St Helens Central (GCR) railway station
| St Helens Central | |
|---|---|
_station_opening_day.jpg)
Station frontage on opening day
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| Location | |
| Place | St Helens |
| Area | St Helens |
| Coordinates | 53°27′19″N 2°44′14″W / 53.4553°N 2.7371°WCoordinates: 53°27′19″N 2°44′14″W / 53.4553°N 2.7371°W |
| Grid reference | SJ511956 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Central Railway |
| Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway |
| Platforms | 1 |
| History | |
| 3 January 1900 | Station opened as St Helens |
| 1 March 1949 | Renamed St Helens Central |
| 3 March 1952 | Station closed to passengers |
| 4 January 1965 | Station closed completely |
| 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 |
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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.
The Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway, which ran from a junction with the Wigan Junction Railways (WJR) to the north of Lowton St Mary's, opened for goods and mineral traffic in 1895, but passenger services did not commence until January 1900. The formal opening was on 2 January with public services beginning the following day, being operated by the Great Central Railway, which was already operating the WJR. Most services ran through to Manchester Central. The station opened with the commencement of public passenger services on 3 January 1900 and was originally named St Helens.
Overall, the station and goods facilities covered 8 acres (3.2 ha), however the passenger section only consisted of one platform with a somewhat rudimentary wooden canopy shelter (compared to the brick-built booking office). This was in stark contrast to the comprehensive goods sidings, weighbridge, travelling crane and large goods shed. Rail access to this complex was from the north-eastern corner via a double track bridge over Standish Street. The line then divided into two, the northern branch proceeding into Pilkington's Cowley Hill Plate Glass Works being purely for goods traffic, the other line running to the east. This crossed the LNWR line at Pocket Nook on a single line viaduct. It was originally intended to be double track, but due to difficulties in obtaining sufficient land and clearances plus rising costs, the viaduct was eventually forced to be completed as a single line structure.
Similar financial considerations caused the line to terminate at St. Helens. The original plan was for the line to continue westwards towards Liverpool via proposed stations at Dentons Green, Knowsley and Croxteth Park to a junction with the CLC Lines at Fazakerley, from which point there would be easy access to both Southport and Liverpool.
The station was renamed St Helens Central on 1 March 1949 but closed to passenger traffic three years later on 3 March 1952. It continued to be used for goods until 4 January 1965, when it closed completely. In 1987 this name was given to St Helens Shaw Street station on the Liverpool–Wigan line of the former London and North Western Railway.
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Wikipedia