Thurstaston railway station

Thurstaston
The site of Thurstaston station as it appears today, now part of Wirral Country Park. [1]
General information
Location	Thurstaston, Wirral England
Grid reference	SJ238835
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	Birkenhead Railway
Post-grouping	Birkenhead Railway London Midland Region (British Railways)
Key dates
19 April 1886	Opened
1 February 1954	Closed to passengers
7 May 1962	Closed to freight
Location

Thurstaston railway station was a stop on the single tracked Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It served the village of Thurstaston, which lies to its north-east. ^[2]

History

The Birkenhead Railway, owned jointly by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and North Western Railway (LNWR), had initially opened a branch line from Hooton to Parkgate in 1866. An extension to West Kirby was completed twenty years later, including Thurstaston station which opened on 19 April 1886. ^[3] Station Road was constructed from land donated by local landowners Thomas Ismay and the Glegg family to provide access from the village to the station. ^[4]

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Heswall		Birkenhead Railway Hooton to West Kirby branch		Caldy

World War II

During the Second World War, the line was used for the transportation of munitions. Heavy anti-aircraft gun emplacements were built on land to the west of the station, which have since been grassed over. ^[3]

Closure

Despite regular seasonal tourist use of the station, passenger numbers generally remained low. On 1 February 1954, the station was closed to passengers, although the line itself remained open to passenger trains for another two years. ^[5] The track continued to be used for freight transportation and driver training for another eight years, closing on 7 May 1962. The tracks were lifted two years later. ^{[3] [4]}

Wirral Country Park

The route became the Wirral Way footpath and part of Wirral Country Park in 1973, which was the first such designated site in Britain. ^{[6] [7]}

The site today

Unlike most of the stations on the line, the two platforms are still in situ, though the southbound platform is largely obscured by undergrowth; the Wirral Way continues to pass between them. The station buildings have been demolished. ^[3]

One of two visitor centres for the Wirral Country Park is located on the station site. ^[8]

References

1. Christiansen, Rex (Autumn 1977), Gill, C. (ed.), "On the track of a country park", The Countryman
2. Merseyside Railway History Group (1982), Scheele, R. (ed.), The Hooton to West Kirby branch line and the Wirral Way, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, ISBN   0-904582-04-3
3. Wright, Paul (14 January 2018), "Disused Stations: Thurstaston", Disused Stations, retrieved 22 December 2024
4. Maund, T.B. (2000), The Birkenhead Railway, The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society, pp. 43–44, 69, ISBN   0-901115-87-8
5. "Time flies by". Heswall Magazine (2). October 2009. pp.8-9. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
6. Wirral Country Park, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, archived from the original on 30 October 2008, retrieved 21 November 2008
7. Wirral Country Park, Visit Liverpool, retrieved 8 December 2007
8. "Wirral Country Park". Wirral.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2024.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2014). Birkenhead to West Kirby. Middleton Press. figs. 78-81. ISBN   9781908174611. OCLC   885451764.

External links

Media related to Thurstaston railway station at Wikimedia Commons

53°20′34″N3°08′43″W / 53.3427°N 3.1452°W / 53.3427; -3.1452