Notes: St. Helens (1st Station) was the northern terminus of the St. Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway which ran from St. Helens in the north to the banks of the Mersey at Widnes in the South, with no intermediate stations. The line was one of the earliest railways and was under construction before George Stephenson had completed the famous Liverpool and Manchester Railway (LMR) which the Runcorn Gap line crossed to the south of St. Helens.

The first train, consisting of coal wagons passed along the entire route on 28th February 1832. From the very beginning very little thought had been given to the provision of passenger services on this line, its primary purpose had been to move coal to the Mersey for transshipment to Barges that would then go down river to Liverpool. Extensive dock facilities were laid out at Runcorn Gap with rail connections, the world's first direct rail to ship facility of this kind.

The people of St. Helen's lobbied the St. Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway company for a service to Runcorn Gap. In September 1833 the company hired two coaches from the LMR at £1.00 per coach per week and began a service between St. Helens and the Junction Station on the LMR and also to Runcorn Gap. With regards to Runcorn Gap no specific passenger trains were run the coaches were attached to coal trains. Interestingly some services down to the junction were horse drawn and they were certainly in use in 1835 as Sir George Head in his Book 'A Home Tour Through the Manufacturing Districts of England in the Summer of 1835' explained how 'we all got into one large covered vehicle, and were dragged at a foot pace, by a single horse, along the branch railroad, about a mile in length, that leads to the town…it must be confessed that the present mode of conveyance was as disagreeable and slow as can well be imagined'. Services down to the LMR were advertised by that company. St. Helen's (1st Station) dates from this period.

The station was located a short distance to the west of the former Ravenhead Junction which was not ideally situated for the town. It was a very basic affair and was replaced in 1849 by a 2nd St. Helens Station at Raven Street in the town centre.

Over the intervening years the area was much altered but it remained a railway location until the early 1990s. It has very much changed since the opening of the St. Helens Linkway road system which occupies part of the alignment of the Ravenhead branch.

Source: J.M. Tolson, 'The St. Helens Railway'

See also St. Helens (2nd Station) & St. Helens (3rd Station)