A look back at the walks and visits from 2013.

Knotty Ash and West Derby.

On 6th April the group met at Knotty Ash station and walked the trackbed of the CLC North Liverpool extension. Led by Paul Wright they explored the site of Knotty Ash station and walked to West Derby station. The station at West Derby has survived as a private residence and a shop also the platforms are pretty much intact. The group then walked back through Knotty Ash to the Thomas Road tunnel. The walk was conducted on Grand National day which was ironically the busiest day for the line with many special trains operating.

Intersection Bridge to Reginald Road Bridge.

On 4th May the group met and walked to the site of the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway works which was later used by the LNWR as their Central Stores. Led by Joe Cowley we also walked the trackbed from the Intersection Bridge to the Reginald Road overbridge. This was a slightly different walk to the advertised one due to the area in question being subject of redevelopment with the clearing of the SH & RGR embankment and the site of the works. Housing is to be built on the whole site in the near future but with the clearance of the trackbed some very interesting finds were made.

CLC Halewood Triangle.

On a glorious evening nearly 20 members of the Association walked the former CLC lines Halewood Triangle. The area itself has been turned into a large public outdoor space with path boardwalks and ponds. Surprisingly there was still many railway related items to see even though the majority of the lines were removed over 40 years ago. There is also a visitors centre on Okell Drive where many of the railway related artefacts found during the conversion into a public space are on display. The inner and outer triangles were visited and with the aid of many old photographs the sites of junctions, signal boxes and a subway were found.

Sunnybank Park CLC Junction.

On 22nd June the group met at Sunnybank Park the site of the eastern junctions of the CLC and Widnes Loop line. There has been much disturbance of the land around the junctions and the site of Widnes East signal box with the are being used as a landfill site. But with an informative talk by Paul Wright the lines and connections could be envisaged. The group made their way along the trackbed to view the bridge at Dans Road the major surviving feature in the area.

The group at Dans Road bridge. 22nd June 2013.

Sankey Bridges to Fidlers Ferry.

On 4th July members met at the site of Sankey Bridges station and walked to the site of Fidlers Ferry station. The talk led by Paul Wright took in the history of the construction and operation of both the railway and the canal. There was chance to see the remains of the station at Sankey Bridges and features at Fidlers Ferry station. Altogether a pleasant and informative walk on a fine summers evening.

Rail Ale 13th July 2013.

Following the success of the Yorkshire Rail Ale tour in 2012 the association organised a tour of Merseyside for 2013. Starting in Liverpool and taking in Southport, Birkdale, Freshfield and Waterloo the group enjoyed a day sampling the Real Ale offered by various hostelries. Many excellent beers were sampled and a grand day out was had by all, the weather was very kind too.

Fiddlers Ferry Power Station Visit 3rd August 2013.

On 3rd August the members visited the power station complex for the second time. This time a visit to the unloading bunker was the highlight and the group were able to witness the unloading of a Freightliner hopper train hauled by a Class 70 locomotive. After a thoroughly interesting tour of the plant the group were allowed to view the Class 70 locomotive up close. Many thanks to Scottish and Southern Energy Plc, especially Gemma and her team for making our visit memorable.

Halton Miniature Railway 21st September 2013.

A visit to the Halton Minature Railway in Runcorn 

Clock Face to Reginald Road.

On 12th October the group met to walk the section of the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway from Clock Face through to Reginald Road. Now a barely visible single line trackbed this area once contained the Clock Face sidings complex. The line at this point consisted of the Up and Down main line with additional Up Loops 1 and 2 and Down Loops 1 and 2. In addition to this there was an Up and Down sidings which comprised 8 sidings, so all in all a large complex. Due to serious earth movement caused by a natural geological fault named the ‘Roaring Meg’ it is hard to believe that there was ever such a mass of sidings here. Where the Up sidings complex was situated the land has dropped by around 8 feet with the main track bed and the Down sidings complex rising around 4 feet. The group also took time to look closely at the Hawthorn Road bridge constructed to allow a ancient trackway to pass under the railway unhindered. The Up sidings passed over the bridge along with the main running lines and loops making it a once sizeable bridge. We then walked through to Reginald Road where the overbridge has since been removed and the huge timbers which supported the track over the roadway have been left.

Allerton Depot visit.

On 14th December members of the group visited the Northern Trains depot at Allerton on a tour organised by Richard Mercer. Our thanks are extended to John Dillon and his team of fitters for making us very welcome and for the information they provided us during our visit.