Merseyrail History Remembering Liverpool Exchange

Remembering Liverpools lost mainline station, Liverpool Exchange. From its early beginings through to its closure in 1977, & the remains still to be seen today www.buymeacoffee.com/merseywail

[@nigelsabin1713]

Hi. Just a little bit if trivia for you. I was the last booking clerk at Hall Road Station, and in 1977 I was the last booking clerk at Liverpool Exchange station, covering the night turn as the 'last train left'. ( I think it was to Ormskirk). Both good stations to work at. Happy Days!! Nice nostalgic videos!!

[@Merseywail]

Is it true what some have told me. That the booking office was kept open for two days after closure. So people could buy tickets for the rail replacement service from Exchange to Sandhills, before the link tracks were connected up?

[@nigelsabin1713]

@@Merseywail hi. Don't know about that, as I was based at Ormskirk being a general purpose relief clerk. I worked on every station on merseyrail eventually!!

[@Merseywail]

You must have seen a lot over the year's

[@thomascarroll9556]

Maybe you can tell me about trains from Hunts Cross to ? (Ormskirk &/or Kirkby) where were the routed?

[@Merseywail]

@@thomascarroll9556 trains from Hunts Cross ran to either Liverpool lime Street or Central High level. It wasn't till after the link opened in 83 they passed through Moorfields

[@_wood]

lovely video. As a Manchester man I appreciate our shared history which is found in relics the same here and all across the English north

[@Merseywail]

Thank you. There is a lot of rail history shared between our great two cities and the North in general. Though I have to admit Manchester has certainly embraced its heritage far more than Liverpool has. Whereas Manchester has repurposed much of its redundant rail history liverpool just swept it away sadly

[@nigelsabin1713]

I forgot to tell you that when Exchange closed,I took "susie" the station cat home with me!!

[@Merseywail]

That's lovely. Hope she had a happy retirement

[@mikesam347]

What a nice thing to do.... Meow

[@nigelsabin1713]

@@Merseywail Hi. She survived for a couple of years. When she died,I buried her is the back garden with liverlool exchange 'station masters' hat!!!

[@Merseywail]

Such a nice touch for a station cat

[@donnagray9579]

I left Liverpool Exchange Station with my mum and 2 younger brothers on the last steam train out of the station, going to Carlisle. We came back on a diesel electric. Going out, I remember spam sandwiches, biscuits and orange squash and s smoke. After that, I regularly came to visit my Nanna in Vauxhall Gardens from Bootle Oriel rd until the station was closed.

[@Merseywail]

Glad it brought back good memories, thanks

[@mikesam347]

You have produced an excellent video of broadcast quality..! The commentary and background music couldn't be better, and the tempo and clarity whereby you explain the historic details is very pleasing to listen to.

[@Merseywail]

Thanks. Am still finding my round the video editor. Never having done anything like this before. Also hope the commentary will improve with more experience

[@1BCamden]

Thanks, great insight, sad ending to a great station. As a boy I travelled by steam jubilee or class 5 from Exchange to Grimsby

[@Merseywail]

Your lucky, I never got the chance to travel by steam from Exchange

[@peterwhitaker4038]

great this! i remember the type of train to southport in the '60s and the old Exchange station with orange lodge filling it on July 12th to go to scouseport for the day. wonderful old photos in here and well researched too. i take my hat off to you. well done

[@Merseywail]

Thank you. Glad to hear it brought back memories. Am also one of the team restoring one of the old electric trains that operated out of here

[@kennicol6946]

Used to go train spotting every Saturday at Exchange in the early sixties aged 10 - 12. Highlight was after cabbing the station pilot, 2-6-4 tank, the crew let 2 mates and myself travel with them in the cab to Bank Hall to collect the coaches for the Glasgow express. To cap it all our train waiting to take us back to Kirkby was double headed with Jubilee class Orion at the head. Happy days!!!

[@Merseywail]

That's great, wish I had the opportunity to do that. Steam had gone by my time. So only have memories of the diesels and electrics. Didn't vist really exchange much as I would have liked

[@34136TS]

Very nicely done, great sense of timing with the commentary.

[@Merseywail]

Am still new to all this. Hopefully I will get better at it. As soon as restrictions are lifted I can get more done. Got lots planned

[@thestig3601]

It's so sad that when a railway station gets shut down & never used as a railway station ever again I feel rather upset by it. As I never got to ride on certain railway lines (trains on such routes) I would have loved to ride the overhead railway But. Sadly that was closed , shut down & removed all evidence of it ever being in existence ( or most of it ) it was removed before I was old enough to travel alone. So, I sadly never got that chance.But, it so nice for someone to have some information & clips of what the station & trains of yesteryear was like for people to reminisce about. (Hopefully all good memories for them) & for others to take in some history to learn from.

