*click for larger
Many thanks to Charles Morris for another super old-photo!
Here we have a photo of the West Kirby train line, looking towards Hoylake Station, taken in 1965.
Charles comments: “I also found the black and white picture showing the Army digging out the snow from the railway line at Hoylake, on the West Kirby side of the level crossing. This was in early 1965 and the picture made the national press. Two gasometers still in full swing and note the old style railway signals, which went down for “goâ€, until they realised these were non-failsafe.”
You can see another photo of the old Hoylake gasometer here. And have you noticed that the gasometers in Wallasey that you can see when driving up to the tunnel are being removed? More on that here.
If that’s winter ’65 I remember it well. Sports at Calday Grange Grammar School were snowed off for two months, but as one of the few non-swimmers I was taught to swim in the warm in our brand-new indoor pool. Everyone else had to slog through the cross-country course around the column and surrounding heathland. Despite the snow, the school bus always made it, unlike nowadays when a couple of flakes bring the country to a halt.
Sadly when I asked the trust who runs the pool, to arrange a visit to let me see again where I enjoyed learning to swim all those years ago – no reply to my emails. I now live in Runcorn but could make the journey by public transport.
Although the worst winter of the 20th Century was 62/63, winter ’65 was just as snowy.
What a great photo. We lived on Drummond Road which runs parallel to the railway line just outside of Hoylake station heading towards West Kirby.. I remember being woken up by the sound of…… no trains running ! That’s what happens when you live close to a railway line ! The soldiers turned up in force and worked their way down the stretch of line alongside our road which made great viewing for a rather excited 8 year old. Lots of mugs of hot steaming tea were passed over the fence by all the neighbours. Brought out the best in folks, but it was something of a different era back then.
I remember it well, I lived on Market Street and worked in Liverpool and at that young age thought it meant a day off but my lovely boss, Alan Dickie lived in Meols and came to pick me up from home in his car as the roads were passable! More happy memories, thank you.
The photo appeared in The Guardian on March 5th 1965 and the caption read :”Soldiers of Western Command, Chester, clearing railway lines of snow yesterday.. Electric trains were stranded between Hoylake and West Kirby.”