Kirby Park railway station explained

Kirby Park
Status:Disused
Borough:West Kirby, Wirral
Country:England
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:1
Pregroup:Birkenhead Railway
Years:1 October 1894
Events:Opened
Years1:5 July 1954
Events1:Closed to passengers
Years2:17 September 1956
Events2:Closed to school traffic
Years3:7 May 1962
Events3:Closed to freight

Kirby Park railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, England.

History

The Birkenhead Railway, owned jointly by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and North Western Railway (LNWR), had initially opened a branch line from Hooton to Parkgate in 1866. An extension to West Kirby was completed twenty years later although Kirby Park station did not open until 1 October 1894. It was named after Kirby Park, the area surrounding the house Kirbymount, formerly the summer residence of John Hurleston Leche XV of Carden.

Originally considered an experimental station, it was constructed primarily of timber 800m (2,600feet) to the south of the current West Kirby railway station and served largely as a school stop for the nearby Calday Grange Grammar School.

Closure

Kirby Park railway station closed before most of the stations on the line on 5 July 1954, however for school purposes it remained open until 1956. The track continued to be used for freight transportation and driver training for another six years, closing on 7 May 1962. The line was lifted two years later with the station building and platform completely demolished. The only evidence that a station stood on this site is the entrance on Sandy Lane in West Kirby.

Wirral Country Park

The route became the Wirral Way footpath and part of Wirral Country Park in 1973, which was the first such designated site in Britain.

Further reading

External links

53.3659°N -3.1766°W