[@Merseywail]

Thanks for the kind comments. Sadly I never got to ride the overhead either & only rarely went to Exchange. Although the closure of Exchange & opening of the underground did turn round the fortunes of the lines from the station. Its sad that the whole station wasn't repurposed in some way. An exhibition hall for example. But no they just flattened it & made a car park

[@TheSugarDaddy1]

Your videos are so detailed thank you for this

[@Merseywail]

Thank you. I will be doing more of these. The history of the Merseyrail lines has been largely passed by. Hopefully I can address this

[@TheSugarDaddy1]

@@Merseywail looking forward to the Birkenhead Woodside station as my Step Dad was a signalman there

[@donnagray9579]

There was a pedestrian tunnel under the station to the Liverpool Stadium.

[@Merseywail]

I was sadly to late to film it. It was only in past two years it was demolished and filled in

[@dufushead]

I remember legging along it stoned( on rocky or nige or leb), the sound of your platforms reverberating off the walls and almost trippin' over me flares to catch the last train back from the Stadium....often.

[@AidanEyewitness]

Superbly narrated, very informative, fascinating photos and the music was just right. Many thanks!

[@Merseywail]

Thanks, more to come.

[@AidanEyewitness]

@@Merseywail I'd love to see one on the line from Seacombe via Liscard and Poulton and how it became a dual carriageway!

[@Merseywail]

@@AidanEyewitness it's one I plan to do

[@AidanEyewitness]

@@Merseywail :)

[@studebaker4217]

Excellent film, many thanks. Sad to see what has happened to the immediate area of Exchange. My Dad took me to see the new diesel loco 10000 at Exchange around 1956(?), so nice memories.

[@Merseywail]

Cheers, I never knew that loco had visited Exchange. I will be doing Sandhills as well so will have a little more on Exchange in that.

[@robshorts]

Thanks for posting, very enjoyable and informative!

[@Merseywail]

Thank you. Shame its no longer here. I would have been a great asset

[@simonsays335]

So grateful we have KZbin to watch this fantastic documentary of a station lost and will probably never return thank you for making it sharing it with us x

[@Merseywail]

Thanks, one of my earlier videos. Hopefully they are improving as I do more

[@Nansen1981]

Great video, thanks so much. Great memories of Exchange from my childhood up to my formative years. My Dad was actually on bomb watch in there during WW2 and later worked in the Hotel. I have many stories of Exchange. Sadly missed.

[@Merseywail]

Thanks. Glad it rekindled memories

[@notyhbynorthwest]

Just watched this again, and was amazed at how much information and detail I had missed when I watched it the first time. Really is well produced and full of interesting information. One thing I really like is your responses and how they open people up into sharing information. There are some lovely interactions between people in the comments; so you really are doing something just right. Well done!!! I only visited Exchange a few times as a kid with occasional train rides to/from Southport. I remember a Joke shop quite close to the station, pure nirvana for a preteen like me. Moved from Liverpool in the early 70's and am itching to get back to relive my childhood, covid permitting. Cheers, Ian

[@Merseywail]

Thank you. This has triggered memories for people. Thats one part I really enjoy. I only ever went there a few times myself sadly. I remember a joke shop called the wizard's den by Exchange I wonder if it was the same one

[@FannyLerouxTime]

Really enjoyed this, I love my Liverpool history. I'd often heard my Nana talking about exchange and central, when I was young in the 90s I'd always assumed she meant the underground Liverpool Central station.

[@Merseywail]

Thanks. Yes Central was another fine mainline station now lost. To think we had 3 grand stations serving liverpool. Four if you count Woodside

[@barry5787]

A station I never really used, as I always plumbed for Skelhorne St and the bus to Crosby. Thanks for the video.

[@Merseywail]

Funny enough it's one I didn't use much either. We had very good Ribble bus services

[@tomfreeman650]

I lived in Vauxhall gardens, on a top floor flat ,used to watch the steam trains on the way in and out of Exchange ,we could also watch the turntable from my friends in Highfield gardens

[@Merseywail]

Great vantage points. I would have loved to have been able to do that

[@standclear502]

I really enjoy your content, i love railways & local history, it does sadden me that most of Liverpool’s railway heritage has been swept away 💔 Lovely & nostalgic, Thankyou for posting!

