Thursday, 27 April 2017

Birkenhead North


Birkenhead North station was opened by the Wirral Railway in 1888, as Birkenhead Docks. It was renamed Birkenhead North in 1926 by the London Midland and Scottish Railway. Through electric trains to Liverpool began in 1938 via the Mersey rail tunnel. There has been recent upgrading to the original station buildings and a park and ride facility has been added.

We knew it as the junction for West Kirby line trains, on the few occasions that we went off to dabble in the Dee. Otherwise, it was because we had taken a West Kirby train home from Liverpool as far as North, rather than wait for a New Brighton train underground in the city - in other words, to break up the journey. Though the advantage would be daylight and comparatively fresh air, on the downside, the surroundings were visually a little depressing, and a cold wind could certainly howl along that platform from time to time, though that was certainly not the case on this summer’s day in 1971.

Between 1971 and 1978, the DMU services to Wrexham [previously from New Brighton and later from Bidston] terminated at the central platform here, which is why the Liverpool bound electric service is seen using the platform on the left.

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