The Birkenhead Railway, owned jointly by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and North Western Railway (LNWR), had initially opened a branch line from Hooton to Parkgate in 1866. An extension to West Kirby was completed twenty years later, including Thurstaston station which opened on 19 April 1886.[3]
Station Road was constructed from land donated by local landowners Thomas Ismay and the Glegg family to provide access from the village to the station.[4]
During the Second World War, the line was used for the transportation of munitions. Heavy anti-aircraft gun emplacements were built on land to the west of the station, which have since been grassed over.[3]
Closure
Despite regular seasonal tourist use of the station, passenger numbers generally remained low. On 1 February 1954, the station was closed to passengers, although the line itself remained open to passenger trains for another two years.[5] The track continued to be used for freight transportation and driver training for another eight years, closing on 7 May 1962. The tracks were lifted two years later.[3][4]
Wirral Country Park
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]
The site today
Unlike most of the stations on the line, the two platforms are still in situ, though the southbound platform is largely obscured by undergrowth; the Wirral Way continues to pass between them. The station buildings have been demolished.[3]
One of two visitor centres for the Wirral Country Park is located on the station site.[8]
References
^Christiansen, Rex (Autumn 1977), Gill, C. (ed.), "On the track of a country park", The Countryman
^Merseyside Railway History Group (1982), Scheele, R. (ed.), The Hooton to West Kirby branch line and the Wirral Way, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, ISBN0-904582-04-3
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