[@Merseywail]

Thanks. It is very sad just how much we have lost. And how much we could have kept & developed. Such as the Cheshire lines route to Aintree. This was to incorporated into Merseyrail, with North & south outer loops. But delays & government interference scuppered the plans

[@standclear502]

Merseywail can you do a video on the birkenhead dock branch, which is one of the oldest railways, wirral council plans to fill in the victorian built cuttings and level it 💔

[@Merseywail]

@@standclear502 didn't know they planned to do that, though I expect Network rail would have to be consulted. It is there infrastructure after all. Aren't there still proposal by Peel ports to extend the tramway to serve Wirral Waters. Or has that been dropped

[@standclear502]

Merseywail yes its in there planing application ‘birkenhead Green corridor’ thay intend to raise it to ground level 😱 there was a brief online public consultation in September 2020 which very few people about, & few attended, rather hush hush in my opinion. Peel ports & network rail apparently are agreeing.😳

[@standclear502]

Merseywail do you have an email i can share information with you 👍🏻

[@dufushead]

Probably like a lot of retired folk I spend far too long trawling through KZbin aimlessly searching for something interesting, occasionally meaningful. Thank you so much, as I can honestly say this film of yours has more relevance, meaning and interest to me personally than anything I can remember seeing here. Too many memories to possibly recount that still form much of the architecture of my nocturnal dreamscape. I just love it. Sadly I can't believe what it's become. The whole area. Riding a motorbike in the 1970's on the cobbles and tramlines, turning left by The Bradford Hotel, going under the viaduct and turning onto The David Lewis. Bibby's Warehouses. WTF. Other cities preserved their heritage. So much lost for car parks and crud. You've done us a service by keeping some of it alive. Cheers !

[@Merseywail]

Thanks, glad I brought back some memories. Liverpool, like many cities after the war, wanted to reinvent themselves. Sadly all they did was finish the destruction that Hitler started

[@dufushead]

@@Merseywail Too true my friend. The Custom House, Overhead Railway and unbelievably the Cotton Exchange and the Sailors Home to name but a few. Thanks.

[@tonyrobertson498]

I really enjoy your videos, so much information and great photos

[@Merseywail]

Thanks Tony. I do enjoy putting them together. Plenty more to come yet . I enjoy the research involved in doing them, though it can take time , especially with work and other commitments

[@graemeorr3859]

I was on the last special out of Exchange the night it closed. Went via Wigan back to Lime St. I still have the commemorative ticket signed by the driver and guard, plus a small article in the Echo. I was 13. At least the frontage was saved, unlike Central and so many others around the country.

[@Merseywail]

A nice piece of memorabilia, I wasn't on the last train sadly. Still at school at the time. Although the frontage was saved its a shame the train shed wasn't repurposed, such as they did at Manchester Central

[@eddherring4972]

8:23 my only memory of inside Exchange, mother having brought us there on the way to Formby, she had no idea Exchange had closed or that Moorfields had been built, she thought she’d brought us all the way from Bishop’s Stortford (next to Stansted Airport) and we’d have to turn around and go back home. It would have been around 1979, I was born in 1973, luckily my early years are very clear in my memory. I remember sitting in my high chair and I remember I first became aware of time between birthdays when I thought that it seemed I’d been three for a very long time. Unfortunately I can’t remember what I did @ weeks ago though!

[@Merseywail]

Good job she found Moorfields

[@TheDaf95xf]

Good morning buddy. That was really interesting 👍🏻 I was very lucky 🍀 as my late Dad was a train enthusiast and he took me round on the train and we managed a Liverpool Exchange to Southport ride before it closed 😢 I can just about remember when we pulled out on the electric train a black 5 was along side with a Blackpool service 😊 Happy days 👍🏻

[@Merseywail]

You were lucky, I don't remember steam at exchange. Only the diesel & electric services

[@jota1221]

Great vid. I remember getting the train into Exchange when I was little from Bootle Oriel Rd. I recall strange little 3 wheel trucks bombing about everywhere.

[@Merseywail]

Thanks. I would imagine the trucks would be for the parcels traffic. At least when it was still a mainline station. At the end it was only local trains

[@merseydave1]

Thanks for this ... very interesting as I am from the south of Liverpool I had no need to use the station. When it closed I was 12 ... my mum and dad spoke highly of Exchange and in the early 1990s my dad in his retierment years done some core of commisioneeres work in the building that kept the frontage.

[@Merseywail]

Thanks. It's good they kept they facade. They could have replaced it with a faceless modern office block

[@borderlands6606]

Liverpool Exchange was the pattern for mainline stations all over the midlands and north. Post-war boom, rapid decline in users with the private motor car, dereliction and demolition. You could argue too many were built by speculators chasing traffic numbers that were brief at best, but it doesn't diminish the optimism with which they opened or regret at their passing.

