The Edge Hill Engine Station under Scheduled Monument Status

August 2022 saw the Edge Hill Engine Station in Liverpool awarded Scheduled Monument Status. This video discusses why

[@jagc1969]

Very interesting. Glad to see that they are going to pay this place the attention it deserves.

[@davids8449]

They are only keeping the little Tommy Happy so they can carry on with the endless redevelopment schemes

[@stephensmith4480]

Amazing that it has been granted this well deserved status. As a Railwayman of 33 years, I worked at Edge hill for many of them, in fact my last visit was to the Wapping, to run Trains around, due to engineerind diversions, only a few months ago. We had a cabin over in Tuebrook sidings, were I was based back in the day. Victoria Tunnel is also another important piece of our local Railway history. The Gong warning system is still in place, half way down in the tunnel and for years they just had an old Brake van down there, acting as a stop block, but that got destroyed when a stone train went the wrong way and ended up derailed deep down in the tunnel about 25 or so years ago during a shunt move.

[@Tonydevon1]

Long before your time, my Grandfather Robert Netherwood , from 14 till 65 worked his way up to Steam Train Driver. He had 6 daughters , lived in Woodbine Close and then Statton Road . I will put a picture on .

[@stephensmith4480]

@@Tonydevon1 Nice one my friend. I saw an ordinance survey map of Edge Hill and the old Grid Iron and on the reverse was a list of the Cencus. It listed all the occupants of the surrounding streets along with their occupation. I would say that 95% of them worked on the Railway.

[@maybesomeday2596]

Outstanding. So much historical railway infrastructure has been lost over time…it warms the heart to discover such an important site shall be preserved and eventually restored.

[@tardismole]

I fell in love with this place. It's the birthplace of modern British life. I am so pleased that it's been given the respect and protection it deserves.

[@garryowen6671]

Fantastic, I can not wait to visit this site as and when we can in the future.

[@cyprusman5908]

The last time I was at Edge Hill railway station and the steam locomotive sheds was in 1966 aged 14 ! I did a week tour of the Liverpool MPD's, Speke MPD was full of steam locomotives. Happy days. So glad they are going to save this piece of history.

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

Edge Hill looks very different now.

[@simonuden8450]

This is such amazingly good news. I am from the Midlands but I visited Liverpool last year and made a stop on the way out of the city to look over the bridge parapet into the cutting. I was aware of how overgrown it had become from the urban explorer videos I'd seen on KZbin, but it still didn't make sense to me how such a valuable asset to the city of Liverpool could be overlooked for so long, especially when compared to the amount of interest generated by the Fab Four who, frankly, were a blip in its history in comparison. I hope Network Rail do justice to its importance.

[@chrisw4567]

Great news! Looking forward to seeing it restored.

[@tonywise198]

To this rail enthusiast, a picture (old or new), of this cutting is as instantly recognisable as Stonehenge or the Pyramids. Well deserved of Scheduled Monument Status. Well done to the tenacity of the Trust.

[@simongee8928]

One advantage that the UK had in being the first in railway development was that many unforseen technical issues were dealt with by some surprising answers as no-one else had any experience in this area. The Edge Hill Station is a typical example if such ingenuity.

[@alanmolyneux5957]

Fantastic news. As a Merseyside (Rainhill) based rail enthusiast I am very proud of our railway history and this is great to hear. A big well done to all involved.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

Imagine the MILLIONS of people who passed through the Wapping tunnel over the period of 140 years to make the journey from the "old world" to the "new" one... via RIverside station at the Pier Head.... and the untold hundreds of thousands of US troops who passed through it the other way during TWO world wars. Dilapidated and largely unloved for most of its life, but a site of IMMEASURABLE significance to modern world history. Congratulations to the team for their persistence, passion and energy has at long last been rewarded !!! Enjoy your well deserved moment of glory in the spotlight..... the real work now begins. WELL DONE !!!

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

Not quite, the Wapping Tunnel was never for passengers, that was the Victoria & Waterloo Tunnel that went to the Riverside station. We would love to see the V&W reused. You could branch off into Lime Street as well as new stations for the Knowledge Quarter, Byron Street (JMU, Museums) as well as back down to the waterfront.

