A Tour of the World's Oldest SURVIVING Passenger Railway Stations

A quick look at a collection of mainline railway stations that on the outside appear as nothing out of the ordinary, but happen to be the oldest surviving passenger railway stations that are still in use. that's quite a long title for a world record, but that's because early railway history is so vague and not much remains or is still used today. And taking into account all of the technicalities and definitions involved here, little Broad Green station on the outskirts of Liverpool suddenly comes out on top.
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[@paulworthington8666]

Great new video. Thank you. (But I was a bit alarmed to hear that passengers have been waiting at the station since 1827. Thank God for motorways.)

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Haha yeah you just can't get the service these days

[@andrewwoodgate3769]

Fortunately the 1907 was on time.

[@infidelcastro5129]

Fear not - they put on a replacement chariot service 😂

[@Michael_Brock]

I'm just waiting for walking zombies and skeletons to turn up to catch their late train from 2 centuries ago! LOL

[@uingaeoc3905]

Broad Green's intended use for the Merseyrail and the Mainline was as an interchange for the South and North Liverpool Loops proposal and the motorway was elevated here to allow for the various tracks and platforms.

[@sglenny001]

Wish that the outer loop gets built

[@mikeclarke3882]

Hi Ollie, as you know, history is written by those who write it, not necessarily those who make it. Thanks for making sense out of a complicated issue. I travelled the line many times as a kid so it's nice to see what it looks like these days. Thanks for this!

[@cubicinches18]

That's right Our history has been massaged into shaped by the gentry. If it had been written by the workng classes the school corriculum would be different and a multitude of British historical TV doccos wouldn't have been made telling the story as they do

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Amazing, glad you enjoyed it. It's such a hazy topic to look into

[@SuperMorgan1980]

My local line. Broad Green does look like a bomb site at the moment. I’m sure the new station won’t be sympathetic to the past. Excellent video again though

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Yeah I dont think it will either, but they could modernise it and still throw in a nod to 1830.

[@jth385]

Just a small correction, Heighington Station is still an active and used station on the Bishop Auckland branch from Darlington, the building might not be in use but the station is...

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Yeah I agree. I think a slight oversight with what I edited out of the video, mixed with a wish for evidence of Heighington taking passengers. I'm happy to be corrected though

[@davidioanhedges]

A station that is still in full time mainline use would have to look like this ... rebuilt many times, updated, redesigned ... and still changing .... it's the most historically accurate oldest station

[@RCake]

Thanks a lot for an excellent video. Shows very well how early railways were really quite improvised and experimental - they easily could have failed and be forgotten by now. It is only their later broad success that makes things so memorable in retrospect.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Many thanks!

[@jetsons101]

What a way to make a good day better. First: A new video from Bee Here Now, and Second: The new video was about Vintage Steam. Thanks to Ollie for his time, hard work and posting. mike....

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Aw, thanks Mike! Glad to be of service!

[@jetsons101]

Hey, I just tell it like it is.......@@BeeHereNowuk

[@AlanWNoble]

Back in the 1970’s, I would travel from Broadgreen to Wigan every day to attend Wigan and District Mining & Technical College. One day they were ripping out the old green gas lights at the station and had a pile at the end of the platform. I asked the Station Master if I could have one. Unfortunately none of them had the glass bowls but I’ve still got the lamp somewhere in the loft. I never knew I have such a piece history. Thanks for an interesting video!

[@Steve.M]

Very interesting. I grew up in Wylam, Northumberland, notable, not least, for being the birthplace of George Stephenson. I recalled that the station there, on the Tyne Valley line (formerly the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway), had some claim to being the oldest something. Looking it up now, I see that the station buildings date from 1835. I suppose it may need to be qualified with “one of the oldest”, “still in passenger use”, and/or “still substantially in its original condition”. The signal box, on a gantry over the lines, is also interesting and is one of only two of the type that remain.

[@majorlaff8682]

The railway bridge over the River Skerne in Darlo is the world's oldest railway bridge in continuous use. The river under the bridge may be the world's most continuously polluted.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

The oldest (and still surviving) Railway Institute is open in Shildon. Worth a look inside if you're in the area.

[@swanvictor887]

Thanks for including my home town of Oystermouth, it always gets overlooked lol. Sadly for me, I was born in 1964 - four years after the Mumbles Railway was finally murdered by the local bus company: it closed in January 1960, with nearly 150 years of service. Ironically, the remaining Trams - built by English Electric and the largest ever built, were removed to Leeds to be scrapped.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

It's such a shame, I'd have loved to have seen that in operation.

