Altcar and Hillhouse railway station

Hillhouse Junction, with Altcar and Hillhouse below

Altcar and Hillhouse was a railway station located on the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway near Great Altcar, Lancashire. The station opened on 1 September 1884, and from 1887 to 1926 also served as the southern terminus of the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway, which it connected with at Hillhouse Junction, between Altcar and Mossbridge. Thereafter, the southern terminus of the LSPJR regular services became Barton (or Downholland as it was occasionally known). The "Altcar Bob" service, introduced in July 1906, was so named because it terminated here until that time. Altcar and Hillhouse was situated on the south side of the B5195 road, near the sewage works.

History

Along with all other stations on the extension line, Altcar and Hillhouse closed on 1 January 1917, due to World War I economy measures.

The station was 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. The line remained open for public goods traffic until 7 July 1952 at Southport Lord Street, Birkdale Palace and Altcar & Hillhouse Stations. Public goods facilities were ended at Woodvale, Lydiate and Sefton & Maghull stations on the same date as passenger services (7 January 1952*) and there were never any goods facilities at Ainsdale Beach station to begin with. After 7 July 1952, a siding remained open at Altcar & Hillhouse for private goods facilities until May 1960. The very last passenger train to run on the SCLER was a railway enthusiasts 'special' between Aintree and Altcar & Hillhouse railways stations on 6 June 1959.

The official day of a closure is given as the Monday following the date of the last train to run. As this is almost always a Saturday, if 7 January 1952 (Monday) is given as the date of closure, this means the last day of service was Saturday, 5 January 1952. This can be shown by last day tickets bearing the 5 January date

As an ex Cheshire Lines Committee railway the line through Altcar & Hillhouse became a joint operation between the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the London and North Eastern Railway following the Grouping of 1923.

The line then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, before closure by the British Railways Board on 7 July 1952.

The site today

The route of the line through the station is today part of the Trans Pennine Trail.

References

• Gell, Rob (1986). An Illustrated Survey of Railway Stations Between Southport & Liverpool 1848-1986. Heyday Publishing Company. ISBN 0-947562-04-4. 
• Butt, R. V. J. (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 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687. 

External links

• Altcar and Hillhouse at Disused Stations
• Station on navigable O.S. map

Coordinates: 53°32′51″N 2°59′02″W / 53.54748°N 2.98397°W / 53.54748; -2.98397