[@garysimpson3900]

Fascinating. I have watched several articles on this historic place on KZbin & would love to visit when it is open to the public again.

[@MartinBrenner]

Excellent! Heard of this first from Martin Zero on his excellent exploration channel. I'm fascinated by the engineering works of the early railway history. An interesting "zero emission" solution.

[@brickleyyard4966]

I'd like to see it restored to working order and a demonstration of what would have gone on back in the 1830s

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

Alas, we cannot do that, due to the Monument status. We are looking at Augmented Reality to bring it to life.

[@peebee143]

Wow! Well done on the Ancient Monument status and best of luck with the project.

[@robertgaudry2826]

I thank you for this présentation. Images are impressive and nearly strange, bearing si much of ancient Times. I read a Book on the enormous work donne by the navvies to have the cuttings done in the first times of railways.

[@wavesnbikes]

Clicked because thumbnail gave me "Henry's Tunnel" vibes. Was amazed with what I learned. Kudos!

[@johnbrown9092]

Very interesting video and wonderful news that this is happening. Back in the day my Grandfather operated the overhead crane in Park Lane Goods Depot at the end of the tunnel lifting materials,containers etc from rail wagons. As a retired Network Rail Project Engineer (Track) I obviously have found this extremely interesting. Thanks. 😊

[@helge.]

That’s the event horizon of human kinds modern times. So glad to see it taken care of. Greetings from Berlin!

[@jasonsyers3948]

Great video & many congratulations getting scheduled monument status, job well done! Such a great story to tell on the rope work & winding system. We take our railway heritage for granted because the current system is broken but this illustrates we once led the world in railway engineering fantastic keep up the great work 👍

[@Froobyone]

Fascinating and a triumph for railway history.

[@thestarlightalchemist7333]

This is excellent news, and I'm not at all surprised Anthony Dawson is in on this project. Greetings from Canada!

[@wollyxl]

This is fantastic news. I can't wait to see it return to what it was. Maybe I can be involved living local.

[@danielholden-storey5107]

Fascinating, thank-you for making this video.

[@KiwiGraggle]

Love these old relics left from an era when Britain had something going for it. Same here in SE Welsh valleys, lots of old railway lines, abandoned stations, I love it, really love riding along them and imagining what it was like back in them days.

[@SpoonyMcSpoonface]

In his book Signalman by M Burke he describes the Wapping tunnel as having a separate dead end tunnel before the bottom exit. This was to catch any run away vehicles. Wagons going down the tunnel had special brake vans,they were bought to a stand at a signal and the person on the brake van rang a bell to indicate the wagons had stopped safely. The points would be changed and the train allowed to proceed to Wapping. If the train hadn’t stopped it would have ended up in the dead end tunnel.

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

There is no side tunnel in the Wapping. There is an area where the tunnel is wider, but we think this was just a bit of bad alignment between two sections. The way the Wapping operated was that the goods waggons freewheeled to the bottom using hand brakes to control descent. The Victoria Tunnel had a run-off at the Byrom Street cutting

[@martyn6792]

What a fascinating piece of history

[@GerardScroogeGoes]

I knew Edge Hill Station from the paintings in my railway history books. But I was appauled when I watches Martin Zero's look around episode on it and saw its deplorable state. How UN BRITSCH. I fully argree with the Scheduled status and hope it will now FINALLY get the right attention. This IS the birthplace of life as we know it today.

[@tango6nf477]

Its great news and about time too! It is high time this site was given some love. There must be some detailed aims and objectives for the restoration project but what these are not revealed in the video and it would be great to know.

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

Monument status prevents restoration or modification. We will have to find alternative methods of bringing it to life.

[@alanharwood1636]

Excellent news. This site is of the upmost importance in railway history and is long overdue for some care and attention.

