Back in the 1930's, my grandpa was Head Porter at Kirkdale Station, which was our local rail station, (we lived in Ida Street, off Argos Road). He had his own little office on the Ormskirk bound platform. Sometimes, when things were quiet, Grandpa would take me to the station, and show me round. One time, he even took me to the Kirkdale West signal box, and I was mesmerised by all the levers and things. I have many happy memories of Kirkdale Station, as it was back then. Happy days!

@Merseywail

Жыл бұрын

Am pleased to have brought back memories for you. I have also done a short video of Kirkdale that might be of interest to you. kzread.info/dash/bejne/YoN2mMWIXa6zgZM.html

People will now believe me when I told them Sandhills had Four wooden platforms. It wasn't from this great video either that I now this. I used to work at Sandhills / Bankhall / Bootle Oriel Road stations in the early sixties when I had dark hair and curls. Many many years later I returned to work at Sandhills as a Supervisor based in the grey building situated at the east end of the station platform. My office was just a small portion of the building as it was also used as a train crew changeover point. They nicknamed us supervisors as 'Troubleshooter' our role was to go wherever trouble occurred in the close vicinity of the Sandhills Junction points. Etc etc. So nice to see the old place again as it was and as it was further back. Thanks for the reminder. ( I'm 75 now you can work it out when I had the dark hair).

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, some great memories there. Bank hall & Bootle Oriel road are on my list to do so hopefully I can rekindle some more for you

Another great video! When I saw the title 'Change At Sandhills' it sent a shudder down my spine. My memories of this station as a young lad in the 70's was it was totally exposed, windswept, freezing cold and it seemed that you always had to wait forever for the train you wanted. Before each journey my sister and I always asked 'Do we have to change at Sandhills?' it was a cause of gloom when a positive response was given to this question; it seemed a hellish place! Glad to see it has now been rebuilt. Thanks for all these post.

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Yes I know what you mean. It wasn't the most inviting of places. Many a time I would continue on to Moorfields if it was raining & blowing a gale. Far better now. Though the old wooden station did character

@dufushead

Жыл бұрын

Me too mate.

Thanks for another detailed video looking forward to the next instalment

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks. I hopefully now things are easing I get over on to the Wirral lines history.

Very interesting and informative video. I lived in south Liverpool, so never came through this area very much - so I was astounded at all the goods lines both to the docks and to the goods yards in this area. Some terrific photos too. Well done!!!!

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks. There were a great many lines to the docks back in the day. Only one now to Seaforth Dock sadly

Very interesting buddy 👍🏻

@Merseywail

Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it Not a lot of the railways around there left now except for Merseyrail

Enjoyed that mini documentary, well done, keep up the good work. 😊

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, I enjoy doing them.

Funny just imagining things as they were, and then you show them. The big building on the right was Tillsons cartons and packaging. The only time you'd ever go to Sandhills was to change, or walk up and get the bus, or to go the match and walk up Fountains Rd. The underpass and seeing it again as it was...that was a foreboding place on a wet evening after the match. Never was a station given a more misleading name ! Ace as always even after several repeats.

@Merseywail

Жыл бұрын

It was a grim place, a lot more comfortable place to change trains now

Excellent video, thanks for sharing

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Tony

Very good video well done

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks

another great informative video .. thank you

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, I enjoy putting them together. Though I do get some strange looks when I film what people think are random bits of wall or scruffy warehouses

@mickusbombickus

3 жыл бұрын

@@Merseywail haha, i know what you mean... i do a similar thing to you (filming) and i enjoy putting it all together .... but in a different field, this is why i love your videos, the history and remains are fascinating and thanks to your knowledge and research its always a good watch :-)

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

@@mickusbombickus yes it's enjoyable researching and then putting it all together

My earliest memory is losing a toy boat down the edge of the platform in the 1970's

@Merseywail

2 жыл бұрын

That's unfortunate, hope it didn't put you off trains

It seems silly to have brought the line down from 4 tracks to 2. Especially with the stadium near Sandhills and with possible (but unlikely) frequency improvements in the indefinite future, double-tracking all the way to Central seems like a no-brainer. With Central being the busiest station in the country outside of London, the fact it's a cramped little island platform that serves 3 different lines is a farce rendered almost comical. Not to mention, the confusion of not knowing which train is which when running onto Central's platform would be rendered null and void if there was one island platform for the Southport line and another for the branch lines, and would free up all of the lines for potential (but, again, unlikely) frequency improvements.

