The station seems empty, just one man and his dog
Oh here is the ticket office, I wonder if I have the requisite change
Well really, there is nobody resident here
Remarkably two are pulled out, a train must be due.
Go round the back of the station house by the roadside
The line declined after WW1 when the main users became the rural community and secondary school pupils, with a further reduction in traffic as the Neston Colliery closed in 1927 it became uneconomic, but remained open for the local communities and day trippers to the seaside of Parkgate and West Kirby. The increase in road use and further decline in passengers saw the service withdrawn in September 1956 but it continued to be used for goods vehicles until May 1962 when it finally closed and Hadlow Road was - redundant. In 1964 the demolition gangs moved in.
But this is not a story with a sad end for in 1968 the Hooton West Kirby Branch was chosen to be part of Britain's first Country Park. There are now over 400 Country Parks in England alone, accessible green spaces near or within towns and cities. The railway station was preserved in 1950s condition. The old railway line is now replaced with a 12 mile cycleway and footpath
Popular with horse riders too.
RWalkies anyone?
11 comments:
Such an amazing coincidence! I bet my husband and I rode on that train in the late 50's. He was from Liverpool and we loved to go out to the Wirrall. In addition to which I used to teach in West Kirby!
A delightful post!
A perfect tour of the Railway yard. It looks like a delightful place to visit.
A very informative post. Thanks for sharing!
ABC Wednesday
Nice series of photos...great choice for R day.
I always loved trains and do miss the small railway stations, - so many of them have been preserved as art centres, and this is good. The little story of your railway station is a nice remembrance.
What a wonderful tribute to the railway. The history of sites like this are a fascinating walk through the past. Our state has commemorated an old railway by making it a hiking/biking trail that stretches across the state!
This was so very interesting! A perfect way to say and show ABC R! A remarkable post!
We have a rails to trails my husband and I ride our bicycles on. It is lovely and so flat!
Sherry
That was a great post! Took me back to my childhood .. although 1952 was a little before I was born. I do remember travelling on steam trains as a London child though.
What a beautifully preserved station. And it's a great idea to incorporate it into a country park - we have one of those here, with a steam train line passing close by, and a mini train for the children inside the park, but our station is nowhere near as well preserved. It fell into disrepair and had to be restored.
That was a lovely trip round the railway station. Our local station has been turned into a beauty salon though the rail line is still in use.
There's a touch of RED in the majority of the pictures.
"Railway station" reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound."
ROG, ABC Wednesday
Post a Comment