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Thread: Liverpool Central High Level

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    Living the Dream... Scouseinmanc's Avatar
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    Default Liverpool Central High Level

    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.

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    Senior Member Waterways's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scouseinmanc View Post
    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

    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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    Living the Dream... Scouseinmanc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Waterways View Post
    Lime St can be extended to cope with longer trains
    How could Lime St be extended? There isn't any room for extension to the left or the right of the station. Even if there was, there are only 4 tracks within the station throat, which would not be able to cope with the additional traffic. The platforms are already incredibly long & do not need to be extended. However, the possibility of double deckers, similar to those in the Netherlands would be a definite possibility.

    Quote Originally Posted by Waterways View Post
    Central high level could have been a large arena or conference centre, etc, like in Manchester.
    Absolutley. The fantastic conversion by Manchester City Council of Manchester Central into GMEX during the 1980's (& funnily has now been renamed back to Manchester Central), is a prime example of how these great Victorian iron halls can be reused after their original use, rather than being torn down.

    This would have been an excellent location for a conference/exhibition centre. Although, I am still of the mindset that Central should never have closed in the first place, as I stated earlier!!

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    Re-member Ged's Avatar
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    Just over half way down the page on the 'buildings' section of my site there are a couple of pics of Central's frontage.

    http://pic7.piczo.com/inacityliving/?g=42204765
    www.inacityliving.piczo.com/

    Updated weekly with old and new pics.

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    Senior Member Waterways's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scouseinmanc View Post
    How could Lime St be extended? There isn't any room for extension to the left or the right of the station. Even if there was, there are only 4 tracks within the station throat, which would not be able to cope with the additional traffic. The platforms are already incredibly long & do not need to be extended. However, the possibility of double deckers, similar to those in the Netherlands would be a definite possibility.
    The platforms are not long enough for the Eurostar type of trains. They can be lengthened by cutting back the rock. The four tracks can cope indeed. Edge Hill has been mentioned as a waiting point for trains. The idea being to minimise the time a train is at a platform at Lime St. The new Jubilee Line in London shifts more train per hour because of computerised signaling. A lot of traffic can be pushed through four tracks.

    The fantastic conversion by Manchester City Council of Manchester Central into GMEX during the 1980's (& funnily has now been renamed back to Manchester Central), is a prime example of how these great Victorian iron halls can be reused after their original use, rather than being torn down.
    Central has no kerb appeal. A dockside location is far more appealing, than a hidden city centre location.

    This would have been an excellent location for a conference/exhibition centre. Although, I am still of the mindset that Central should never have closed in the first place, as I stated earlier!!
    Central should have closed as the business was not there at the time. I think what you are saying is that a new Central high level should have been built instead of those stumpy buildings that are to be built on the site.

    You also have to look ahead. The city centre is moving onto the river and dock waterways and will become more linear. Lime St will then be on the extreme east of the city centre. A new station can be built anywhere on the northern line and terminate near the centre/docks (at the end of the Waterloo tunnel?) with Merseyrail links.

    The same can be said for the south end, again a station at the end of the Wapping tunnel with the Cheshire line tunnel to Central curved into the Wapping tunnel. Again access to Merseyrail. This would entail sharing of the tracks with Merseyrail trains, which currently share no track with any other service.

    This new station(s) would then serve the new highly populated city centre.

    How many people that alight at Lime St go to the centre? A minority at is for sure. Maybe Edge Hill should be used and promoted more.
    Last edited by Waterways; 10-04-2007 at 03:04 PM.
    The new Amsterdam at Liverpool?
    Save Liverpool Docks and Waterways - Click

    Deprived of its unique dockland waters Liverpool
    becomes a Venice without canals, just another city, no
    longer of special interest to anyone, least of all the
    tourist. Would we visit a modernised Venice of filled in
    canals to view its modern museum describing
    how it once was?


    Giving Liverpool a full Metro - CLICK
    Rapid-transit rail: Everton, Liverpool & Arena - CLICK

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  6. #6
    PhilipG
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    There was a cinema planned on the Central Station site in the 1960s.
    This was well before multiplexes, and would probably have been something similar to the Classic (now Odeon) in Allerton Road.

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    [QUOTE=Scouseinmanc;81508]How could Lime St be extended? There isn't any room for extension to the left or the right of the station. Even if there was, there are only 4 tracks within the station throat, QUOTE]

    There are actually 6 tracks (don't forget the one in the tunnel) at Lime Street Station throat, which would make it even more difficult to extend. Platform 6/7 could be extended for longer trains. 12/13 coach expresses used depart regularly I think.

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    Member andyk's Avatar
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    I have these two photos of the last days of Liverpool Central HL :
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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    Creator & Administrator Kev's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by andyk View Post
    I have these two photos of the last days of Liverpool Central HL :
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    Re-member Ged's Avatar
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    Great pics andyk.
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    Member John_142's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=goldenface;81571]
    Quote Originally Posted by Scouseinmanc View Post
    How could Lime St be extended? There isn't any room for extension to the left or the right of the station. Even if there was, there are only 4 tracks within the station throat, QUOTE]

    There are actually 6 tracks (don't forget the one in the tunnel) at Lime Street Station throat, which would make it even more difficult to extend. Platform 6/7 could be extended for longer trains. 12/13 coach expresses used depart regularly I think.

    There maybe room for one more platform maybe an island platform using the roadway inbetween platforms 7&8 as it isnt really used nowerdays plys i wouldent immagine that they could extend the platforms as platforms 1,6,7,8 & 9 are prety long anyweay and would hold probably 10 coaches maybe 11 at a squeeze.

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    Senior Member ayjaykay's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=John_142;86228]
    Quote Originally Posted by goldenface View Post


    There maybe room for one more platform maybe an island platform using the roadway inbetween platforms 7&8 as it isnt really used nowerdays
    They're planning to build waiting rooms there in time for Capital of Culture:

    http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liver...0252-20043683/

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    tattooed gt-grandma quincyg's Avatar
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    going through my local history books spotted this pic of the station being dismantled.

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    PhilipG
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    May 1982
    Last edited by PhilipG; 03-03-2008 at 10:38 PM.

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    Default May 82 pic

    it looks like a ghost town in the may 82 pic


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