I had an uncle who lived in Back St Anne Street, we used to listen to the trains going under the house, and things shook. Not that there was much to shake.I think a bit more research is required before something is discarded as not being a fact.This would be around 1954, and is a fact
Close, but not quite under the house. The Mersey Railway Park Branch ran under Beckwith St. I'm pretty sure it was built cut & cover, so the line would only be a few feet below street level. I can imagine the noise was quite noticeable in Back St.Anne St.
Oh dear ! One out of ten for observation Mike. All the times I had passed and seen the Abacus/Town Station entrance, I never noticed it was spelt "Aabacus" as opposed to "Abacus".
What's that about you never stop learning ???
Yes, I agree dd. A good point indeed about the directory sketch.
I have that magazine aswell, its a great article about monk ferry, along with many other railway magazine dating from 80s,90s and 00s with that one magazine the oldest in my collection!!!
I had an uncle who lived in Back St Anne Street, we used to listen to the trains going under the house, and things shook. Not that there was much to shake.I think a bit more research is required before something is discarded as not being a fact.This would be around 1954, and is a fact
Close, but not quite under the house. The Mersey Railway Park Branch ran under Beckwith St. I'm pretty sure it was built cut & cover, so the line would only be a few feet below street level. I can imagine the noise was quite noticeable in Back St.Anne St.
I'm not sure what the building is in your photo of Birkenhead Town Station, but I'm pretty certain that it's not Town Station. These photos of the real Town Station were taken in the late 60s shortly before it was demolished - although it's not too clear, the street sign on the wall says 'Tunnel Road'. Perhaps the Aabacas building was something to do with the adjoining Goods Depot? Can anyone say where exactly was it?
Funny, marty, I was unsure about that first picture, but I recognise your picture as Town Station. If anything, the first picture must be the original Grange Lane terminus. From the Disused Stations website. http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/birkenhead_town/index.shtml
You're right and my book is wrong. The Aabacas building is the pale blue one in your middle photo.The chimney stack on the left and the stub of one in front of the fourth (modern) one match. The 2 horizontal darker blue 'stripes' show on the Aabacas, as does the curved top brick wall just above the shrubbery. The Aabacas building, therefore, may have been offices for the 'saw tooth' roofed building along Jackson Street. Thus, it's not obvious why the weather vane would be on the Aabacas building, though I feel sure it was. The long ramp appears to come from a building between your 'true' Station and the Aabacas one. Bri
Reading the description in Disused Stations that Town Station was "only metres to the East" of Grange Lane station, I think the Aabacas/Grange Lane building is that marked XXX on the map. If it were the old Grange Lane station, that would explain the train weathervane. The saw tooth (North light) building would be the LNWR goods depot.
Last edited by chriskay; 27th Mar 20116:13pm. Reason: Post crossed with bri445's
Based on this enlargement from an aerial shot of the Birkenhead Tunnel entrance, I think the Aabacas building is the one I've outlined in yellow at the north end of the old Engine Shed. It looks as if this was almost certainly the original Grange Lane terminus, though it's not what most people would remember as Town Station. I suspect it probably remained in use as the Railway Company Offices after the new Station/Booking Office opened at the corner of Tunnel Road.
