Birkdale Palace railway station

Birkdale Palace
Remains of the station in 1964
Location
Place	Birkdale
Area	Sefton
Coordinates	53°38′20″N 3°01′37″W / 53.6388°N 3.0269°W / 53.6388; -3.0269Coordinates: 53°38′20″N 3°01′37″W / 53.6388°N 3.0269°W / 53.6388; -3.0269
Grid reference	SD322163
Operations
Original company	Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway
Pre-grouping	Cheshire Lines Committee
Post-grouping	Cheshire Lines Committee
Platforms	2 (island)
History
1 September 1884	Station opened
1 January 1917	Station closed
1 April 1919	Station reopened
7 January 1952	Station closed to passengers
7 July 1952	Station closed completely
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Birkdale Palace railway station was located in Birkdale, Lancashire (now Merseyside), England. The station was opened by the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway in 1884 and closed in 1952.

The Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway (SCLER) opened Birkdale Palace on 1 September 1884, as an intermediate station from Southport Lord Street railway station. The station was built adjacent to a hotel called the Birkdale Palace Hotel (now closed) and was sandwiched between Palace Road & Weld Roads.

The station was an island platform, accessed from the Weld Road bridge. It first closed on 1 January 1917, along with all other stations on the extension line, as a World War I economy measure.

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

Later the route of the line was converted into what is now Coastal Road, which runs from Woodvale to Southport, although at the site of Birkdale Palace station the road alignment runs to the west of the former trackbed.