37. Nostalgia - Rainhill Station, Prescot Station and Parish Church, Whiston and contemporary views of some stations including Newton-le-Willows station

From the 1950s-1960s steam trains to electrification in 2014-2015!

 Lake District & North-West Index

Rainhill Station and Whiston (and Wigan North Western Station)

I was born in Whiston Hospital in 1945 and for most of my childhood and teenage years lived at No.2 Meadway (marked above, minus the white porch), opposite Stoney Lane,  just off Dragon Lanes across from the ever expanding Whiston Hospital.

 I well remember playing football and cricket on what was rather a rough playing surface and the gate post acting as the wickets on the unadopted road of Meadway.

As well as playing up Stoney Lane, down in the quarries, ponds and woodlands of Dukes Clough below Rainhill there was always trainspotting at Rainhill. (Nostalgia - 1960s steam trains)  before leaving Whiston Secondary Modern School for Boys (1957-1962) at 16 and embarking on a career in Chemistry! culminating in Doc Brown's Chemistry website

Steam Excursion train between Huyton and Rainhill in 1968, exact location?

From an early age (6 onwards?) I seemed to have been a keen trainspotter, playing around by the railway by the Stove Works in Whiston (currently have one of their modern electric cookers and its great!).

The above 1960s picture (1966) of a Stanier Black Five passing through Whiston towards Rainhill reminds me of my old playground. You can just make out, by the old station masters house? (now part of a care home?), the branch line to the Stove Works through the gate and a curved loading gauge above it.

This is the same scene in the Autumn of 2014 as the electrification of the Liverpool - Manchester line is taking place.

The view is from the Stoney Lane road bridge and the view is looking in the Liverpool direction, in the far distance is the relatively recently built Whiston station (picture below). Stoney Lane runs from near Whiston Hospital to an estate in Rainhill, passing the Stove Works too.

From the age of 6 at Halsnead Primary School (1950-1957) I watched the trains go by at the bottom of the field near where Whiston station has since been built (above). Its now a busy 'Park and Ride' station, presumably for commuters to Liverpool.

The view from the Whiston Stoney Lane Bridge, along the sandstone cutting towards Rainhill Station (Autumn 2014)

The green painted footbridge, known as the 'monkey bridge', great for clambering over, not a good idea now the line is electrified!!!! (Autumn 2014). The alternative local dare was raiding apples from the Rainhill Vicarage Garden!!

Telephoto shot of the 'Monkey Bridge', the path ends up on the main A57 trunk road at the appropriately named 'Rocket Hotel' (I think?)

The Commercial Hotel pub by Rainhill Station

Northeast from Whiston station, further up the line, is the very historic Rainhill station. Rainhill was the scene of the famous 1829 trials in which five locomotives competed to drive the trains between Manchester and Liverpool. George Stephenson's ROCKET won (model in the ticket office above), a piece of  machinery of one of the losers, the NOVELTY, used to be in the waiting room, but seems to have been removed for safe-keeping!

The original George Stephenson ROCKET steam locomotive that won the contest to power the Liverpool to Manchester Railway in the Rainhill Trials of 1829 (York National Railway Museum, March 2022)

General view of Rainhill station (August 2015). From Rainhill stations you get cheap excursion day-return tickets on horse racing days to Carlisle, Newcastle, York, Doncaster and Wolverhampton, in some cases going to Liverpool Lime Street station first, usually from Prescot station.

Electrification now completed in 2015!

Class 319 EMU train arriving and departing from Rainhill station with a Northern Rail service from Manchester to Liverpool (2015)

The platform of Rainhill station for trains to Liverpool - evidence of the older stonework reminds us of early railway architecture, first opened in 1830 it is regarded as the oldest continuously used railway station in the world!

The red sandstone skew road bridge by Rainhill Station, the first 'skew' bridge built over a railway? The stonework is as magnificent as ever in its own humble way. The above picture was taken in the Liverpool direction. The same skew bridge, looking towards Manchester,  is shown in the print image below from a few years after the Manchester - Liverpool railway was opened. It was obviously a noted piece of railway architecture.

Rainhill Skew Bridge

A Class 319 EMU leaving Rainhill station with a Liverpool Limes Street Northern Rail service to Manchester Piccadilly (2015).

A steam excursion train heading north-east from Rainhill, are all these lovely fields still in agricultural use?

This scenes will now be dominated by the overhead electrical wiring for the new suburban electric trains.

An electric multiple unit at Rainhill station with a Northern Rail Service from Manchester Airport to Liverpool Limes Street station and noting the public footbridge is still there, once a trainspotting spot! (April 2023).

I note the old signal box is still standing north-east of Rainhill Station. more nostalgia for the now long-gone semaphore signals on the Liverpool-Manchester line.

Prescot Town and Station and trainspotting at Wigan North Western Station

General view of Prescot Station (August 2015), looking in the Liverpool direction.

