Barton railway station

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Barton Station was opened by the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway on 1 November 1887 as the first station on the Hillhouse Junction to Southport Central railway line. 14 years later it then came under the jurisdiction of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway (L&Y).

On 1 May 1901 Barton then had its northern terminus switched to Southport Chapel Street railway station, with the closing of Southport Central railway station, (which became a goods depot until its demolition in the 1960s). Its name had changed to Downholland.

In 1907 the L&Y introduced a service called the Altcar Bob, which consisted of a single railcar, with the engine at one end. The term 'Bob' could have been named for a number of reasons. One of them being that this was local Lancashire slang for a shilling, or another reason is that it could have been named after the driver of the train.

In June 1924 the station was renamed Downholland and in November 1926, the station became the terminus for trains to and from Southport Chapel Street station. Finally the station closed to passengers on 26 September 1938, due to early competition from road transport, but the lines remained in use for freight right up to 21 January 1952. The tracks were soon lifted after this date.

As of 2007, the station site can still be seen from the Station Road overbridge (off the A5147, Southport Road) which overlooks the heavily overgrown platforms. The site also lies within the boundaries of a local nature reserve.