Wavertree Technology Park [what occupied the land before the tech park existed]

[Kev]

I might have asked this before but as I was driving through today, I wondered what occupied the land before the tech park existed?

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Sent from the back of Michael Caine's Mini Cooper S, holding on for dear life......

[JMLE]

It was railway land with what looks like a large loop line. You can check on http://www.old-maps.co.uk/index.html putting L7 9NG as a search and selecting the 1983-1987 map.

[burkhilly]

I think there were some factories there - like the Mecarno/Paton Calverts/Crawford/BT. My mum worked in Paton Calverts. I am probably wrong - but if I am some will correct me.

[Kev]

Cheers, I'm suprised that I dont think Ive seen any pics of the area.

[grio]

the main entrance to the park from edge lane was the old bus sheds and garages

[armchair]

Wavertree Tech Park is largely on the site of something that was called the Edge Hill Gridiron. This was a large system of shunting and sorting sidings operated by the railway. I am no historian but I would guess it was nitially installed by the London North Western railway. A particular feature of the grid iron was that goods wagons could be "loose shunted", that is to say not coupled to adjacent wagons and pushed over a hump. Gravity would do the rest with "shunters" ( men employed to sort and marshal wagons) running alongside with long poles to apply the brakes once wagons had been directed by means of points into the appropriate sidings (or lanes) to make up the next train. There was also a system of retarders fitted between the rails to slow the wagons................I am getting above my pay grade now.

Search the tinterweb using Edge Hill Grid iron as the search criteria for more acurate info and probably a map which will show you the extent and location of the railway land and how it relates to the current tech park.

Armchair

[Collins]

My father had an allotment on land amongst the railway lines

If you have a look at Google maps on the left hand side of the road going from Wavertree Road to Picton Road you will see a change of bricks on the bridge, this was the door that led down to the railway lines. We then had to cross the railway lines to get to the allotment; I think his was the only allotment there. My grandfather used this land as an allotment before my dad, they both worked for British Rail but I don’t know if the allotment was official or some land they just used.

I have happy memories of helping my dad and then on our way home having an ice cream at Capaldi on the corner of Tunnel Road.

[robbo176]

Wavertree Tech Park is largely on the site of something that was called the Edge Hill Gridiron. This was a large system of shunting and sorting sidings operated by the railway. I am no historian but I would guess it was nitially installed by the London North Western railway. A particular feature of the grid iron was that goods wagons could be "loose shunted", that is to say not coupled to adjacent wagons and pushed over a hump. Gravity would do the rest with "shunters" ( men employed to sort and marshal wagons) running alongside with long poles to apply the brakes once wagons had been directed by means of points into the appropriate sidings (or lanes) to make up the next train. There was also a system of retarders fitted between the rails to slow the wagons................I am getting above my pay grade now.

Search the tinterweb using Edge Hill Grid iron as the search criteria for more acurate info and probably a map which will show you the extent and location of the railway land and how it relates to the current tech park.

Armchair

My granddad lost his hand shunting the trains there in 1952/53....not sure what happened as we weren't allowed to ask but he used to think it was funny scaring us with his false hand :)

[goldenface]

There is a good picture on this thread. Wavertree road is bottom left.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&p=515556