[@RWHTrains]

Interesting video but what happened to my hometown station, Earlestown with what I understand is the oldest station building still in railway use (although its only the platform canopy in actual use)

[@BeingTheHunt]

Thank you! By the end of the video I was left wondering what station has the oldest still in use building. A quick Google tells me that there is supposed to be some renovation work done to put the full building back in use, rather than just the canopy.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Ah yeah you caught me out. I was saving that for a separate video haha.

[@RWHTrains]

@@BeingTheHunt yes part of a big regeneration project in the whole town centre. Station building to be put back into some form of use. I remember the 150 celebrations it was used like a heritage centre for months. I think there is similar planned for 2030.

[@RWHTrains]

@@BeeHereNowuk looking forward to that one Ollie if you get around to it. Newton Station also worth a look although the original building taken out of railway use a couple of years ago. Up for commercial let last I saw

[@keithwalmsley1830]

Great job, really fascinating They're trying to raise money to renovate Heighington station in Newton Aycliffe (which is an eyesore at the moment) in time for the bicentenary of the Stockton to Darlington Railway next year, hope they can!

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Yeah I hope so too!

[@Andrewjg_89]

Nice to hear about the surviving railway station. Such a great shame that many of railway stations and railway lines were closed in the Beeching Era that he closed so many railway lines and stations.

[@Mounhas]

And all those jobs with the knock-on effect.

[@Gregdotgreg]

Mitcham station in south London is supposed to be the oldest, having been on the Surrey Iron Railway. Although that wasn't a passenger railway

[@simonh6371]

Not only was it not a passenger railway, it didn't have locomotives. Wagons were horse-drawn.

[@DaedalusYoung]

I live close to this line, and I've been to a fair few of these stations. I always think about the history whenever I'm on the train.

[@pauld849]

I'm really sorry but Heighington is still very much in use as a station, the pub has closed but the station is very much still in use on the Bishop Auckland branch. Also, it's pronounced kinda like High-n-ton (from a local) cracking video though.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Ah yes I might have been overzealous with my editing and there's still a bit of a question over the evidence that Heighington had passengers earlier than 1830. That I've seen. But I'm eager to explore this more.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

That annoying too because a local told me it was pronounced Hey-ing-ton. 😄

[@RaspberryWhy]

Here, here to the gloriously absurd :)

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Yes love it!!

[@simonfunwithtrains1572]

Clearly a lot of work went into this video and it's really appreciated. Thank you very much S&J

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Yes more than i thought 😂

[@DavidMKempMusicandTrains]

A very informative video on early Railway history. Magic stuff!

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Many thanks!

[@LancashireLass]

Thanks for this. You always cheer me up.

[@strangequark1926]

I grew up in Broadgreen but never realised the history of my local station. Just outside the station to the North there are several roads with big Victorian middle class houses. I guess these belonged to the first commuters - people with the vision to realise they no longer needed to live in the city. Prior to the railways people had to live walking distance, or maybe horse riding distance, from their workplace. How amazing it must have been in the 1830s to live in a country village 7 miles outside the city and travel quickly everyday into the office.

[@puddinggeek4623]

Excellent video as always. Very entertaining and informative. Keep up the great work.

[@Guitar6ty]

In 1830 Edge hill railway station along with Earlstown station are probably the oldest stations on the LIverpool to Manchester are still in use plus Edgehill has the longest platform.

[@DisleyDavid]

Edge Hill Station is not on the same site, so I don't think that counts. Liverpool Road, the original station on the Manchester Liverpool line, still exists but no longer has a timetabled service. 😢

[@eddherring4972]

Edge Hill doesn’t have platforms of any significant length. However Edge Hill does have the oldest station buildings still in use. Also railway carriages and wagons used to be lowered into Park Lane station (pre Lime Street) by rope (and hauled up using static steam engines) due to locomotives being prohibited from using the 2km long tunnel. This tunnel was a cut and cover design which eventually had the majority of its covers removed leaving a set up of cuttings and tunnels similar to the approach to Lime Street today.

[@robertcarter6963]

Great Video as usual- thanks for the preparation etc

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Thanks for watching!

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

Interesting old paintings, showing r/h running on the railway.

[@philquine]

Another great video 👍 Great bit of sleuthing. Roby station was my home station where I grew up. Unfortunately it lost a lot of its charm due to the electrification. The siding at Broad Green used to house the W H Smith depot. In the early 1980s the two parcels vans would be picked up (around 11am) and taken to Edge Hill to become part of the Red Bank (Manchester) parcels train which would normally fly through around 14:15, shortly after the 14:05 Liverpool-York express, usually behind the same locomotive that had collected them earlier in the day. If you were lucky this would be one of the huge English Electric Class 40 diesels known affectionately as a Whistler due to her distinctive sound. Halcyon Days. 😊

[@duxberry1958]

you missed Earlestown goes back years

[@paulbennett772]

I'm not getting into any "oldest" dispute here (although I'm from Darlington!) Just to say that it's pronounced High-ington, not Hey-ington. Visit Darlington in 2025!

