Ledsham | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Ledsham, Cheshire England |
Platforms | 4 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | Chester and Birkenhead Railway |
Pre-grouping | Birkenhead Joint Railway |
Post-grouping | Birkenhead Joint Railway |
Key dates | |
23 September 1840 | Station opened |
20 July 1959 | Station closed |
Ledsham railway station was on the Chester and Birkenhead Railway near Little Sutton and about a mile from the hamlet of Ledsham on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire, England. The station was originally named 'Sutton' but renamed Ledsham on the opening of the Hooton to Helsby branch to avoid confusion with the newly built station named Little Sutton. The station opened on 23 September 1840 at the same time as the railway line, and was closed on 20 July 1959 due to a decline in passenger numbers.
In October 1839, Sutton was the scene of a serious riot. On completion of the works a gang of Irish navvies working from the Birkenhead end met with a gang of English & Welsh navvies working from the Chester end when the contractors' wages clerk for the Irish gang made off with the pay for his men. Violent fighting between the two gangs ensued over two days involving some 2,000 men; military were sent from Liverpool and Chester, including a piece of ordnance from Chester, and 28 rioters were jailed.
In 1891, the track from Ledsham Junction (half a mile south of the station) to Rock Ferry was quadrupled and Ledsham Station acquired four platforms. After the station closed the quadruple track was reduced to double in the 1970s. Two remaining platforms were in existence until the 1990s when they were demolished to accommodate a new road bridge which was built on the realignment of the A550. The double track through the station site now forms part of the Wirral Line to Chester, operated by Merseyrail. [1]
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Capenhurst Line and station open | GWR & LNWR Chester and Birkenhead Railway | Hooton Line and station open |
Thomas Brassey was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about one-third of the railways in Britain, and by time of his death in 1870 he had built one in every twenty miles of railway in the world. This included three-quarters of the lines in France, major lines in many other European countries and in Canada, Australia, South America and India. He also built the structures associated with those railways, including docks, bridges, viaducts, stations, tunnels and drainage works.
The Wirral line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern line.
The Chester–Birkenhead line runs from Chester to Birkenhead via Hooton. Today, it forms part of the Wirral Line network, a commuter rail system operated by Merseyrail. The line was built by the Chester and Birkenhead Railway and opened on 23 September 1840. On 22 July 1847 the railway merged with the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway which was later renamed to Birkenhead Railway.
West Kirby railway station serves the town of West Kirby in Merseyside, England. The station is the terminus of the West Kirby branch line, which is one of the two branches of the Wirral Line on the Merseyrail network. There is a central island platform between two terminus tracks and two parallel sidings for out-of-use electric multiple units. A second station, which was the terminus of a branch line from Hooton, lay to the east of the Wirral Line station; it was closed in 1962.
Bidston railway station serves the village of Bidston, Merseyside, England. The station is situated at a junction of the West Kirby branch of the Wirral line, which is part of the Merseyrail network; it also serves as the northern terminus for the Borderlands line from Wrexham Central, with services operated by Transport for Wales.
New Brighton railway station serves the suburb of New Brighton in Wallasey, Merseyside, England. It is situated at the end of the New Brighton branch of the Wirral Line 8.25 miles (13.28 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.
Hooton railway station is situated in the south of the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 8 miles (13 km) north of Chester and 9+1⁄2 miles (15.3 km) south west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network, and is the junction of the branch from the Chester line to Ellesmere Port. It serves the villages of Hooton and Willaston.
Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station located at Woodside, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. It served both local services within Cheshire and long-distance services to southern England, including London.
Birkenhead Central is a railway station serving the town of Birkenhead, in Merseyside, England. Located on the south side of Birkenhead town centre, it lies on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead Town railway station is a disused railway station in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It was located near the current entrance to the Queensway Tunnel on Grange Road.
Birkenhead Monks Ferry railway station was a railway station in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It was situated very close to the River Mersey named after the monks at Birkenhead Priory. For most of its life, the station was part of the Chester and Birkenhead Railway, a joint railway.
Hadlow Road railway station is a Grade II listed heritage railway station and museum in Willaston, on the Wirral Way footpath. It has been restored to have the look and feel of the day the station was permanently closed to passengers in 1956. It has an authentic ticket office, waiting room and telephone box. Formerly the museum was a working railway station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. The station is owned by Cheshire West and Chester Council, and Friends of Hadlow Road Station (FHRS) help to maintain and develop the station as a community resource.
Caldy railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, England.
Birkenhead Dock Branch is a disused railway line running from the South junction of Rock Ferry, to the site of the former Bidston Dock on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The branch is approximately 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) in length. Although called a branch, the line was accessible from both ends, from Bidston East junction and from Rock Ferry railway station. The former Mollington Street Rail Depot was branched into the line. A section of the line runs through Haymarket Tunnel and a low-level cutting through the centre of Birkenhead; visible from the road flyovers. The former Canning Street North signal box has now been demolished following fire damage, and the rails across the level crossing there have been removed due to the provision of cycle lanes on the roadway. The non-standard gates remain on the east side, but a fence has been erected on the other side despite the railway being officially out of use, rather than closed. Level crossings are also located at Duke Street and Wallasey Bridge Road. The railway lines are still partially intact.
Ledsham is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish includes parts of the hamlets of Badger's Rake and Two Mills. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula, approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) to the north of the city of Chester and 6 km (3.7 mi) to the west of Ellesmere Port.
Thurstaston railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The station served the village of Thurstaston situated to the north east.
Parkgate railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England. The station served the village of Parkgate.
Neston South railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England. The station served the town of Neston.
The Birkenhead Railway was a railway company in North West England. It was incorporated as the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway (BL&CJR) in 1846 to build a line connecting the port of Birkenhead and the city of Chester with the manufacturing districts of Lancashire by making a junction near Warrington with the Grand Junction Railway. The BL&CJR took over the Chester and Birkenhead Railway in 1847, keeping its own name for the combined company until it shortened its name to the Birkenhead Railway in 1859. It was taken over jointly, on 1 January 1860, by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR). It remained a joint railway until nationalisation of the railways in 1948.
Gresford Halt was a small railway station located on the Great Western Railway's Paddington to Birkenhead line a few miles north of Wrexham in Wales and halfway up the Gresford bank.
53°16′48.24″N2°57′59.19″W / 53.2800667°N 2.9664417°W