Hadlow Road Railway Station

Hadlow Road railway station was once an active station along the Birkenhead Railway – a joint project by the Great Western Railway and London North Western Railway. It served the population of Willaston, a village on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire, England.

The station was erected in 1866 and featured a two-story home for the station master, a booking office, waiting room and a lamp room used by railway staff to refill their oil lamps.

By 1904, the station oversaw a great many passengers, parcels and general goods. Although freight traffic was restricted by the closure of the Neston Colliery, passenger service was provided until trains to and from London Euston ceased operations in 1939 at the start of World War II.

By the mid-1950s, the line was primarily used by scholars commuting to secondary schools in West Kirby. The development of road infrastructure in England, however, caused a drastic decline in ridership. Faced with growing losses in revenue, British Railways withdrew passenger service to Willaston and nearby villages in 1956.

The former train route became a footpath in Wirral Country Park in 1973, and all of the stations along the route were carefully preserved. The Hadlow Road station is recorded in England’s National Heritage List as a designated Grade II building. It is one of two visitor centers along the Wirral Way footpath.