[@StevensPaul]

Makes you proud. Damn proud 🥲😀🇬🇧👍. Hopefully it'll be smooth sailing for the Team going forward 👍

[@1936Studebaker]

So glad this has happened, countries like mine would kill for that type of history. If the foundations still exist for the two original stream engine towers it would be nice to see them rebuilt along with the arch if original plans still exists, I don't think it would take away from the site in any way as revealing the cable system after all that time didn't detract from the site overall, it just enhanced it and returned it to it's originally status.

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

That would not be possible, I am afraid. Mainly for the reason that ing the 1860s, the south wall of the cutting was cut back by around seven feet. So if an attempt was made to rebuild the arch, it would be seven feet away from the wall.

[@TLGvideos]

Great news! Can't wait to see how it progresses. 👍

[@barrie5852]

I know this is a technical point, but it was the first steam drawn passenger service. The world's first railway passenger service was the Swansea and Mumbles Railway that operated from 1804 till 1960. It was Initially horse drawn then steam and finally electric.

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

Yeah, the Swansea & Mumbles is the daddy of them all, then you get into adding criteria to filter results to get different answers. We tend to stick with "Modern" or "Inter-city" but then you are left to explain what both phrases actually mean. One of the Trusts desires is to always give credit where credit is due, because the L&MR is a culmination of all that came before.

[@melodymonger]

Fascinating 🙂, great news 👍. And greetings from 🇦🇺

[@glyno5594]

This is excellent news, I thought it was doomed to irrevocable deterioration

[@ELIJA40]

Wow! Excellent.

[@andrewpreston4127]

Thank you.

[@rez4405]

Such wonderful engendering

[@frankparsons1629]

Excellent result chaps.

[@dcarbs2979]

Looks that Thomas Tank episode when Henry gets bricked in.

[@buffplums]

Very exciting news

[@SteamCrane]

Wonderful video, but I'm viewing it a 0.25 speed because the images flip by so fast. Still a great video.

[@whyyoulidl]

Bagsie me to be first in line as volunteer to help clean up the site 😊

[@ChrisCanary]

Will it be restored with the arch and towers? Was it always a RR cut or was there a canal there first?

[@tracya4087]

i have the 9 ft sign from platform 4 in the back garden , regards from wigan , lancashire

[@simongee8928]

Interesting point being that with the restorations, with so many structural changes at Edge Hill, at what historical time frame will it be pitched - ?

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

There will not be a restoration. It now has to be preserved "as is" but that does not mean we cannot bring it to life.

[@simongee8928]

@@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway An excellent proposal. Good luck with the project. 🙂

[@furness804productions]

These guys were geniuses. A simple cheat that they made so monumental!

[@Jimyjames73]

Very good 🙂🚂🚂🚂

[@conradharcourt8263]

Just to make it clear: The owner of a Listed Building will need to get consent to make ANY changes to the building, NOT just structural changes. This may even include painting it a different colour. Anyone responsible for work done without consent is committing an offence which can result in imprisonment. The Historic England website gives detailed advice. If in doubt contact a competent professional advisor rather than serve time at his majesty's pleasure.

[@CycolacFan]

I smiled when he compared it to Stonehenge but he’s right, it really is that significant.

[@peterbumper2769]

Ok, I love trains and i find the story interesting. my problem with listing modern structures like this, is it even possible to retain this for the next 200 years? or will time simply win?

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

True, in a couple of spots, the softer sandstone has eroded, but there are also examples of 1847 grafitti, which is as clear as the day it was etched. Also, being 40 feet below ground level offers protection from the elements. I think we should be good for 500 years, if looked after.

[@dannycarter1966]

The approaches to Lime Street are almost beyond belief. All done by horse, cart and graft.

[@TheHandsomeman]

When we were kids, we walk to the end of this tunnel, with fire torches, its around a mile long.

[@caramelldansen2204]

It's a shame the Wapping tunnel isn't reused for traffic out from the old Speke station (or even a line out to the airport) through into Central; I imagine the tunnel might be at risk one day were it not to provide some kind of practical societal use. Then again, I'm willing to be wrong!

