Does anyone have any pics of this station while in use, after closure, during demolition & afterward?

this wot ya lookin for

dont no if there any good

good photo that scott i like

cheeers jason dude

Forgive my stupidity, but where are these on a modern map...

...and are the remains of the platform still there?

wrong map lol

the right map thanks stuy

Im guessing thats pretty much where rock retail is now...

Kinda answers my question about it still being there

Where is the station with the track lifted ? Blue based canopy supports and old 3rd rail insulators on platform edge.

Surely not on the Merseyrail electrified lines ??

Being an insulator collector (yes, you heard right!) I'm more than a little curious.

Hahaha - thank you all who have responded - however, I actually meant pictures of Birkenhead Woodside & not the former Woodside stn that now forms part of the Croydon Tramlink!!
I've trawled through the net & found a fair few on there, but I'm hoping that some of you may have pics in books or old photos, etc...
Thanks awfully :o)

Get yourself a copy of "Railway Stations of Wirral". A couple of pages of pics there.

There are still old tracks leading into it, god knows where they go now.

I saw that map the other day and started to wonder where ashburton park was then realised its some place in Kent isn't it?

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/b/birkenhead_woodside/index.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkenhead_Woodside_railway_station

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=25329

http://www.wirraltransportmuseum.org/ (about 1/4 down)

Map 1899 and map 2008

The station you have pointed to appears to have been called Town Station in 1899.

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/b/birkenhead_town/index.shtml

Thanks for all your help

I actually wrote that Wikipedia article, some time ago...

Although trying to locate decent picss is another matter (especially after it's closure & during demolition

Heh, I began the article! A lot of the information was from the Railway Stations of Wirral book mentioned, there's not much in the periods you're after bar what's left of it now (the side retaining wall and the tunnel) but maybe if you're this way again there'll be something in the Wirral Museum or somewhere like that? One thing about the subbrit site I like is a photo of Monks' Ferry before it was flattened, shows the state of it quite well.

woodside circa 67

Sorry but electricity at Woodside Station ???

That's not even Britain. Anybody recognise it?

Germany?

Don't think so; thinking Australia.

It's an Amtrak/Penn Central Metroliner train at New Haven, Connecticut on 3 September 1972.

@ Scott

This topic hasn't been touched for while, so I thought I'd add a few photo's that a mate of mine took in 1967 and maybe one in 1968.

As far as I know they haven't been shown anywhere public before, and he doesn't mind them being shared here. Hope they're of interest.

Cheers,
Billy.

Fantastic pictures Billy

Thanks for sharing

great pics love this one..





thanks

nice pics billy jase is right the above pic is fantastic

Yep, it's my fave too - thanks a lot for the comments. I'll have to tell my mate that his pics are appreciated.

Cheere,
Billy.

thanks mate for sharing them mate!

Really good pics - thanks guys

Very memory provoking pics, thanks. It used to be a town and a half then. Woodside very busy, docks busy, lairage going full blast, everybody grafting and earning their crust. Happy days.

Aye, you're right. AND a proper bus service. AND proper money (pounds, shillings and pence). AND Bents bitter..... AND ...er.mm...forget the last bit !

Whey hey Pinz. You've got that amnesia thing as well, nobody said it was catching. I worked on the Birkenhead buses in the late 60's early 70's, can't believe the way it is now.

Aw, Woodside Hotel in background

No, Snooze, those are the buildings on Bridge St. The shadow on the loco is of the Rose Brae bridge, the bridge you can see at the end of the platforms is the Church St. bridge. You can see the Hamilton Square station hydraulic tower in the pic. which is at the other end of Bridge St. The Woodside Hotel is roughly behind the tender of the loco. Attached is a map from 1909 & an aerial pic. from the 1947 Outline Plan book. Funnily enough, the loco. in the pic. below is at almost the exact point as the one in the other pic., but on a different track.

You're a clever fella Chris

I think the white chimney that is shown immediately in front of the hydraulic tower (over the coals on the tender) belongs to the pub behind the Woodside Hotel.

It's marked "PH" with a bench mark. An imaginary line drawn from just under the Rose Brae Bridge (where loco is blowing off steam in photo) to the hydraulic tower (corner of Ham.Sq.Sta.) passes through that pub.

I think, as you say Chris, the white block of buildings (over loco boiler) are the buildings facing Bridge St.

Great station and loco photos ! THAT'S how locos were towards the end of steam - mostly filthy and neglected !

.

left side of the buildings are
89 Worsley Arms cum Queens Arms cum (Cuckoo) cum Riverview 16 Chester Street 16 1 Bridge Street
90 Kossuth Hotel 18 Chester Street 18
91 Dispensary cum Hamlet 20 Chester Street 20

and the pub alongside the Woodside Hotel wasWoodside vaults cum Rinty Monaghans Irish Bar

My mum remembers being sent to Southampton from this station as a lil girl, i'll have to show her these pix!!

I suddenly realised I had a picture taken in almost exactly the same place as one of the set I uploaded last week, and thought it might be of interest to show a 'then and then' comparison, comparing 1967 and 1986.

Also, there is another picture from 1967, which I didn't include the first time around, as it was a bit 'atmospheric', but it might be of interest anyway. Apologies for the quality, but my mate tells me he was using a camera which was possibly the model before the 'box brownie' became available...

I have some more photos, but not of Woodside - most are from the sheds at Mollington Street, the docks, and few of Rock Ferry Station. If they are of any interest, perhaps someone can tell me if there are any topics on Wiki that would be a good place to put them?

Cheers,
Billy.

Just start a topic, Billy. We're all keen to see what you have!

Late '40s, my schoolmate Brian used to live in the only house in Rose Brae. His Dad was the gate keeper at Graysons, I think.

