anyone got any pixs or info about woodside bus station! spent lots of time changing buses here. allways think back to the concrete bus shelters,and having to find were your bus stopped! also the shop at the bottom by the ferry.

From memory, the bus shelters were made of galvo tubing with "Kee Clamp" fittings and corrugated steel sheets for a "roof".

The tubing was extended up at one end for the large plate that gave route numbers/destinations.

Talking about the days when we had "proper" buses that were clean, well-maintained and were painted blue !!

Took the bus and boat to Liverpool every day for years. The bus "station" at Woodside today is a mere joke - a bad one at that.

The "Avoca" cafe that sold mugs of tea you could resurface the road with was next to the inspector's office. "Chalkie" from "On the Buses" lurked in there !!

I remember the shelters, such as they were, as you describe, Pinzgauer. Maybe they put concrete ones there later; I'm thinking of the 1940's/50's. What's your era, TRANCENTRAL?

Cheers, Chris.

Don't know much about the bus station, could give you a fair bit on the train station though! I did have an old picture somewhere with the cream and green Crosville buses at the station but it's been a while, I'm still gutted I lost my Railway Stations of Wirral book, I'll have to buy a new copy.

i am a 1980 kid!

That makes me feel very, very old

Snod (1940s/50s kid - but still one at heart)

your not old just mature!

Join the club bud.

Anyone seen the model of Woodside in the museum at the old Birkenhead town hall? Really interesting and shows how it used to be.

Pictures of the Woodside model can be found in the topic of our Wirral History Group Meet

Super photographs. One day I will get around to viewing everything on this site and won't jump in so quickly.

Theres too much on here, and growing every day, so don't worry about jumping in too quickly

I remember Olivia's - a very well to do type of cafe. You could time the buses to the second they were that regular. The blue Corporation buses. 58 to Clatterbridge, 51 and 52 to Levers, 64 and 64a to New Ferry.

If you were lucky, if the bus had started off, you could grab the handle and still manage to jump on, then the Clippy would shout "fares please". It used to cost me 1 1/2d (less than a penny in todays money) to go to school. The Clippy had a machine that used to have a set of cross over straps, he'd ask where you were going and turn his dial, turn his handle and your ticket would pop out - they were long then.

Yeah me Dad said he remembers it very well as he used to go there pretty regular.

https://www.wikiwirral.co.uk/forums..._remembers_General_Histo.html#Post269598

woodside

My auntie worked in the cafe on the right hand side as you walked towards it about 30 years ago or so, i was alright for free pies and tea. The bloke that owned the cafe was called Ricky and he owned a restaurant next to the abc cinema, Argyle St, Market st side. Does anyone remember the name of that restaurant. I think it was Italian sounding.

Will get some pic sat then post!

Bert,was it Olivieri's?

If so then it`s on this thread.

https://www.wikiwirral.co.uk/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/183525/11.html

TARR DAVA MAN!

The restaurant next to the ABC was Alfresco, and is now the Brass Balance. (It may have been something else inbetween).

THANKS GUYS!

An old photo of Woodside. I think thats the Empress of Cananda at the Pier Head. Old cattle sheds still in place on the left

A great shot pablo. I guess it must have been taken from the roof of Woodside Station. A sea of Daimlers, Guys and Leylands. What a great bus fleet Birkenhead had! The threatening sky sets the scene.

Brilliant pic,took me back. Used to conduct and then drive the buses from there, happy days.

Is that the 70A, I used to get that regularly, alighting at the Pelican where the pints were lined up.

Did you notice my bus talk there?

"alighting". That's worth 3 bells. Tighthold !!!

I have some pics from my granddads collection, of the empress of Canada on it's side after the fire in the docks. Will get them posted soon.

Far better on the busses when there where lots of clippy's..
By the way who is Bert kidding. He go on and got off.

I think that ship in the picture may not be the Empress of Canada, but the cruise ship Reina del Pacifico.

Yoller is correct it is the Reina del Pacifico of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company.

http://www.oceanlinermuseum.co.uk/Reina%20del%20Pacifico%20photos.html

Scroll down to near the bottom for an enlargement of the same shot.

Dave

Here is the Reina del Pacifico on a poster reprint by Merseyside Museums, advertising a cruise to South America in 1940. Obviously this cruise never went ahead because of the outbreak of war.

Some more of when we had 'proper' buses, ...and a 'proper' Woodside for that matter...

Excellent pictures Billy. Many thanks. No.128 in the third picture looks brand new. She was brought into service in Sept.'48. I think there's one from the same batch in Taylor Street museum (?)

I almost certainly travelled on that bus; my era and my route.

In the 2nd picture the building on the left was it there in the 50s/60s and were they public toilets or is it a figment of my imagination?

Quite right Derek. The building directly above the trio of "Keep Left" bollards/top of the floating roadway.

That building was a public toilet, but I think I read somewhere that it was originally the ticket office for the floating roadway.

I'd be surprised if it was a ticket office, it always looked like a purpose built toilet to me.

