Birkenhead Town railway station is a disused

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, Wirral,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was located near the current entrance to the Queensway Tunnel on Grange Road.

History

Background

The site, on which the station was built, was to the east of Birkenhead's original railway terminus at Grange Lane, which closed in 1844. To the north lay two tunnel entrances; the first, completed in 1844, led to the town's second terminus at Monks Ferry. To the left of this portal lay the tunnel to the new passenger terminus of Birkenhead Woodside, built in 1878. Subsequently, the Monks Ferry branch was used exclusively for

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...

Opening

Birkenhead Town station was opened on 1 January 1889 by the Joint Committee of the

Chester and Birkenhead Railway Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, administered by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

(GWR) and the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

(LNWR). It was built to accommodate the nearby commercial centre of Birkenhead.

Services

The line which travelled through the station bore trains from Birkenhead Woodside to

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...

, but only local trains from Woodside to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

West Kirby West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, to th ...

Helsby Helsby is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Overlooking the Mersey estuary, it is approximately north east of Chester and south we ...

and

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

served the station. A freight depot, handling

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

, had been established by the LNWR at the former locomotive shed on the site of the original Grange Lane terminus. Known as the Birkenhead Town Goods Depot, this facility was surplus to requirements by the middle of the 20th century and was closed on 29 May 1961.

Demise

In 1934, the Queensway road tunnel to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

was opened. This had been established opposite the entrance to the station, after the demolition of much property in the vicinity. This development also resulted in the station becoming cut off from reasonable access to the town's market area and the residential district near

Birkenhead Priory Birkenhead Priory is in Priory Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the oldest standing building on Merseyside. The site comprises the medieval remains of the priory itself, the priory chapter house, and the remains of St Marys chu ...

. Birkenhead Town station closed on 7 May 1945, although the line continued in use until 1967 when Birkenhead Woodside closed. As of 2007, the tunnels (now partially infilled) and site of the station still exist. However, the area is now enclosed between the approach roads to the Queensway road tunnel entrance, which were redesigned and extended in the 1960s. From 2022, the site will become part of a new park, which is currently being constructed. Known as

Dock Branch Park Dock Branch Park is a public park which is currently being built in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The idea for the park came from Wirral Council's long–term vision for the development of Birkenhead, known as the Birkenhead 2040 Framework. ...

, it will link Rock Ferry with

Bidston Dock Bidston Dock was a Dock (maritime), dock at Birkenhead, in England. It was situated to the west of the Great Float, between Bidston and Poulton, Merseyside, Poulton. History A proposal for the construction of the dock on most of what remained ...

, providing a route for pedestrians and cyclists.

References

Sources

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External links

Birkenhead Town on Disused Stations
{{Closed stations Merseyside Buildings and structures in Birkenhead Disused railway stations in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Former Birkenhead Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1889 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1945 1889 establishments in England 1945 disestablishments in England