Over the decades, Merseyside has lost a fair amount of the railway stations that were built in the late 19th century.
St Helens in particular now has just a fraction of the stations it once did, with many of the former railway stations being closed and demolished in the 1950s. The borough was once much easier to navigate by train, with most villages and townships having their own stations- such as Haydock.
St Helens had at least 30 more railway stations, from Carr Mill to Rainford village, to Haydock Park, Old Mill Lane, Sutton Oak and more. The stations that still stand, such as St Helens Central, have undergone huge makeovers.
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The ECHO previously spoke with local historian Allan Moore, who had been researching St Helens’ lost stations for years and shared a series of images from the council’s local history and archives library. At the time, Mr Moore, of the St Helens Historical Society said he was an apprentice fitter at the old Vulcan foundry making locomotives, and grew up in Sutton alongside the railways, which led to his research.
Moss Bank station
Mr Moore said the above image is of the last passenger train that used the line, from St Helens to Ormskirk. At the time, he said: "The line ran via St Helens Central, Moss Bank, Crank, Old Mill Lane, Rookery, Rainford Village and Rainford Junction."
The station was kept open for goods until 1958 before it was closed for good, now in its place is a path, from which Mr Moore believes you would be able to reach the old Rainford Village station.
Haydock Park station
Another station which was out of service by the 1960s, Haydock Park station would become very busy on race days, with smart dressed passengers flocking to watch the horse racing.
Mr Moore said: "It closed in 1958. That line came from the old St Helens Central. In later years they had two lines going in the same direction after races at the racecourse, so people could get away from the venue as quickly as possible.
"Where the road leads up to the venue today, you can still see the steps that used to lead up to the old platform."
Sutton Oak station
Mr Moore said: "This was on the St Helens-Runcorn Gap line, built to get coal from St Helens and the surrounding areas out to the Mersey. It closed in 1958.
"There’s now a Morrisons just to the right of the bridge in the distance of the photo. And behind the photographer there was a British Sidac manufacturing plant I used to work at."
St Helens Central station
Mr Moore said: "This image is of the opening of the line, and its first train. The station was on Corporation Street where the courts are now, with the line about 20 to 30 feet above ground level.
"The station was later renamed St Helens Central. It was quite a substantial booking office and waiting room, open until the early 1950s."
In 2005, Merseytravel and Network Rail invited tenders for the reconstruction of the station, including a new station building, footbridge and lifts. The current station was built for around £6m.
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