[@milesfinch]

Brilliant video, thanks.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@JahsRulz]

great vid! agree with with occlusion.

[@1258-Eckhart]

Danke! Excellent picture research! My family at that time lived at Burtonwood on this line.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Amazing, thank you so much! That's very kind of you 😊

[@northernengland]

Was the pub in Shildon not classed as a station?

[@BeeHereNowuk]

An excellent question. I think you probably could call it a station, but I don't know what Heighington has over it.

[@wrichard11]

There's an old S&DR booking office in Stockton on Tees. Station or not. Hard to say

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

It's still there too.

[@steviegTVreturns]

Great video as ever Ollie. I live quite close to what was called Bury Lane station, now Glazebrook and didn’t know there was a station there. I’m still baffled now there’s no stations in that line between Newton Le Willows and Patricroft/Eccles, I always thought there would be a good place to have a station. At least I know now there used to be one. Amazing how much history there is associated with the Liverpool to Manchester line, even if a load of it isn’t there or been redeveloped rather brutally.

[@alanfarnworth2802]

really interesting and well researched

[@bobjackson6524]

Fascinating. Lots to take in here.

[@expatexpat6531]

Any tips for the World's Oldest Still-In-Use Railway Station With A Café?

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Sounds like my kind of day out 😁

[@raymondleggs5508]

I don't wanna ride in those overcrowded double-decker horse drawn coaches.

[@1258-Eckhart]

No one's "gonna" make yer.

[@markeussi]

My local station!

[@katrinabryce]

Were railway timetables back in the day like bus timetables now? They don't list every single stop on the route, just the timing points. And some bus routes have hail & ride sections where you get on and off anywhere.

[@Quasihamster]

In Germany, the definition of a station requires there to be at least one switch, which in turn requires a decision to be made for each train where to go. A stopping point with no switches would be considered a halt, trains can either stop or not stop, and only turn back if it's at the end of the line. I know we're talking Britain here, but the distinction seems like a sensible one.

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Thanks for your comment. I like that distinction.

[@binquisitive]

Id have thought Earlestown was the oldest still in use? Is there a reason it wasn't in the video?

[@BeeHereNowuk]

Yes absolutely, it's one of the handful. I left it out so I could do a separate video on it but neglected to mention that in the edit 🙄

[@binquisitive]

@@BeeHereNowuk good to hear can’t wait! Brilliant vids by the way… 👍👍👍

[@prc789]

Before this video I knew that the Stockton and Darlington Railway was the first railway, and The Liverpool and Manchester was the first passenger railway (purpose built, pulled by steam engines) but I'd always thought that the Rainhill Trials, Stephenson's Rocket and the accident with Huskisson were on the Stockton and Darlington.. Now I know better, and feel silly for not knowing it before...

[@pauleyd80]

I’m sorry to be difficult here. But, Earlestown?

[@jimmcculloch3786]

Fascinating!!

[@riversidbuses]

Greenwich railway station opened in 1840 and is unchanged!

[@wmr9019]

I always thought Edge hill station in Liverpool was the oldest that was stephenson's rocket was launched from ?

[@stephensmith4480]

Same here.

[@Chocolate8me]

Broad Green is older than Edge Hill for a passenger station according to Wikipedia 👍

[@Brookes79]

Liverpool to Manchester Liverpool is the world's oldest

[@johnfinley485]

Shildon just up the road will have the biggest railway museum in the world soon and in time for the 200th

[@m3hnl]

there was a man called Richard Trevithick who built a steam vehicle and drove it up Cambourne hill in 1802

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

. . . . then went for a drink and let it blow up.

[@m3hnl]

@@EllieMaes-Grandad scrumpy cider of course

[@m3hnl]

Nothing to do with Jethro of course

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

No doubt ! @@m3hnl

[@faithlesshound5621]

@@EllieMaes-Grandad I didn't know that he had left the boiler unattended with the fire burning. Trevithick is usually denied the record because his engine blew up/burned down, making it a "failed attempt." I suppose there's always a first time for every mistake that can be made.

[@user-ho4rv6kg8u]

Kilmarnock and Troon railway?

[@southcalder]

The K&Ts original Kilmarnock and Troon stations no longer survive. The current stations are replacements, and on different sites. Also, until 1939, the K&T was a plateway, so it depends whether that could be considered a railway.

[@AndreiTupolev]

KZbinr clickbait red arrow 😁

[@1258-Eckhart]

He didn't need the clickbait as it turns out.

[@rochelleoconnor6676]

🚆

[@PhilipMurphyExtra]

Great video, Thank you