Disused Stations: Ditton Station

[Source: Paul Wright]

Date opened:

21.1.1851

Location:

East side of Hale Road.

Company on opening:

St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway

Date closed to passengers:

1.5.1871

Date closed completely:

1.5.1871

Company on closing:

St Helens Railway

Present state:

Demolished - the site lies buried under a mass of Railway lines.

County:

Lancashire

OS Grid Ref:

SJ489847

Date of visit:

29.9.2009

Notes: Ditton Mill station was situated on the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway that had opened between Widnes and Garston on the 1st July 1852. By 1853 that line had been extended to the east as far as Stockport.

Ditton Mill station opened as a temporary terminus on the 21st May 1851. The line from Widnes to Ditton Mill had been completed and the railway company was keen to earn revenue from it whilst construction towards Garston was still ongoing.

There are no known pictures of Ditton Mill station but it is likely that it consisted of two platforms with a basic cottage style booking office and waiting room. By 1853 the station would have been served by trains running mostly between Warrington and Garston. A horse drawn omnibus connection was provided from Garston into Liverpool.

In 1861 the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) leased the line through Ditton Mill. By the end of 1864 the LNWR had absorbed it. On the 15th February 1864 a connection opened between Speke and Edge Hill, which provided access to the LNWR main line station at Liverpool Lime Street. Even before the connection to Lime Street had opened work had begun on the construction of a new line from Ditton to a point just to the north of the River Weaver on the main line between Warrington and Birmingham. The purpose of the new line that had to cross the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap was to shorten journey times between Liverpool and London.

At Ditton the new line required the laying out of a junction with the original line and extensive earthworks to create an incline that would allow the new line to reach the required height so that it could cross the River Mersey with 75 feet of clearance which was required by the Admiralty. On 1st May 1871 a new replacement station opened a little further to the west and Ditton Mill closed. The new station was named Ditton Junction.

The new line from Ditton to what became known as Weaver Junction opened to goods trains on the 1st February 1869 and to passenger services on the 1st of April 1869. The route today is a key part of the West Coast Main Line Liverpool branch.

Looking East in the 19th century at the site of Ditton Mill Station. It is likely that the station was located at a point where the signalbox stands in this picture. When the station was open the line at this point would have been just a double track railway. The complex layout seen in this picture resulted from the opening of a new line from Ditton to Weaver Junction. The creation of this new line brought about the demise of Ditton Mill Station which was replaced by Ditton Junction Station (which is behind the photographer) in 1871.
Photo copyright Halton Borough Council - reproduced with permission

Looking east at the site of Ditton Mill Station in September 2009. Today the station site is occupied by the Ditton Junction at which the former Sketon Junction line, now cut back to Latchford, diverges from the Weaver Junction line which is the Liverpool Branch of the West Coast Main Line.
Photo by Paul Wright

Looking southwest along the approach road that would have led to
Ditton Mill Station in September 2009.
Photo by Paul Wright

[Source: Paul Wright]

Home Page

Station Name: DITTON MILL