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Ainsdale Beach
Station site in 2020.
General information
Location	Ainsdale, Sefton England
Coordinates	53°36′26″N 3°03′24″W / 53.6071°N 3.0568°W / 53.6071; -3.0568
Grid reference	SD302128
Line(s)	Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Cheshire Lines Committee
Pre-grouping	Cheshire Lines Committee
Post-grouping	Cheshire Lines Committee
Key dates
19 June 1901	Station opened as "Seaside"
1 January 1912	Station renamed "Ainsdale Beach"
1 January 1917	Station closed as a wartime economy measure
1 April 1919	Station reopened
7 January 1952	Station closed

v t e Cheshire Lines Committee
Legend
Merseyside Lines
Southport Lord Street Birkdale Palace to Southport Ainsdale Ainsdale Beach Northern line Woodvale Freshfield to Liverpool Central Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway Barton Mossbridge Hillhouse Junction Altcar and Hillhouse Lydiate Sefton and Maghull to Ormskirk Old Roan Aintree Junction Southport Junction Aintree Central Aintree Northern line Warbreck Orrell Park Walton to Kirkby Rice Lane to Liverpool Central Fazakerley Junctions Walton on the Hill Huskisson Clubmoor West Derby Knotty Ash & Stanley Broad Green City Line Childwall Gateacre Northern line Liverpool Central Liverpool Central High Level St James Brunswick (original) Egerton Street Junction Brunswick St Michaels Otterspool Aigburth Cressington to Lime Street Garston Liverpool South Parkway Hunts Cross West Junction Hunts Cross to Manchester Central

Ainsdale Beach was a railway station located in Ainsdale, Merseyside, England.

History

The Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway (SCLER) opened a line extending their existing system from Aintree to Southport on 1 September 1884. Seeing the potential in Ainsdale's large beach they subsequently built this station, which opened as Seaside in 1901. In 1911 it was decided to rename the station Ainsdale Beach, which took effect from 1 January 1912.

The station was built adjacent to a hotel called The Lakeside Hotel (in 2015 named 'The Sands' and trading as a local pub) situated at the coastal end of Shore Road. A terraced row of railway staff cottages immediately next to the station still stood in 2015, although all station structures, signal box and level crossing have long gone.

It was served by trains from Southport Lord Street, Liverpool Central and Manchester Central.

A total eclipse of the sun occurred in June 1927. The railway provided many excursion specials to many locations, including Ainsdale Beach.

Run down and closure

The station first closed in 1917, along with all other stations on the extension line, as a First World War economy measure.

The station reopened on 1 April 1919, and continued in use until 7 January 1952, when the SCLER was closed to passengers from Aintree Central to Southport Lord Street. Public goods facilities were ended at Woodvale, Lydiate and Sefton & Maghull stations on the same day and there never were any goods facilities at Ainsdale Beach station. The line remained open for public goods traffic until 7 July 1952 at Southport Lord Street, Birkdale Palace and Altcar & Hillhouse stations. A siding remained open at Altcar & Hillhouse for private goods facilities until May 1960. The last passenger train to run on the SCLER was a railway enthusiasts' special train between Aintree and Altcar & Hillhouse stations on 6 June 1959.

The line came under the Cheshire Lines Committee until nationalisation in 1948, whereafter it came under the London Midland Region of British Railways until closure.

The site today

Later the track bed through the station site was used to support what is now the Coastal Road, which runs from Woodvale to Southport. At this point the road is also part of the Trans Pennine Trail.

References

1. Bolger 1984, pp. 26–7.
2. Foster 2000, pp. 79 & 82.
3. Biddle 1981, p. 30.
4. Dow 1962, p. 142.
5. Butt 1995, p. 13.
6. Griffiths 1947, p. 53.
7. Dyckhoff 1999, Title Page and p108.
8. Travers 2013, pp. 374 & 376.
9. Bolger 1984, pp. 5–7.
10. Dyckhoff 1999, p. 62.
11. Railtours via sixbellsjunction
12. Travers 2013, p. 377.

