Possibly the oldest working station in Britain, this station on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway was opened in 1836. It is listed Grade II*.
Tunnel Road, Liverpool. L7 1AD
There have been two Edge Hill stations. The first was located a short distance to the southwest of the present station and its remains are still visible, although the site is not open to the public.
The first station was located in a deep sandstone cutting, with three tunnels at the west end. The largest bore, in the centre, was the Wapping Tunnel, a long incline leading to Wapping Dock. The goods wagons descended by gravity, but were hauled up by a winding engine. When first opened, it was whitewashed, lit by gas, and used as a promenade by visitors.
The tunnel to the north of the central bore was much shorter and inclined upwards, leading to the passenger terminal at Crown Street. From here the trains descended by gravity to Edge Hill station and were wound up into Crown Street.
The southern tunnel was originally a short length leading nowhere and used as a storage shed: its chief purpose was to create a symmetrical appearance. It was later extended on a curving incline so that it could pass over the Wapping tunnel and join the Crown Street tunnel.
At the opposite end of the station area were the boilers of a stationary steam engine. These were used for the rope-winding mechanism. Each formed the base of a fine Moorish Arch. The smoke was channelled down rock cut flues to tall chimneys - known as the 'Pillars of Hercules' - on either side of the tunnel facing.
There were engine sheds and workshops cut into the rock either side of the station area, entered by transverse tracks accessed by turnplates.
The station area was rarely used for passengers, but rather for the marshalling of trains and the coupling and uncoupling of locomotives.
The decision to divert passenger traffic, by means of a new branch, to Lime Street Station resulted in the construction of a new station. Both Crown Street and the old station then became goods stations. Crown Street was also used as a coal yard. The new station was opened in 1836. Again, trains were able to descend to Lime Street by gravity, and were rope-hauled by a winding engine up to Edge Hill. However, as confidence in steam engines increased, this practice became unnecessary.
The two buildings which constitute Edge Hill station are mildly classical in style, built of pink sandstone ashlar, with deeply incised horizontal rustication. The whole is listed Grade II*.
The following Grand British Experimental Railway documentary was made by Granada TV in 1980 . It celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Liverpool-Manchester railway. Presenter Bob Greaves takes a trip on today's line and introduces a dramatised reconstructions of important facets of the railway's construction and history, including the Rainhill Trials, Edge Hill Station and the building of the Sankey viaduct.
Historic illustrations shown here are from Railways Began Here © Edge Hill Railway Trust 1980
Range of buildings on north side of station, from south, showing engine house and accumulator tower - Historic England 2005
Satellite images © Google Maps 2022
Planning Map © OS 2022 & Network Rail
By road: In Tunnel Street, Liverpool.
Biddle, Gordon, Britain's Historic Railway Buildings, Oxford University Press, ISBN-10: 0198662475 (2003)
Biddle, Gordon & Nock, O.S., The Railway Heritage of Britain : 150 years of railway architecture and engineering, Studio Editions, ISBN-10: 1851705953 (1990)
Biddle, Gordon and Simmons, J. The Oxford Companion to British Railway History. ISBN 0 19 211697 5 (1997)
Bonavia, Michael, Historic Railway Sites in Britain, Hale, ISBN 0 7090 3156 4 (1987)
Conolly, W. Philip, British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas And Gazetteer, Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN 0-7110-0320-3 (1958/97)
Holt, Geoffrey. A Regional History of the Railways of Britain, North West. ISBN 0 7153 7521 0 (1978)
Marshal, C. F. Dendy, Centenary History of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, Locomotive, ASIN B0010ZJ6IQ (1930)
Morgan, Bryan, Railways: Civil Engineering, Arrow, ISBN 0 09 908180 6 (1973)
Morgan, Bryan, Railway Relics, Ian Allan, ISBN 0 7110 0092 1 (1969)
Reed, M., The London & North Western Railway, Atlantic, ISBN 906899 66 4 (1996)
Simmons, J., The Railways of Britain, Macmillan, ISBN 0 333 40766 0 (1961-86)
Simmons, J., The Victorian Railway, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0 500 25110X (1991)
Singleton, D., The Liverpool & Manchester Railway, Dalesman, ISBN-10 085206263X (1975)
Smith, Martin, British Railway Bridges and Viaducts, Ian Allan, ISBN 0 7110 2273 9 (1994)
Thomas, R.H.G., The Liverpool & Manchester Railway, Batsford, ISBN-10 0713405376 (1980)
London & North Western Railway Society
Railways Began Here © Edge Hill Railway Trust 1980 - comprehensive document showing the history and remains of the original Edge Hill Station construction, closure in 1972 and its excavation in the 1970s.
Heritage England Consultation Report
OS Planning map - see above
