Some people may not realise we have hidden railway stations and train lines right beneath our feet.
Once thriving transport hubs have now been forgotten, with the routes becoming disused and neglected. They are now just artefacts of what once was.
But the lost railway stations and train lines are a reminder of the region's fascinating history, despite no longer in use on Merseyside's rail network. Back in February 2021, the ECHO has compiled a list of some of our region's lost railway stations - and what the sites are used for today.
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There are dozens of the historic stations, including one hidden away just beyond the Baltic Triangle, as well as former stations which played a vital role in bygone industries.
Here are some of Merseyside's lost train stations and railway lines and some a little further away.
St James Station
St James station opened on March 1, 1874, on the Cheshire Line Committee's (CLC) main line between Liverpool and Manchester. Located at the junction of Parliament Street and St James' Place, opposite St James' Church, the station was built into a deep cutting on the south side Parliament Street.
The single storey building had four arched windows and, at its western end, an arched entrance doorway. The building also had a booking office and a waiting room Three lines ran through the station, which had two platforms, and the middle line was used for moving locomotives and empty stock.
In October 1913, seven people were killed and more than 60 injured after an accident in the station. The station closed in 1917 as a wartime cost-cutting measure but never reopened.
There has recently been talk of possibly reopening the station to coincide with the development of the nearby Baltic Triangle.
Sefton Park
The station opened in 1892 and shut in 1960, three years before the first Beeching report that led to the closure of thousands of miles of railways. A subway at the station connected to four platforms situated on an embankment above street level. The closure of Sefton Park station was agreed in March 1960.
A Liverpool newspaper report from the time said the station was losing £2,000 a year and that it would have cost British Railways £35,000 to rebuild and modernise it.
While no traces of the station remain at track level, at street level the booking office can still be seen as its currently in use as a paint shop..
Liverpool Exchange
Exchange station used to be one of the biggest rail termini in the North West. Lines ran from the station to Southport, Preston and Wigan. The station also had direct trains as far away as Yorkshire and Scotland.
The first station was fronted by the Exchange Hotel, in Tithebarn Street, where passengers passed through giant arches into the station itself, with its 10 platforms under a giant glass roof. The station was badly damaged in the Blitz of 1941, but services were back to normal by 1942.
The last service to depart from from Exchange station left on April 29, 1977. The station was replaced by Moorfields, which opened that same year.
Ditton Station, Widnes
Ditton station, close to the Mersey Gateway Bridge, opened in 1871 but was shut in 1994 following the privatisation of British Rail. The station buildings were later demolished in 2005.
The station is known for being one of the two that inspired Paul Simon's hit song Homeward Bound. There are hopes that the station may one day reopen with the potential to serve journeys through Merseyside, Cheshire and even north Wales.
Victoria and Waterloo tunnels
While not a disused station, the Victoria and Waterloo tunnels are two well preserved examples of Liverpool's old rail infrastructure. The tunnels stretch from Edge Hill station to Great Howard Street by the waterfront.
The tunnels have been disused for decades but are still in remarkably good condition. These stunning photos show the inside of the disused rail tunnels below the street.
The tunnels have been disused for decades but are still in remarkably good condition. These stunning photos show the inside of the disused rail tunnels below the street.
Forgotten stations of St Helens
St Helens has at least 30 former railway stations that are no longer in use. These include Carr Mill, Moss Bank, Lea Green, Clock Face, to name just a few as the list of disappeared stations stretch across the borough.
While all of these stations have now been demolished, there are plenty of old photos of these stations and many of these played an important role in coal mining. A now closed rail line ran via St Helens Central, Moss Bank, Crank, Old Mill Lane, Rookery, Rainford Village and Rainford Junction.
The St Helens-Runcorn Gap line, was built to get coal from St Helens and the surrounding areas out to the Mersey. It closed in 1958.
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