PB

In fact, it was originally the Great Western Railway Inquiries and Receiving Office.

The sign on the building says INQUIRY and Receiving Office, not Inquiries. My mistake.

That's an interesting old photo, yoller. It pre-dates Woodside station (1878) and also the trams at Woodside. I guess parcels from Liverpool would have come by ferry and left there for delivery to Grange Lane station.
I guess from its position that it may have been a ticket office for the goods ferry even before it was used by G.W.R.

The original building has a large door and two big windows in its facade, plus quite an ornate roof and seems to be a self-contained structure.

But in billyanorak's picture, we can clearly see another section on the right (looking towards the river), which seems to be a later addition. I wonder if this bit was built on when the office became a toilet, so they could have Gents and Ladies?

great to see all the old buses,great fun,the buses.the railway,the ferries,a paradise in the 50s for us young lads.

To pin yoller's picture down further, it must be post 1860, since that was when the railway changed from being the Chester and Birkenhead to being joint GWR and LNWR

Sorry, I should have given more details. You're right, Chris - the picture is from the Birkenhead of Yesteryear book by Carol E Bidston and it says: 'Woodside Ferry approach, circa 1870'.

The 1875 large-scale OS plan clearly shows the building had been extended to the right by that date, so it was nothing to do with the conversion to toilets.

As far as I know it was originally built as a railway Receiving Office not as a ticket office; because of the complexity of the fare tariff for goods carried on the luggage boats, fares were collected on board so that staff could ensure that the right amount was being paid, so there would be no need for a ticket office.

That's very interesting. You're right about the complexity of goods charges; see attached from 1905. My timetable book from 1905 makes no mention of where the fares were collected and it hadn't occurred to me that it was on board.
I suppose that was the logical place to have the railway receiving office, at the end of the floating roadway.

Is it possible the extension to the building could have been the Great Northern office, that's if the buildings address was Shore Rd. 1878 Post Office directory.

Makes sense, bert.

Did this building perhaps become redundant as a receiving office after 1878, when Woodside Station opened? Surely the GWR and LNWR would then have incorporated all their facilities inside the main station.

1916

Well I am surprised.

PB

Think they were the only toilets I ever went in that had some kind of sign about VD?

I don't remember the VD signs (honest). I do however remember the "Ladies" and "Gentlemen" signs over the doors were GREEN neon signs. Funny the things that stick in the swede.

The one at the bottom of Vicky Rd on the left was a lovely place. A right hang out for pervs.

I think most of the toilets round the docks had VD warnings.

Love the scale model in the Town Hall.
Looking at this part
How many vehicles were ferried across to Liverpool and what boat took them?
ps
I vaguely remember the ice cream bikes in 1st pic

Ice Cream bike....

Just had a quick zoom in on your first photo, Derek, and if I read it correctly the signage above the door appears to say " Martins Bank Limited" and "Cattle Trade Bank". Anyone have any idea when the Receiving Offices became a bank?

What a classic advert!!! Thanks bri445.

Thanks. Note the prices! Snofrutes, the triangular ones - 1 old penny!

a truly magnificent model railway,seen it a few times,very atmospheric.

i remember Woodside being like this,i used to get the bus home from work here--were the No:40 bus is standing---my first job in Sam Scotts Millinery Lord St, it was 1967 and i was 16.
oh how it has changed!

Woodside, no date. I'd like to thank David in Northwich for these. Couldn't see if they were already posted

Woodside, no date. At a guess, 1952

Woodside from the River

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.

.

The photos showing the scaffolding around the Mersey Railway Power Station chimney would have been taken in 1961 - the year it was demolished. The bunting on the Ferry buildings would have been for the Coronation in 1953.

A note in G.W.Parkin's book "The Mersey Railway" states:

"It will be of interest to record that the 270 foot high chimney of the power station, which was the highest structure on the Cheshire side of the river, was built in 56 working days. Containing 865,000 bricks, it was at the time of its erection a world record in brick chimney construction. No attempt was made to break any records when it was being pulled down, it taking twice as long to dismantle as it did to build it."

Thanks Pablo for the pictures. The picture of the Ferry Approach with all those buses is brilliant. Just a sea of Guys, Daimlers and Leylands! What a great bus service we had then.

I'm sure Bandy will be on the platform of one of those !!!

Oh, is that what it is? In a book I've got it says it's a mill chimney.

Yes, you are right Chris. The author (name escapes me) made a few bloopers in that book. Research wasn't his best point.

Chimney here
https://www.wikiwirral.co.uk/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/547779/Aerial_photo_1923.html#Post547779

Cliff Hayes "A Century of Birkenhead & Wirral". He also famously mis-identified the Sidney St. ventilation shaft as "Woodside Ventilation Station"
A great pity, since the book contains many fine pictures that I haven't seen anywhere else.

Woodside, 1918

Ferry Terminal straight ahead. What's the building behind the station?

Unsure of original use. In the useless information section.... I recall one of the offices, before demolition of that building, was a Driving School. (BSM ?)

1916,

Bert to the rescue !