Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Seacombe Ferry Stamp Machine

Sorry Heswall I was not being rude it most prob was much later. My dad still loved it best beer around.

Hee Hee, no offence taken cools

Yep, it was Whites.

I cant remember, way to long ago and to many bottles of sherry lol. Just came to mind, the garage opposite was Tom England, closed down, now an Aldi.

Yeah sonylegs, its deffo the same one - small world eh?

There was a penny machine on the Wirral Platform at Central station in Liverpool (late 60s) and a cig machine in the front of Les (Len?) Turners shop on Moreten Cross, as well as a machine that sold cartons of milk (again the would be late 60s up to around 1975).

I remember one at Liverpool Central High Level, next to the stairs down to the Mersey Railway line. This was in the early 1950's

There used to be a chocolate machine and cigarette machine on the floating pontoon ferry terminal at the Pier Head in Liverpool, near where you stepped off the boat from Woodside. Nearby was a booth, similar to today's photo booths, that let you make your own vinyl record - the only one I ever saw. It was definitely there about 1964.

I remember the record one too. Do you remember the Naval/Sea mine that was painted red, I`m sure it was as Seacombe Ferry or was it The Pier Head? Like this one but all red.

Yes I remember the floppy discs

I remember one at Seacombe Ferry. Wasn't it a collecting box for donations to the RNLI ? Maybe they all were ?

Another vending machine you don't see much of on the streets these days is the hot and cold drinks dispenser. This was a really impressive piece of technology back in that far-off, pre-computer age.

The machine I particularly remember was at the side of Olivieri's cafe near Hamilton Square Station in Birkenhead. It was a big, brightly-lit, blue-painted, futuristic monolith that was something of a landmark and a meeting place (it wouldn't last five minutes these days).

I think it cost sixpence per drink and you could get orange juice, cola, tea, coffee, Bovril, etc. After you put your money in, a plastic cup clunked into the receptacle, followed by your chosen drink gushing out of a spout. The trouble was, the spout was obviously never fully cleaned and the drinks always seemed to be slightly mixed. Mind you, Bovril-flavoured orange juice with a hint of coffee can be quite moreish.

And the chewy machines

The chewy machines.... happy days. The tuck shop around the corner from my place of learning had a similar machine. You bunged a penny in and got your packet of Beech Nut. The added bonus was that when an arrow engraved on the side knob was pointed forward - you got TWO packets for a penny. Needless to say, you studied the knob orientation and waited to pounce, moving in with sharpened elbows !

A simple pleasure!

What a memory, I forgot about the buy one get one free pointer.