[@Merseywail]

It's a pattern repeated right across the country. There were many railways providing services between the same city's but via different routes. It's a shame the post war boom didn't last & railways declined. Lots of those routes would be invaluable now

[@borderlands6606]

@@Merseywail Towns and villages between those duplicated destinations generally had no alternative, of course. The Waverley route in the Borders is a prime example. Some say closing the line effectively killed the Borders as a viable economic region.

[@donnagray9579]

This is real archaeology

[@Merseywail]

Thank you

[@flyingcod14]

Good video, be good to see one about the old Liverpool Central.

[@Merseywail]

Thanks, I will no doubt be doing one on central in due course.

[@eddherring4972]

All I can remember of Exchange before it became offices was travelling up from Bishop’s Stortford to see Grandma in Formby it must have been around the late 70’s I think so I would have been about 6 or younger. We got a cab from Lime Street to Exchange, apparently the cab driver looked at my mother a bit funny, like ‘are you sure?’ We walked in through the front and I remember seeing no railway tracks, just a double decker bus. We walked to Moorfields and got the train to Formby. I always looked out for the old viaducts when the train climbed out of the tunnel.

[@Merseywail]

Oops, I take it had closed by then. Its a shame about Moorfields being up in the air like that. It could have looked far better, city planers!!

[@thomascarroll9556]

The cab driver knew you could have just gone down in a lift from Lime Street Mainline to Lime Street Low Level to get the train to Formby (Southport).

[@eddherring4972]

@@thomascarroll9556 yes you’re almost certainly right, although there was a period when we had to walk to Central because Lime Street was not in use but I’m fairly certain that was after Exchange was closed. Being so young it’s difficult to date things but the memories are clear as if it was yesterday. I don’t even know if Exchange had a low level station or whether it had to be a walk from Moorfields. Or if Moorfields replaced Exchange....

[@thomascarroll9556]

@@eddherring4972 I commuted from Freshfield to Exchange from June 1974 to some time in 1976 when I moved to New Brighton, and don’t recall exactly when Exchange closed. I’m unaware that there was an underground at Exchange or any walkway. If there had have been I’m sure my father would have mentioned it as he worked at Manchester London Road (now Piccadilly) underground (LMS goods) station (as a clerk) from 1936 until he was called up in 1939, he was in the Royal Engineers so learnt about Railway operations including signalling. He did go back to the LMS after the war but in 1946\47 he went to Edge Hill College to train as a teacher, but he always maintained an interest in railways. I recall the express trains Freshfield/Formby/Hightown/Hall Road/Waterloo/Exchange in 15m and the two hourly diesel service to Lime Street.

[@eddherring4972]

@@thomascarroll9556 wow that’s so interesting. My mother remembers the expresses as well and the diesels to Edge Hill, she grew up in College Avenue Formby and went to school in Berkdale, my Grandpa commuted to the docks and worked next to the Liver Building. Moorfields is a minute’s walk from Exchange so that’s why I’m not sure whether it replaced Exchange or served it.

[@catt2000uk]

Than you, I remember going from here to Southport before the underground Northen Live.

[@Merseywail]

It's sad it's gone, but the underground did turn round the falling passenger numbers. Just a shame the train shed wasn't repurposed

[@hqhq4611]

Sad to hear that the station was closed and the train sheds demolishes. I lived in nearby Formby in '76-'77 and took the train into Liverpool often. Even in it's neglected state in it's last year the station was quite impressive. Arriving at a station of that magnitude let you know that you had arrived at a place of importance, arriving at the new station below ground must be so anticlimactic by comparison.

[@hqhq4611]

The power plant at 3:48 -- do you know if that was between Hightown and Formby?

[@Merseywail]

The new station is a architectural mess. Unfortunately that's down to the city council & their failed walkway scheme. If things had been done now the train shed would have been repurposed & the underground entrance incorporated into it. It would have made a great exhibition space for example. But the council wanted to redevelop the site. Unfortunately that redevelopment didn't happen apart from the office block added to the station facade

[@Merseywail]

@@hqhq4611 yes it was . It was located alongside the River Alt. A housing estate now occupies the site

[@hqhq4611]

@@Merseywail Thanks, I remember it. It was still there in '77.