Sources

• Biddle, Gordon (1981). Railway Stations in the North West. Clapham, North Yorkshire: Dalesman Books. ISBN 978-0-85206-644-7.
• Bolger, Paul (1984). An Illustrated History of the Cheshire Lines Committee. Merseyside: Heyday Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-947562-00-7.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Dow, George (1962). Great Central, Volume Two Dominion of Watkin 1864-1899. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-1469-5. OCLC 655324061.
• Dyckhoff, Nigel (1999). Portrait of the Cheshire Lines Committee. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-2521-9.
• Foster, Harry (2000). New Ainsdale The struggle of a seaside suburb 1850-2000. Birkdale: Birkdale and Ainsdale Historical Research Society. ISBN 978-0-9510905-5-8.
• Griffiths, R Prys (1947). The Cheshire Lines Railway. Lingfield: The Oakwood Press. OCLC 752555378. OL5.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Travers, Ian (June 2013). Blakemore, Michael (ed.). "The Southport Extension of the Cheshire Lines Committee 1884-1952". Back Track. 27 (6). Easingwold: Pendragon Publishing.

External links

• The station Disused Stations UK
• The station on an 1888-1913 Overlay OS Map National Library of Scotland
• Station on a 1948 O.S. map npe Maps
• Station and line HTS railwaycodes
• Railtours sixbellsjunction
• Aerial photos Britain from Above
• Rare photos Ainsdale Civic Society
• An early station plan flickr

v t e Closed railway stations in Merseyside
Birkenhead Railway	Caldy Heswall Kirby Park Thurstaston
Canada Dock Branch	Alexandra Dock Bootle Balliol Road Breck Road Canada Dock Edge Lane Spellow Stanley Tue Brook Walton & Anfield
Cheshire Lines Committee	Ainsdale Beach Aintree Central Birkdale Palace Childwall Clubmoor Garston (Merseyside) Gateacre Huskisson Knotty Ash Liverpool Central High Level Liverpool St James Otterspool Sefton and Maghull Southport Lord Street Walton on the Hill Warbreck West Derby Woodvale
Chester and Birkenhead Railway	Birkenhead Grange Lane Birkenhead Monks Ferry Birkenhead Town Birkenhead Woodside Rock Lane Tranmere
East Lancashire Railway	Southport London Street
Lancashire Union Railway	Carr Mill
Liverpool and Manchester Railway	Crown Street Huyton Quarry Parkside
Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway	Altcar Rifle Range Bootle Village Formby Power Station Liverpool Exchange Liverpool Great Howard Street Miller's Bridge Southport Eastbank Street
Liverpool Overhead Railway	Alexandra Dock (LOR) Brocklebank Dock Brunswick Dock Canada Dock (LOR) Canning Clarence Dock Dingle Gladstone Dock (LOR) Herculaneum Dock Huskisson Dock James Street (LOR) Langton Dock Nelson Dock Pier Head Princes Dock Sandon Dock Seaforth Sands Toxteth Dock Wapping Dock
Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway	Blowick Butts Lane Halt Kew Gardens (Merseyside)
Liverpool, St Helens and South Lancashire Railway	Ashton-in-Makerfield Haydock Haydock Park St Helens Central (GCR)
Mersey Docks and Harbour Board	Liverpool Riverside
North Mersey Branch	Aintree Racecourse Ford (Merseyside) Linacre Road Gladstone Dock
North Wales and Liverpool Railway	Storeton
St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway	Allerton Church Road Garston Clock Face Crank Halt Garston Dock Gerards Bridge Halebank Moss Bank Old Mill Lane Peasley Cross Rainford Village Robins Lane Halt Rookery Sefton Park Speke Sutton Oak Union Bank Farm Halt Wavertree
West Lancashire Railway	Churchtown Crossens Hesketh Park Southport Ash Street Southport Central St Luke's
Wirral Railway	Birkenhead Dock Liscard and Poulton Seacombe Warren
Other	Vulcan Halt
List of closed stations List of open stations Merseytravel Transport Commons

• Disused railway stations in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
• Former Cheshire Lines Committee stations
• Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1901
• Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1917
• Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1919
• Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1952