow its Rufford branch to Rufford

Ashby de la Zouch Hoscar de la Hoya

In a Westerly direction is a great pub called Hen & Chickens 👍 about a mile from there...but theirs 1 closer which I can't think of right now lol..