In 1834 the Wigan Branch Railway had offered John Hargreaves, an established carrier in the North West, the lease for operating the goods service on their line. Hargreaves, in partnership with his son (also called John Hargreaves) declined the offer and made a counter offer which was accepted by the new North Union Railway, as this was now after the merger of the railways. The son, John Hargreaves junior therefore became the sole lessee over the Wigan section for goods traffic with the exception of those who already had the right to operate their own trains, mainly coal mine owners. The L&MR continued to provide all the passenger services for the line.