Neston South railway station

Neston South
Taken on the Wirral Way approaching the station.[1]
Location
Place	Neston, Wirral Peninsula
Area	Cheshire West & Chester, Cheshire
Grid reference	SJ297773
Operations
Pre-grouping	(1866-1923) LNWR & GWR: Hooton-West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway.
Post-grouping	(1923-1948) LMS (1948-1962) London Midland Region (British Railways).
Platforms	2
History
1 October 1866	Station opened as Neston
15 September 1952	Station renamed as Neston South
17 September 1956	Closed to passengers
7 May 1962	Closed to freight
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

Neston South railway station was a station on the single track Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Birkenhead Railway, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England. The station served the town of Neston.

The Birkenhead Railway, owned jointly by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and North Western Railway (LNWR), opened a branch line from Hooton to Parkgate on 1 October 1866. This was to serve the colliery near Neston and the residential area and bathing resort of Parkgate.^[2][3] The railway was extended to West Kirby in 1886.^[2][4]

From its opening in 1866 until 1952, it was known simply as Neston railway station. Consisting of brick station buildings and two platforms, it was situated half a mile south east of Neston North railway station, which is now named Neston railway station. A factor which affected Neston South during its existence was being sited some distance away from the town centre. This was due to a dispute between the railway company and the local landowner the Earl of Shrewsbury.^[2]

Neston South railway station was closed to passengers on 17 September 1956. The track continued to be used for freight transportation and driver training for another six years, closing on 7 May 1962. The tracks were lifted two years later.^[2][4][5] The station buildings and platforms have been demolished and the site redeveloped for housing.^[4]

The route became the Wirral Way footpath and part of Wirral Country Park in 1973, which was the first such designated site in Britain.^[6][7]

References

1. ^ Christiansen, Rex (Autumn 1977), Gill, C., ed., "On the track of a country park", The Countryman 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Maund, T.B. (2000), The Birkenhead Railway, The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society, pp. 33–34, 43–44, 69, ISBN 0901115878 
3. ^ Oppitz, Leslie (1997), Cheshire Railways Remembered, Countryside Books, pp. 95–96, ISBN 1853064580 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Disused Stations: Neston, Subterranea Britannica, http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/n/neston_south/index.shtml, retrieved 21 November 2008 
5. ^ Merseyside Railway History Group (1982), Scheele, R., ed., The Hooton to West Kirby branch line and the Wirral Way, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, ISBN 0904582043 
6. ^ Wirral Country Park, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/670/content_0001012.html, retrieved 21 November 2008 
7. ^ Wirral Country Park, Visit Liverpool, http://www.visitliverpool.com/site/attractions/wirral-country-park-p7711, retrieved 8 December 2007 

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Hadlow Road		Birkenhead Railway Hooton to West Kirby branch		Parkgate

Coordinates: 53°17′17″N 3°03′22″W / 53.28798°N 3.05600°W / 53.28798; -3.05600