Bidston railway station

Bidston railway station is a railway station in Bidston, Birkenhead, on the Wirral, England. The station is situated at the junction of the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, which is part of the Merseyrail network, and with the Borderlands Line from Wrexham Central, operated by Arriva Trains Wales.



Contents
[hide]  *1 History  ==History[ edit] == The station was originally built by the Hoylake Railway in 1866 as an intermediate station on their line from Birkenhead to Hoylake. After the extension of this line to West Kirby in 1878 to the west and into a new station to the east at Birkenhead Docks (the current Birkenhead North station), through trains to Liverpool commenced in 1938 when the London Midland and Scottish Railway electrified the line to West Kirby. In 1896 the North Wales and Liverpool Railway opened their line to Hawarden Bridge, which joined the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway line to Wrexham.
 * 1.1 Signal Boxes
 * 1.2 Engine shed and freight use
 * 2 Facilities
 * 3 Services
 * 4 Future
 * 5 Gallery
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links

The station in 1961, facing towards Leasowe. The lines to the sidings and engine shed are in front of the signals to the left. Bidston Dee Junction signal box is behind the platform.During the earlier half of the twentieth century, Bidston station was known as Bidston Dee Junction and was a busy interchange between the Wirral line electric services and the Seacombe to Wrexham & Chester steam trains. In 1960 the Wrexham service (by now operated by diesel trains) was diverted east of Bidston to terminate at New Brighton and later to Birkenhead North.[1] However it was subsequently cut back to start and terminate at Bidston in October 1978[2]  and this remains the situation today.

The station has always been primarily a transfer point between trains, relatively isolated from everywhere, by foot, except Bidston Village, which remains the position today. Until 1970, the approach road was just a track and not properly surfaced. ===Signal Boxes[ edit] === Bidston had four signal boxes in 1899.[3]  These signal boxes were situated alongside the Dee, West, East and North junctions. The nearest to the station was the Bidston Dee Junction box.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Maund49_3-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  The second Dee Junction signal box was built in the 1930s by theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway, and was much larger than the earlier signal box which had been built by the Wirral Railway.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Maund225_4-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]  This signal box had a 65-lever frame and also took over the operation of Bidston North Junction, when built.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Maund225_4-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]  Bidston Dee Junction signal box was closed on 17 September 1994, and demolished two months later on 20 November.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Maund225_4-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4] ===Engine shed and freight use<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Bidston station had a nearby engine shed. Bidston engine shed, shed code 6F,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Pearce125_5-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]  principally operated the Wrexham line. The building was somewhat south of the running lines, halfway between Bidston and Birkenhead North stations.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DS_2-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[2] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Maund49_3-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  The shed was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1897 and had two tracks inside.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Pearce125_5-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]  The shed had a water tank and a coaling stage for steam locomotives. Examples of locomotives, which could be found at the shed, included theLNER Class J94 Austerity, which was used around the Birkenhead docks, and the BR Standard Class 9F, which hauled iron ore trains from Bidston Dock to the John Summers steelworks in Shotton.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Pearce125_5-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]  The engine shed closed on 11 February 1963, and its allocation of locomotives was transferred to Birkenhead Mollington Street depot.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Pearce127_6-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[6]  The shed remained intact for several years after closure.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Pearce127_6-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[6]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Several sidings were situated adjacent to the eastern side of the station, south of the running lines.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Maund49_3-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[7]  These sidings had been built prior to 1899,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Maund49_3-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  and were removed in the 1960s-70s. A Tesco supermarket now occupies the site of these sidings.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The station was the nearest to the former Bidston Dock. The adjacent Bidston East Junction gives access to the former Birkenhead Dock Branch line, but this has been disused by freight workings since the mid-1980s and is still so at present.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Baker_8-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[8] ==Facilities<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The station has a booking office, and a 19-space car park. The station is staffed, at all times during opening hours, and has platform CCTV. Each platform has open-air seating. There is a payphone, next to the ticket office, on platform 1.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9]  The station provides a "Park and Ride" service. There are a further 198 car parking spaces,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[10]  which are free to use for travellers, with lighting columns and CCTV to meet Merseytravel's Travelsafe requirements. Construction of the new car park was completed in 2010. As yet, there is no access, to the platform, for passengers with wheelchairs or prams, as access is by staircase only. Platform access has not been modernised to the standard of that at Hooton. In early 2014 a new waiting shelter opened which includes a new ticket office, new seating and a new toilet. ==Services<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Bidston railway station signAn Arriva Trains Wales service, waiting to depart from platform 2, which is also used by Merseyrail services to West Kirby<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Currently, services run every 15 minutes (Monday to Saturday daytime) to West Kirby & Liverpool,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  and every hour to Wrexham. Services to and from Wrexham usually terminate/start from platform 2, which is also used by West Kirby trains. Liverpool-bound trains use platform 1.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">During the evenings, trains operate every 30 minutes to West Kirby & Liverpool and every two hours to Wrexham (all day on Bank Holidays), with an approximately 2.5 hourly service (six departures total) on Sundays.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[12]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Merseyrail services are provided by Merseyrail's fleet of Class 507 and Class 508 EMUs. Services to Wrexham are usually provided by an Arriva Trains Wales, double-carriage, Class 150/2 "Sprinter" DMU. Though, in the past, services have been provided with an Arriva Trains Wales, single-carriage, Class 153 "Super Sprinter" DMU. ==Future<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Proposals have been made to electrify some or all of the Borderlands Line and possibly incorporate it into the Wirral Line services, but no commitment has been made.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13]