[@ianhelps3749]

Only saw Exchange station once in the mid 1970s . We had come to Liverpool on a train spotting trip, spent most of the time at Lime Street, but we walked to Exchange to see the Southport emus. Also I noticed on the map at 7.05 there was a proposed route from the new Central low level to Edge Hill via a new University station. Do you know if that could still be built?

[@Merseywail]

Thanks for the comment, glad it brought back memories. The line you mentioned is known as the Edge Hill spur. Although it wasn't built at the time, short header tunnels were built in anticipation of getting approval. The electrics would have run as far as Broad Green were the line would have split to form two outer loops. The loops would have used the old Cheshire lines committee route. Although it's unlikely to ever be built now.

[@johnburns4017]

@@Merseywail Over the years there has been a number of proposals to build the spur. One reason is to release platforms at Lime St.

[@Merseywail]

@@johnburns4017 it does pop up now and again. Maybe one day

[@johnburns4017]

@@Merseywail As the city centre becomes more dense with surface vehicle traffic being discourage, and NPR and HS2 coming to the city operating out of Lime St, opening the Wapping Tunnel taking all local trains underground, and eliminating the east of the city's rail disconnect, it may be sooner than you think. Space will be needed at Lime St to make it long haul/HS2/NPR only. An expensive underground burrowing junction was built south of Central for the Edge Hill Spur, which was not used. If it was overground on concrete flyovers it would be in sight with people demanding it be used. Out of sight, out of mind. Since opening, Merseyrail has only had improvements on its peripheries. Apart from the proposed Baltic Station, there has been nothing in or near the city centre. Opening the Wapping Tunnel to Edge Hill, and removing the concrete wall in the stock interchange tunnel from Central to James St, a east-west crossrail can be created - Wirral to Wigan-St.Helens.

[@andyarmstrong1175]

Nice one 👍

[@Merseywail]

Thanks

[@lokiop345]

Very informative 👏

[@Merseywail]

Thank you. The history of the electric lines on Merseyside has been largely neglected, hopefully I can address that

[@craighughes7103]

Lovely music

[@Merseywail]

It's all from KZbins own audio library. Free to use & no copyright issues

[@jameslavery1069]

I don't know why this wasn't converted into Moorfields underground station!

[@Merseywail]

Basically it was all part of a grand city centre plan of which Merseyrail was a part. The closure of Exchange was supposed to release the station area for redevelopment mostly office space. The economic downturn of the city put paid to the plans. And the area was just used as a car park. If you ever come across a copy of the Shankland plan it's all in there.

[@thomascarroll9556]

Probably to do with being able to leave Exchange in service whilst the Link Line (Moorfields to Central) was constructed,

[@philconnor9147]

I used to travel to exchange station everyday from kirkdale Station. In the late 60s.thise old electric trains were far better than the rolling stock. Today.

[@Merseywail]

The old electrics were nice units. Very comfy seats and windows that lined up with them. Luckily one of these old trains still survives

[@uingaeoc3905]

Moorfields entrance: I am sure Merseywail will know - but do the descending escalators actually start at Street level or is it one descent from the First Floor to the platform areas? Surely demolishing the upper levels to be replaced by offices or apartments can create a more convenient entrance with little disruption?

[@Merseywail]

The escalators start at 1st floor level. They descend to a cross passageway, this also connects to the old hall st exit. To get to the northern line platforms theret are stairs or a lift. To go down to the Wirral line it's a short escalator from this cross passage down to another passage that links to the northern line. Then one final long escalator to the Wirral platform. Hope that makes sense

[@AndrewG1989]

So Liverpool have had another station before Lime Street is its current and only terminus station that serves Liverpool.

[@jackeaton9561]

A sad tale

[@Merseywail]

It is. It's replacement built at first floor level is a disgrace

[@flippop101]

Great video, but the commentary difficult to understand.

[@Merseywail]

It's has been mentioned, unfortunately my voice is something am stuck with lol. It's why I don't do the voiceovers anymore

[@laurenceskinnerton73]

Liverpool Exchange was a nice station,it would be nice to restore it to working order.

[@Merseywail]

Whilst not impossible it's unlikely to happen. The station shed would have to be rebuilt as well as the approach viaducts. It's location away from the main centre of Liverpool was always a issue, one of the main reasons for diverting underground & through to Liverpool Central

[@thepofmeister]

At some point, baboons took over and junked so much of our once great(er) city.

[@Merseywail]

There have certainly been some dubious decisions over the years. Although falling passenger numbers using exchange were turned round by the loop & link underground. It's criminal that the station buildings at exchange weren't repurposed. It would have made an excellent indoor exhibition centre. As what happened to Manchester Central. Instead they just flattened it