View from the footbridge of Prescot station towards Eccleston Park. The new flats have replaced part of the site of the huge factory and furnaces of the BICC (British Insulated Callender Cables) Company. I remember the bright green-blue flames of the copper furnaces and the steam wagons that transported the copper ingots around the local roads and of course it had its own little tank locomotives that pulled and pushed the wagons around the BICC's own network of tracks.

A Class 142/150 train entering and leaving Prescot station with a Northern Rail service from Blackpool to Liverpool.

(August 2015)

From Prescot I would get the train to Liverpool Lime Street or Edge Hill station to sneak around Edge Hill depot. (Scene from 1962).

I would also go trainspotting from Prescot station to Wigan North Western Station.

The above scene is near Springs Branch Depot in 1967

A withdrawn steam locomotive at Springs Branch Wigan in 1966

Freight train in the Wigan area in 1967

Steam train heading north from Wigan North Western station in 1967

An express train locomotive working hard on the West Coast mainline near Wigan hauling an express passenger train (pictured in 1967).

Trainspotting at Wigan North Western Station: Class 390 EMU train entering Wigan North Western station with a Glasgow Central to London Euston Virgin train service. The pub Bank's THE SWAN & RAILWAY.

Other 'relatively local' local trainspotting locations - Warrington and Winnick Junction

I would cycle from Whiston to most of these locations except for Preston!

I would cycle to watch steam trains near Winnick Junction north of Warrington , here an express freight train on the West Coast main-line (pictured in October 1966).

Steam train action north of Warrington on the North-West Coast mainline (pictured in October 1967).

Another cycle ride to Warrington Bank Quay station and Warrington Dallam Locomotive Depot (pictured in October 1966).

Trainspotting at Warrington Bank Quay station: A Class 175 DMU at Warrington Bank Quay station with an Arriva Trains Wales service from Manchester Airport to Llandudno.

A steamy atmospheric photograph of Stanier 2-6-4T engine waiting in Preston Station with a train for Blackpool (pictured in 1960s).

Contemporary views of Warrington Bank Quay station

Suburban Lines

All the railway lines from Liverpool to Wigan and Liverpool to Manchester are electrified and very busy commuter lines these days.

Already on this page I've illustrated the contemporary scenes at Rainhill and Prescot stations, with ore of Rainhill and further up the line at Newton-le-Willows station.

Newton-le-Willows station on the Manchester (platform 1) to Liverpool (platform 2) Line. The service providers are TransPennine, Northern Rail and Transport for Wales (April 2023).

At the 'listed' Newton-le-Willows station are memorial plaques to the Rt Hon William Huskisson MP for Liverpool who was tragically killed by a steam locomotive accident at the famous Rainhill trials for the contract to run steam locomotive trains from Manchester to Liverpool.

A Class 197 DMU at Newton-le-Willows station with Transport for Wales service from Manchester to Llandudno (April 2023)

A Class 802 express EMU at Newton-le-Willows station with a TransPennine service from Liverpool to Newcastle (April 2023)

Good trainspotting 'TRAINSPOTS' Good trainspotting and photographic locations  Barnetby Station, North Lincolnshire  *  Carlisle Station  *  Clapham Junction Station, London  *  Colton Junction, south of York  *  Crewe Station  *  Doncaster Station, South Yorkshire  * Hellifield station - Carlisle to Settle line * Lancaster station  * Newcastle Station  *  Northallerton Station  *  Nuneaton Station  *  Sheffield Station  *  Stratford Station, East London * Warrington Bank Quay station * Wigan North Western - WCML *  York Station

See Also * Class 01 * Class 02 * Class 03 * Class 04 * Class 08 * Class 09 * Class 10 * Class 11 * Class 14 * Class 20 * Class 24 * Class 25 * Class 26 * Class 27 * Class 31 * Class 33 * Class 37 * Class 40 * Class 43 * Class 44 * Class 45 * Class 47 * Class 50 * Class 52 * Class 55 * Class 56 * Class 57 * Class 58 *  Class 60 * Class 66 * Class 67 * Class 68 * Class 70 * Class 71 * Class 73 * Class 76 * Class 77 * Class 86 * Class 87 * Class 90 * Class 91 * Class 92 * Class 101 * Class 108 * Class 114 * Class 117 * Class 121 * Class 127 * Class 141 * Class 142 * Class 144 * Class 150 * Class 153 * Class 155 * Class 156 * Class 158 * Class 159 * Class 165 * Class 166 * Class 170 * Class 175 * Class 180 * Class 185 * Class 220 * Class 221 * Class 222 * Class 252 * Class 313 * Class 315 * Class 317 * Class 319 * Class 320 * Class 321 * Class 322 * Class 323 * Class 325 * Class 332 * Class 333 * Class 334 * Class 350 * Class 357 * Class 360 * Class 365 * Class 373 * Class 375 * Class 376 * Class 377 * Class 378 * Class 379 * Class 380 * Class 387 * Class 390 * Class 395 * Class 414 * Class 423 * Class 442 * Class 444 * Class 450 * Class 455 * Class 458 * Class 460 * Class 465 * Class 466 * Class 507/508 * Class 3000 *

IMAGES OF PRESERVED STEAM LOCOMOTIVES

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