Notes: Kirby Park was opened by the GWR and LNWR to cater for growing residential development on the 1st October 1894. The station was situated on the Hooton to West Kirby branch which had opened north of Parkgate in 1886.
| Kirby Park Station was situated on the north side of Sandy Lane which crossed the line by a road overbridge. The station was provided with one wooden platform, the line being a single track branch, on the east side of the line. A ramp connected the platform to Sandy Lane. The station had a very simple single storey waiting room which was also a wooden |
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construction. A goods siding was provided on the west side of the line.
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At the time of opening passenger services mostly ran between Hooton and West Kirby with some services continuing on to Birkenhead Woodside. In the early days some long distance passenger services used the connection and excursion traffic used the connection at West Kirby onto the Wirral line.
In later years the only significant through service was once a day when one or two coaches ran from New Brighton via Bidston to Hooton and Chester, where it was attached to a London Euston train; this ran until 1939.
One of the major users of the line were scholars travelling from stations along the route to the secondary schools in West Kirby. The line became uneconomical after WW1 with a further reduction in passenger traffic in 1927 when Neston Colliery closed but the line remained open serving a largely agricultural community and also day trippers visiting the sea side towns of Parkgate and West Kirby.
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In 1923 the line became GWR and LMS Joint but things continued as they had done previously. In 1948 the line became part of the British Railways (London Midland Region). In 1950 nine trains operated in each direction on weekdays with four on a Saturday. The Hooton to West Kirby line suffered from increasing road competition in the 1950s and |
Kirby Park lost its passenger service on the 5th May 1954 although it was still used by school children until the 17th of September 1956 when the branch closed completely to passenger services.
In 1961 newly introduced DMUs passed through Kirby Park station. However they were not for the use of passengers. The line was being used to train drivers in the use of the DMUs.
The siding at Kirby Park station continued to be used for goods until the 7th May 1962 although from 5th July 1954 Kirby Park was downgraded to an unstaffed public siding.. The last goods train called at Kirby Park to collect any remaining fixtures and fittings that were of any value. Early in 1964 the demolition gangs began their work and the line was lifted.
In 1968 the route of the Hooton - West Kirby Branch was chosen to create Britain's first country park the Wirral Country Park opening in 1973. The park forms the central section of Wirral Way, a 12 miles cycleway and foopath that follows the course of the railway between West Kirby and Hooton.
Tickets from Michael Stewart
To see the other
stations on the Hooton - West Kirby line click on the station
name:West Kirby, Caldy, Thurstaston, Heswall, Parkgate (2nd), Parkgate (1st), Neston South, Hadlow Road & Hooton |
park_old1.jpg)
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