Ainsdale Beach railway station

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Ainsdale Beach
Ainsdale Beach railway station (site), Lancashire (geograph 6605142).jpg
Station site in 2020.
General information
Location Ainsdale, Sefton
England
Coordinates 53°36′26″N3°03′24″W / 53.6071°N 3.0568°W / 53.6071; -3.0568
Grid reference SD302128
Line(s) Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway
Platforms2 [1] [2] [3]
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Cheshire Lines Committee
Pre-groupingCheshire Lines Committee
Post-groupingCheshire Lines Committee
Key dates
19 June 1901Station opened as "Seaside"
1 January 1912Station renamed "Ainsdale Beach" [4]
1 January 1917Station closed as a wartime economy measure
1 April 1919Station reopened
7 January 1952Station closed [5]

Ainsdale Beach was a railway station located in Ainsdale, Merseyside, England.

Contents

History

The Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway (SCLER) opened a line extending their existing system from Aintree to Southport on 1 September 1884. [6] Seeing the potential in Ainsdale's large beach they subsequently built this station, which opened as Seaside in 1901. In 1911 it was decided to rename the station Ainsdale Beach, which took effect from 1 January 1912.

The station was built adjacent to a hotel called The Lakeside Hotel (in 2015 named 'The Sands' and trading as a local pub) situated at the coastal end of Shore Road. A terraced row of railway staff cottages immediately next to the station still stood in 2015, although all station structures, signal box and level crossing [7] [8] have long gone.

It was served by trains from Southport Lord Street, Liverpool Central and Manchester Central. [9]

A total eclipse of the sun occurred in June 1927. The railway provided many excursion specials to many locations, including Ainsdale Beach. [10]

Run down and closure

The station first closed in 1917, along with all other stations on the extension line, as a First World War economy measure.

The station reopened on 1 April 1919, and continued in use until 7 January 1952, when the SCLER was closed to passengers from Aintree Central to Southport Lord Street. Public goods facilities were ended at Woodvale, Lydiate and Sefton & Maghull stations on the same day and there never were any goods facilities at Ainsdale Beach station. The line remained open for public goods traffic until 7 July 1952 at Southport Lord Street, Birkdale Palace and Altcar & Hillhouse stations. A siding remained open at Altcar & Hillhouse for private goods facilities until May 1960. The last passenger train to run on the SCLER was a railway enthusiasts' special train between Aintree and Altcar & Hillhouse stations on 6 June 1959. [11] [12]

The line came under the Cheshire Lines Committee until nationalisation in 1948, whereafter it came under the London Midland Region of British Railways until closure.

The site today

Later the track bed through the station site was used to support what is now the Coastal Road, which runs from Woodvale to Southport. At this point the road is also part of the Trans Pennine Trail.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheshire Lines Committee</span> Railway in England: active from 1863 to 1947

The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated 143 miles (230 km) of track in the then counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. The railway did not become part of the Big Four during the implementation of the 1923 grouping, surviving independently with its own management until the railways were nationalised at the beginning of 1948. The railway served Liverpool, Manchester, Stockport, Warrington, Widnes, Northwich, Winsford, Knutsford, Chester and Southport with connections to many other railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ainsdale</span> Human settlement in England

Ainsdale is a village near Southport, in the Sefton district, in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the historic county of Lancashire, at the 2001 Census it had a population of 12,723. By the time of the 2011 census, only figures for Ainsdale (ward) were available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southport Lord Street railway station</span> Former railway station in Southport, England

Southport Lord Street was a railway station located on Lord Street, Southport, Merseyside, England. It was the terminus of the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway from Liverpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birkdale railway station</span> Railway station in Southport, England

Birkdale railway station serves the Birkdale suburb of Southport, England. The station is located on the Southport branch of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birkdale Palace railway station</span> Disused railway station in Birkdale, Merseyside

Birkdale Palace railway station was located in Birkdale, Lancashire, England. The station was opened by the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway in 1884 and closed in 1952.

Woodvale railway station was a railway station located in Woodvale, Merseyside, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mossbridge railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Mossbridge railway station was located on Downholland Moss at Moss Lane, Haskayne, Lancashire, England. The Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway (SCLER) opened Mossbridge on 5 April 1886 as "Barton & Halsall".

The Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway was an early British railway company operating in the then county of Lancashire. It was constructed to link the Cheshire Lines Committee railway at Aintree to Southport. It operated from 1884 to 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altcar and Hillhouse railway station</span> Disused railway station in Great Altcar, Lancashire

Altcar and Hillhouse was a railway station located on the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway near Great Altcar, Lancashire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lydiate railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Lydiate railway station was a station located on the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway off Carr Lane, just outside Lydiate. The Merseyside and Lancashire border runs down the stream alongside Altcar Lane, which runs parallel to the line.

Sefton and Maghull railway station was a station located on the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway on Sefton Lane, Maghull, Merseyside, England.

Aintree Central railway station was a station located on the North Liverpool Extension Line on Park Lane, Aintree, Merseyside, across Park Lane from the current Aintree station.

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Clubmoor railway station was located on the North Liverpool Extension Line at Broad Lane, Norris Green, Liverpool, England.

Walton on the Hill railway station was located on the Huskisson branch of the North Liverpool Extension Line at the junction of Rice Lane and Queens Drive in Walton, Liverpool, England.

Huskisson railway station was located on the North Liverpool Extension Line near Huskisson Dock in Liverpool, England.

Southport Central was a railway station in Southport, Lancashire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Helens Central railway station (Great Central Railway)</span> Former railway station in England

St Helens Central (GCR) railway station served the town of St Helens, England with passenger traffic between 1900 and 1952 and goods traffic until 1965. It was the terminus of a branch line from Lowton St Mary's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrington Junction</span> Disused railway station in Cumbria, England

Harrington Junction was a railway junction in Harrington, Cumbria, England. It joined three branches to the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway's (CWJR) main line from Workington Central to Moor Row via Cleator Moor West. No station ever existed at the junction, High Harrington was the nearest, 48 chains (0.97 km) to the south.

Helsby and Alvanley railway station was one of two railway stations serving the village of Helsby in Cheshire. The station was the terminus of the Helsby branch operated by the Cheshire Lines Committee and later British Railways. It has since been closed. The other station, Helsby railway station, remains open.

References

  1. ↑ Bolger 1984, pp. 26–7.
  2. ↑ Foster 2000, pp. 79 & 82.
  3. ↑ Biddle 1981, p. 30.
  4. ↑ Dow 1962, p. 142.
  5. ↑ Butt 1995, p. 13.
  6. ↑ Griffiths 1947, p. 53.
  7. ↑ Dyckhoff 1999, Title Page and p108.
  8. ↑ Travers 2013, pp. 374 & 376.
  9. ↑ Bolger 1984, pp. 5–7.
  10. ↑ Dyckhoff 1999, p. 62.
  11. ↑ Railtours via sixbellsjunction
  12. ↑ Travers 2013, p. 377.

Sources

  • Biddle, Gordon (1981). Railway Stations in the North West. Clapham, North Yorkshire: Dalesman Books. ISBN   978-0-85206-644-7.
  • Bolger, Paul (1984). An Illustrated History of the Cheshire Lines Committee. Merseyside: Heyday Publishing Company. ISBN   978-0-947562-00-7.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
  • Dow, George (1962). Great Central, Volume Two Dominion of Watkin 1864-1899. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN   978-0-7110-1469-5. OCLC   655324061.
  • Dyckhoff, Nigel (1999). Portrait of the Cheshire Lines Committee. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7110-2521-9.
  • Foster, Harry (2000). New Ainsdale The struggle of a seaside suburb 1850-2000. Birkdale: Birkdale and Ainsdale Historical Research Society. ISBN   978-0-9510905-5-8.
  • Griffiths, R Prys (1947). The Cheshire Lines Railway. Lingfield: The Oakwood Press. OCLC   752555378. OL5.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN   978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC   228266687.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC   22311137.
  • Travers, Ian (June 2013). Blakemore, Michael (ed.). "The Southport Extension of the Cheshire Lines Committee 1884-1952". Back Track. 27 (6). Easingwold: Pendragon Publishing.
Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Woodvale
Line and station closed		  Cheshire Lines Committee
SCLER 		  Birkdale Palace
Line and station closed
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