There was a frightening drop from his house windows to the bottom of the dock!

Bri

Interesting pictures Billy. Thanks. It would be great to see any pics. you have of Rock Ferry Station and Mollington St. M.P.D.

Keep them coming !

Thanks for the comments!

There aren't any more of Woodside, so I'll post some of others that my mate took in the sixties.

Here's where they'll go:- I've found an existing topic for Mollington St on Wiki:

Mollington Street Sheds

so I'll put the pictures of the sheds on there. As the other photos are a bit more scattered in their locations, I think it's best that I put them on another existing topic:

The railways of Wirral, 1830s to present day.

I'll put them up in batches of 3 (to stretch them out a bit!!): the first ones will go on in short while, and the others will probably follow in dribs and drabs - there aren't that many, but what there are, I hope will be of interest.


Cheers,
Billy.

Where would the superb wrought iron gates shown here

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/b/birkenhead_woodside/index.shtml

have been sited in Woodside station?

Great recycling!

The gates were at the bus station side of the station, and were at the road entrance,somewhere near the present entrance to the office blocks.

Bob.

Thanks for that.
I don't remember seeing them, but, of course they wouldn't have looked so fine in the old days!

Bri

I was talking to my dad today and he was telling me about this place and how he would go on the steam trains etc. I went for a look on my way to the shops later on and took a couple of photos on my mobile. I am just wondering where did the tunnel emerge at the other end?. I presume it must be somewhere near the Queensway entrance. Was it buried under concrete when the flyovers and connecting roads where built?. I assume it joined up with the existing line somewhere near the Mollington street sheds where the rock retail park is now.

Doh! I have just done a bit more research and found out. Its only right where I'm going tomorrow!. Sorry for wasting your bandwidth.

As it's my picture, I can post it here !

Does anyone know how they came to be here ?

Well done with all this, I find it all very interesting.

The rail tunnel from Woodside Station emerged alongside the old Town Station at the junction of Tunnel Road and Grange Lane in Birkenhead, not far from the Queensway road tunnel entrance. The line then continued in the direction of Rock Ferry and to all parts of the country. In its heyday, it was an important main line route between Birkenhead and London. A second line at this point went via another tunnel across the town to the docks. Further down at Chester Street, there was a branch line to the Cammell Laird shipyards.

Yes, Yoller, there used to be a direct service between Woodside & London Paddington, via Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Banbury & Oxford. I made the trip a couple of times. It took about 7 hours! Any sane person wanting to go to London would go over to Lime St. & do the trip into Euston in 4 hours.
As for the rail system in Birkenhead, this map gives an idea of the number of tracks. Town Station is at the top edge, with the start of the Haymarket tunnel just to the left. I've marked the site of the Rock retail park.

Remember the carriage roof boards: 'Paddington Birmingham Shrewsbury Chester Birkenhead, for Liverpool'?
Definitely the long way round timewise!

Great pictures. I have a very dim memory of meeting my grandmother there in the late 1950s. She probably came from Birmingham.

Thanks for all the information Guys. I am going to try and overlay that map on google earth.

how do you do that kev

could you do it for the haymarket tunnel map as well please

can send you a higher res pic

You get to the area you want to overlay the map then click on 'Add' at the top and select 'Image overlay' from the drop down menu (there is also a button for it on the top toolbar). It then asks you to browse for the image in a pop up menu. Once you select the image it puts it on the map . you then have to move it, stretch it by dragging the green bars that appear round it. Once you are happy with it click save.

I have had a go at overlaying the map but it must have been drawn by hand as is does not match the ariel photo very well no matter what I do with it.

Where abouts is the map of the Haymarket tunnels?. I can't find it.

The map is the O.S. 1910 25" to the mile so is very accurate. Of course, in manipulating it, I've changed the scale & it's not quite the same scale as the Google pic. The red additions are mine, of course, & may not be accurate.

Woodside Station

Woodside Station 1966

Great shot taken from Blackpool St Signal Box looking north towards the site of the old Birkenhead Town Station. This area seems to be little recorded photographically, so it's rare to find this one.

The 3 lines on the left are sidings associated with Mollington Street locomotive depot. The next two (including the one which the '9F' is travelling Chester bound - cattle by the look of it) go to/from the docks. The next two go to/from Birkenhead Woodside, and the remaing tracks are the carriage sidings associated with the Woodside trains.

Judging by the state of the locomotive, I'm guessing somewhere between 1965-67.

Goes to show how complex and busy things once were...

Re: that Public House next to Woodside Hotel do you have any idea what the name of the pub was? When I lived in Bebington in 1979/80 my great aunt told me that the pub her parents ran was just there. I have a wedding photograph that may have been taken in the back yard in December 1929. Would be great if I could put a name to this pub, if it is in fact the one. The way it was described to me: the pub was just outside the gates of Camel Lairds.

Pub outside the gates of Camel Lairds clicky Royal Castle

The one by the Woodside Hotel would have been the Woodside Vaults

Thank you so much for that information, seems to fit with what I had heard.

On the subject of the Royal Castle Pub, do you happen to know what street it used to stand on?

Think it was still New Chester Road by Mason Street flats.

Thank you for your help this weekend

It's still there - now called "Hotel California" and is a Rock Pub - knwon by the regulars as the Cally....

Re: the Woodside Hotel and Rinty Monaghans - Rintys only opened there in the late '80s with the craze for 'Irish' pubs - it was just hived off from the Woodside Hotel and not an old pub...

yeah pete dont know what all the fuss was about with the irish pubs, got them here (obviously) and they just wont go away. max

Lovely photo from the signal box - which was raised up on 'stilts' over a running line.

The 3 tracks on the left were actually for a coal depot for the gasworks.

The carriage sidings also had a long shed where coach maintenance could take place under cover.