Originally Posted by
Scouseinmanc
Barr the excellent Disused Stations website, there isn't much in the way of info or pics on this once grand city centre station, with it's great arched roof & glazed windscreen (very similar to that of Glasgow Queen St).
Does anyone have any pics showing decent view/s of the concourse, after alighting the train & also pics shortly after it's closure & subsequent demolition?
Opened in 1874, in a prime city centre location, it closed just 2 years prior to its centenary. Until 1966 it had served many destinations such as Manchester, Stockport, Derby, Sheffield, Harwich, London (both St Pancras & Marylebone) & also offered other local suburban services. However, after this date, all these services then transferred over to Lime Street via the Allerton curve, leaving only the hourly service to Gateacre (which at one time had continued on up to Aintree Central (until 1960) & Southport Lord St (until 1952).
In my opinion, the station's distruction is yet another example of how shortsighted people were back in the 1960's & 70's. Had the station survived, perhaps these services would have been reinstated at a later date, relieving the pressure on what is currently a rather congested Lime St.
I personally think it was right to have stopped the town and city services from Central and concentrate on Lime St. Lime St can be extended to cope with longer trains and even be double decked to give more platforms
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Central high level could have been a large arena or conference centre, etc, like in Manchester. However no one thought of that sort of thing in the 1960s - also there was no demand for that facility either, with the boxing stadium underused and rotting away. The site was vacant until now.
Even 5 years ago a large arena, conference centre could have been built on the site from ground up - with its own underground station under. The problem is that it would have no kerb appeal whatsoever, hidden away.
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