Notes: Chester Liverpool Road station was on the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railways (MSLR) Chester Northgate to Hawarden Bridge line which opened on 31st March 1890 and provided a connection to the Wrexham Mold & Connah’s Quay Railway. The WMCQR line ran from Wrexham to Shotton. The MSLR had to cross the River Dee at what became Hawarden Bridge to make a connection with the WMCQR line. With the opening of the MSLR line a route between Chester and Wrexham had been created which could compete with the 1846 Great Western Railway (GWR) route between the two towns.

An avoiding line was also built from a point just to the east of Chester Liverpool Road station which allowed trains to pass from west to east through the city of Chester and onto the Cheshire Lines Committees (CLC) Chester and Manchester line without having to reverse at Chester Northgate station. Use of the avoiding line was generally confined to goods and

Chester Liverpool Road was opened at the same time as the line. It was west of Liverpool Road at a point where the line was quadruple-track as the route from Northgate Station converged with the avoiding line. The junction itself (Chester West Junction) was immediately west of the station. There were four platform faces, two of which formed an island platform. South of the line was platform 1 for westbound trains towards Wrexham. Next came platform 2 which was on the island and was used by trains travelling to Chester Northgate. Platform 3, on the other side of the island, served through trains travelling towards Wrexham, of which there were very few. Platform 4 was served by trains heading towards the CLC line and onward towards Manchester.

Chester Liverpool Road station had a booking office at street level; steps led down to the platforms. On the platforms timber waiting facilities were provided. At the west end of the station, south of the line, was the signal box which controlled Chester West Junction. To the north of the passenger station there two sidings and goods facilities including a 5-ton crane. The north face of Platform 4 acted as a loading dock for one of the sidings. The goods yard didn't handle livestock.

At the time of opening Chester Liverpool Road was served by four trains in each direction between Chester Northgate and Wrexham Central. There were also less frequent workings between Wrexham Central and Manchester Central that probably used the through lines.

On 16th of March 1896 the MSLR and WMCQR opened a line from Hawarden Bridge to a junction with the Wirral Railway (WR) at Bidston. Agreement had been reached with the WR that MSLR/WMCQR trains could operate on their system. A passenger service was introduced on 18th May 1896 between Chester Northgate and Bidston. On 1st May 1898 the service was extended to Seacombe & Egremont on the west bank of the River Mersey where the ferry terminal offered a service to Liverpool. The new service provided Chester Liverpool Road passengers with a link to Liverpool.

On 1st August 1897 the MSLR changed its name to the Great Central Railway (GCR). The GCR absorbed the WMCQR on 1st January 1905 giving it complete control of the entire route to Wrexham and to Birkenhead. In 1906 five trains per day ran to Seacombe & Egremont on weekdays. More services ran to Wrexham Central; all eastbound trains went to Chester Northgate.

From 1st January 1923 Chester Liverpool Road became part of the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) but this brought no changes to the station’s train services.

On 1st of January 1948, along with all of the LNER system in the Wirral and NE Wales, Chester Liverpool Road became part of the nationalised British Railways’ Eastern Region. However these lines were transferred to the London Midland Region a few months later. Being very close to Chester Northgate, and in an area well served by buses, the station was not well used and British Railways closed it on 3rd December 1951. The station’s buildings were demolished after closure. The goods yard remained in use until 5th April 1965.

Passenger services continued to pass through Chester Liverpool Road station running between Chester Northgate and New Brighton and between Chester Northgate and Wrexham until they were withdrawn on 9th September 1968. A year later Chester Northgate station closed completely and the lines through platforms 1 and 2 at Chester Liverpool Road were

Tickets from Michael Stewart, route map drawn by Alan Young, timetable from Chris Totty
Other web sites: See the Penmorfa web site for more on the Wrexham - Bidston line.

Sources:

• The Wrexham, Mold & Connah’s Quay Railway including The Buckley Railway – James I C Boyd – Oakwood Press 1991 ISBN 978-0853614173
• Lost Railways of Cheshire - Leslie Oppitz - Countryside Books 2003
  ISBN 978-1853068287
• Railway Stations of Merseyside and District - Paul Bolger 1994 Bluecoat Press
  ISBN 1 872568 23 8
  
• Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology by Michael Quick (Railway & Canal Historical Society 2009)
• Clinker’s Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots by C R Clinker (Pub: Avon Anglia 1978)

To see other stations on the Chester Northgate to Wrexham Central Line click
Chester Northgate, Blacon, Saughall, Sealand, Chester Junction Golf Club Platform, Chester Golf Club Halt, Hope High Level, Rhosddu, Wrexham Exchange, Wrexham Central

See also stations between Chester Junction and Bidston
Birkenhead Junction Golf Club Platform, Sealand Rifle Range Halt, Burton Point, Storeton

See also
Liscard & Poulton & Seacombe

See also related items

Hawarden Loop
Hawarden Bridge
Railways at Bidston