Hadlow Road railway station

Hadlow Road
The eastbound platform
Location
Place	Willaston
Area	Cheshire West and Chester
Grid reference	SJ331773
Operations
Pre-grouping	Birkenhead Railway
Post-grouping	Birkenhead Railway London Midland Region (British Railways)
Platforms	2
History
1 October 1866	Opened
17 September 1956	Closed to passenger services
7 May 1962	Closed to freight services
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Hadlow Road 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 Willaston.

The Birkenhead Railway, owned jointly by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and North Western Railway (LNWR), opened a branch line from Hooton to Parkgate on 1 October 1866, which included a station at Willaston. An extension to West Kirby was completed twenty years later.

It may be presumed that it was named Hadlow Road to distinguish it from the pre-existing Cheshire station at the other Cheshire village of Willaston, and so named, on the Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway.

The main station building is on the eastbound platform towards Hooton, whereas a smaller waiting shelter stands on the westbound platform towards West Kirby. At the western end of both platforms was a level crossing with rather large gates; this was due to the angle at which the road crossed the railway lines.

Hadlow Road railway station closed to passengers on 17 September 1956. The track continued to be used for freight transportation and driver training for another six years, closing on 7 May 1962. The tracks were lifted two years later.

The route became the Wirral Way footpath and part of Wirral Country Park in 1973, which was the first such designated site in Britain. All of the station (excluding the westbound platform) has been preserved to give an authentic 1950s look and a short section of track has been relaid in front of the eastbound platform. The signalbox is not the original, having previously been located at Hassall Green on the North Staffordshire Railway. The station is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is one of two visitor centres on the Wirral Way, with the other at Thurstaston where the platforms remain in situ, but the station has not been restored.