Many thanks to Chris Hankin for sending me a few old photographs of the old West Kirby Station. This is the old station that served the line that ran the route of what is now the Wirral Way. Those of you who have lived in West Kirby for some years will recall the old railway bridge that was at the bottom of Grange Hill (if that’s you, you’ll also remember the old Crosville bus yard too)? I think that old bridge must have been demolished around 1980.
Chris comments:
The GWR (or more correctly GWR/LMS joint) station was to the east of the current station [Orrysdale Rd]; coming from Hoylake the track curved left pretty sharply after coming through the Bridge Road bridge, and through the station, onto what is now the Wirral Way.
The photo of the demolition of the GWR station was taken from the bridge that took Grange Road over the railway track. If you extend the Wirral Way over Grange Road towards Hoylake that puts the station just about where the eastern edge of the Concourse Car Park is now. There were a number of sidings between the GWR Station and the current station – lots of coal and timber was dealt with here – there was a massive fire in the timber yard once.
I’ve found this wikipedia article about the old station too that adds a little more detail.
Possible related posts (computer generated):
I remember frequent family departures from this station in the 1940′s and 50′s for holidays with my grandparents in Wales – slow and stately journey through to the terminus at bleak Hooton Junction where, after often a chilly wait, one joined a train on to Ruabon. The West Kirby to Hooton branch line was known locally as the “New and Expeditious” – in deference to a faded sign, proudly displayed for many years outside the station, which, until it mouldered away with age, read something like “Announcing a New and Expeditious route to Chester…….” By my day, the route was by no means new and had never been expeditious!
The wayside stations such as Kirby Park, Caldy and Thurstaston, were little enough frequented and very basic in their facilities – Caldy station platform still lit by oil lamps.
Near Kirby Park, the line ran past my father’s allotment and my sister and I used to amuse ourselves by placing pennies on the line and then standing back to watch the train (which could be heard coming for miles) turn them into impressively larger discs of copper.
On the old Joint Station and the Joint line to Hooton: I have this distinct early memory
from about 1966 of a large turntable right below the old Grange Road bridge which the steam
engines used. Totally overgrown but still very unusual to see.
Incidentally just checking the July 1922 Bradshaw: of the 14 trains leaving West Kirby on
weekdays all but one terminated at Hooton. The 8.20am however was a fast train to Woodside,
calling all stations to Heswall, then non-stop to Rock Ferry and arriving Woodside at
9.03am. It seems this was the only ‘express’ service to run on the line at the time. There
was also a Sunday service then.
By June 1948, eight years before passenger traffic on the line ceased, nearly all the 15
trains ran round to Woodside, but some return journeys could take as long as an hour and 12
minutes to cover the 19 miles back to WK. The Sunday Service had ended.
Years ago someone told me there were once through coaches from West Kirby to Paddington at
one point. I wonder whether anyone can confirm this? Gordon Suggitt’s book ‘Lost Railways
of Merseyside and Greater Manchester’ refers to through coaches to Euston from the old
station up to 1939.
Thanks for the chance to see these fascinating photographs. I remember the old railway station at West Kirby too. I even went on a steam train from it. A school friend lived in Caldy right next to the station and I caught the train from West Kirby to his house…. to play with his Hornby-Dublo train set!
We used to visit my grandparents who lived in Grafton Walk at the top of Grange Hill on Sunday and on that day the trains did not run. The engine and I think just one or maybe two coaches were “parked” for the day at West Kirby station. Once the Royal train made a visit to Wirral (in the 50s?) and the train came along the Wirral line from the Meols direction and then through the old West Kirby station and along the line towards Hooton. I think it then joined the Great Western line and made its way back to Paddington, London. Birkenhead Woodside was the terminus for this classic London route. (not via Meols or Hooton, that was just a one-off for the Royal train).
Chris Hankin might remember this.. I believe I went to school with him at Calday Grammar.
Hi Chris!
Ah….happy memories! I spent many very happy hours at the old ‘joint’ station. I remember that each Monday, the train drivers changed and if you were lucky, you could get a ride on the engine when it ran round the track for its return journey to Hooton.RAF personnel used the station for journeys to Hooton and the Queen used the line on a visit to Cadburys at Moreton.
Whilst I love walking along the Wirral Way, I cannot help wishing that the line had become a preserved steam railway. The scenic route the line took would surely have attracted many visitors.