Huyton Quarry Station

At school I was taught about George Stephenson and his "Rocket" and never related any of it to the family history or experiences, the advent of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the effect on Huyton, Prescot and the excitement around the Rainhill trials must have been at the core of many events in the Weldon, Hardman and Stockley family histories.


Here is an extract from Subterranea Britannica :

The earliest known company timetable is 1st March 1831, this did not show times at the intermediate stops but did list stops in fare tables. The company minutes of 26th September 1832 did give a full list but no further list was given until January 1846.

There were many early changes of stopping place and name so the early history of intermediate stops is patchy. At first trains stops at, for example, level crossings where the gatekeeper issued tickets; perhaps a room in his cottage was available as a shelter. Many of the stations consisted of little more than a basic cottage. In 1841 platforms and nameboards were added to stations lacking them. Huyton Quarry was initially called Bottom of Whiston Incline.

Certainly by the mid 19th Century Huyton Quarry had been developed into a two platform station with station house and booking facilities on the Liverpool platform and substantial waiting facilities on the Manchester bound platform.

From the beginning the station would have been served by local trains running between the two cities or on shorted journeys. A steady stream of express and goods services would have passed through. Just to the west of the station a number of sidings where located to serve a small branch line that ran down to the Quarry from which the station took its name. The branch also served a number of local collieries the last one only closing in 1983.

The 1830 Liverpool to Manchester line is still a busy railway but over the years many of its intermediate stations, including Huyton Quarry have closed to passengers. Huyton Quarry was closed on the 15th September 1958.