@Merseywail

Жыл бұрын

There has been talk of adding another island platform at Central but nothing came of it. When the underground was conceived late 60s early 70s the capacity problem at central would have been solved by increased frequencys & modern signaling. All trains would have been through services going to more destinations than we have now. There wouldn't have been any terminating trains blocking the platforms. As for reducing 4 tracks down to two, again signaling improvements & higher speeds have improved capacity. The point about the stadium whilst possibly valid now it certainly wasn't when the underground was conceived. There was no plan to ever move Evertons ground in the 70s.

@caramelldansen2204

Жыл бұрын

@@Merseywail You speak of through-services; it is shocking how little coverage the south and east of the city gets, especially considering the WCML does, Manchester Ox Rd line does, St Helens line does and the North Liverpool Extension line DID all run through the south and/or east of the city. The Northern line goes well beyond the city in all of its termini, but only goes to Hunts bloody Cross in the south, and it hugs the river while doing so, so the suburbs aren't covered whatsoever. Speaking of, will you ever do a video on the Extension line? The thing about capacity is that you should never build for the capacity you have NOW but the capacity you could need decades from now. I guess this is a case of the attrition of profit securing itself another victim.

@Merseywail

Жыл бұрын

@@caramelldansen2204 in the original merseyrail plans the East of the city would have been better served. But due to political interference, industrial action & local opposition (nimby's) these plans were scuppered. In an ideal world everything planned would have happened. Unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world & there's always someone who will screw things up. The blame can't be cast to one group or another. I know some will blame x y or z for how things aren't as they could be but the truth is more complicated than that

@caramelldansen2204

Жыл бұрын

@@Merseywail At the end of the day, the reasons for these things all come from economic factors; the political theatre of the houses of parliament, the economic conditions that require strikes and the ideological framework on which NIMBYs operate all flow from the system of ultra-powerful property owners extracting profit from powerless, propertyless workers. (Property in this sense meaning private property, not possessions.) Without class analysis and an understanding of political contradiction, no meaningful or useful analysis can ever be made. While it's understandable to think no one group is to blame, the material conditions that set up these issues is maintained and enforced by the bourgeoisie, making them very clearly to blame. It's no coincidence that public transport flourishes in places where the bourgeoisie, petit-bourgeoisie and labour aristocracy live; i.e. capital cities and gentrified walled communities.

@Merseywail

Жыл бұрын

@@caramelldansen2204 if I understand your point correctly your saying the bourgeoisie were ultimately behind the failure of the full planned system and not as a result of other influences. It seems to me to be very odd to do that. If ultimately they are behind everything, why would they have even allowed the construction of the underground sections to go ahead & not just use their influence to kill it before a spade hit the ground. It all looks very contradictory to me,

Fascinating. At 2:42 there's what looks like a huge roundel on the wall, any idea what it was? You said the lift bridge was unique, do you mean to the railway? The Leicester and Swannington had one in 1832. Thanks again for your hard work and a rich photographic history.

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

The roundel was visible there for many years up to recently, as to what it was I couldn't say. I wasn't aware there was a similar lift bridge elsewhere. Would love to see it do you have any pics of it.

@MattDavis_BeechingsGhosts

3 жыл бұрын

@@Merseywail do a search for "Snibston discovery park lift bridge" or watch my video for the Leicester & Swannington. Looks like there was one in Deptford, too.

I needed to get to Southport from old roan, someone said you need to change at sand hills then come back on yourself on the Southport train . Not a bad station is sand hills.

@Merseywail

Жыл бұрын

There used to be two other options. You once could have gone to Southport via Ormskirk & the Burscough curves. Or less conveniently via the North Mersey line from Aintree to March Lane & Strand Rd, (Bootle new strand) to Southport

What strange looking conductor rails at 1:02, I've never seen any like that before. I've seen the old side contact system on the old Bury to M'cr Victoria line and the bottom contact system on the London docklands lines and in Amsterdam as well as the more common British top contact system but never anything like those in that old picture. Why the three conductor rails? Or is it just the wooden side cladding?

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Yes it wood side panels for safety of track worker's. Not clear from that pic is a center conductor rail. This was only used for current return. It wasn't in contact with the trains

8:04 that was the same train in the Kirkby train derailment

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Yes was wondering if anyone would notice that. Still in its original livery, though no idea if that is the cab that was damaged. When they became a common fleet it would have been round the loop countless times

@annehobson2481

3 жыл бұрын

but I am so glad it wasn't 507 013 lol

So the Liverpool overhead railway was replaced by Merseyrail as we know of today.

@Merseywail

3 жыл бұрын

Sort of, they both link north & south Liverpool. Though the overhead ran along the line of the docks and was very useful to those that worked there. It wasn't as useful for general commuters though