They invariably built a hotel to serve its customers. Acton Bridge was no exception and a farmhouse nearby was converted and named the Railway Hotel. Charles Moulton was the first licensee in 1841 and he handed over the licence to Anne Moulton in 1872.  But the Acton Bridge Railway Hotel had to be re-named. One of the commonest pears in the area was the Hazel or Hessle Pear and so in 1972 the pub’s name was changed from The Railway Hotel to The Hazel Pear.

The station opened as Acton in 1837 but was renamed Acton Bridge in 1870. After merging into the London and North Western Railway, the company became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. In those days the importance of the railway was to carry goods, so siting it nearer to Weaverham, as they could easily have done, was secondary to its primary task of serving the farming community.