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

No, you are right. The big issue is that when the 1970 Hunts Cross line went in, it cut into the roof of the tunnel, reducing the clearance to around ten feet. Under which it would be impossible to get any form of rail vehicle, other than something used on the London mail underground. It could be a cycle route, but it is a 1 in 48 incline, so weeee all the way down, hard slog all the way back up. Even without that blockage, the tunnel is only 16 feet high, and the most recent survey did worry about clearance. The fact of the matter is, that if you want to make the Wapping functional, you have to destroy it. It was not made with the modern world in mind. You will at least have to dig down and destroy the unique endless rope system, which is now protected for the first ten meters at the top, and or you have to expand the bore of the whole tunnel, which again you cannot do with those protected ten meters. A tourist serving light railway to get people up to the cutting maybe the best use of it, along with a cycle lane for the brave.

[@caramelldansen2204]

@@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway If the Northern line cut into the tunnel, could the tunnel before that point not have a section of track connecting the two tunnels (or a tunnel parallel to the Northern line) to avoid the clearance issue, and allow access to Central? Just food for thought, I absolutely see and support the preservation point of view too.

[@Ichwillkeinenaliascheisyoutube]

I can`t wait to see it , when it is restored to good condition.....

[@TheGramophoneGirl]

Does this just mean they can remove the trees and grass? or can they make it safe where appropriate? or does it mean that they can reinstate the old steps and so on, whilst keeping it in keeping with it's original status? Will it always just be a ruin like an old castle or abbey?

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

It means maintaining the fabric of the site and not letting it deteriorate. But yes, it will remain like an old castle or Abbey. We can submit requests to the Department of culture to do work on it, but we could never rebuild the Moorish Arch or anything like that.

[@TheGramophoneGirl]

@@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway Ah, thanks. Still, that's good. It allows it to be tided up and stop it deteriorating further. I guess you could have static displays or similar in a way where they wouldn't change the fabric. I think it could so easily become a great tourist attraction - for all the reasons given in the video.

[@callmelazy-bx2bw]

nice comentery his voice sounds cool

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

That will make Paul blush. He hates the sound of his own voice. 😊

[@shopdog831]

They need to get the weeds out of the brickwork its caused a lot of damage to the structure.

[@keithtanner2806]

Not Planning Permission but Listed Building Consent.

[@martinmanifold2241]

They need to unfill the original crown street tunnel

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

That is a realistic option, and probably the best way to allow disabled access to the cutting.

[@machendave]

Did this working ever break into the tunnels of Williamson, “The Mole of Edgehill?”

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

No, that was the Lime Street Tunnel of 1835/6. The Wapping is further south than the Williamson works.

[@machendave]

@@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway Thanks for the reply.

[@normandunford5747]

They should get it re opened as fast as possible, the bloody roads are overcrowded. We need more railways.

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

The Wapping is too small and not suited for that work, and was scheduled to finally put the nails in the coffin of that plan. The Victoria Tunnel to the north of Edge Hill is far better suited to being reused, and the Trust fully supports bringing that tunnel back into use.

[@davids8449]

I use to go to Hadlow Railway station it was a lovely place built 1866 quite discontinued station..Now in 2023 it is bloody awful coffee is Being served on the platform with table's and chairs and almost being poured down the public's throat's with a funnel you cannot move with table and chairs all over the station...The station Toilet is now unisex sex ....when you talk to the people who maintain the station for the council and say they did not have unisex Toilets in 1866 and complain they just look at you and say we need the extra room for coffee ect.............. another example I would go with the family to a nice 17th century inn near Chester ( THE GOLDEN GROVE ) down a quiet lane the listing was taken off the inn demolished and now houses are their ... These are only two examples......

[@davepost1960]

Thomas and friends were real

[@trainrover]

...and it just might become one of the 1st tourist traps utilizing holograms (to recreate the cable towers, e.g.), mightn't it...

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

We are looking at Augmented Reality for this.

[@trainrover]

as long as it n'er lean toward cleptoparasitic Corporateria's Disneyesqueness...bravo! otherwise 🍸

[@volvos60bloke]

now that are brexit is fulley did we can look after are monument's better than ever afore.

[@oldwobble916]

Interesting, but why the irritating music while people are talking at the same time.

[@marioxerxescastelancastro8019]

Unused buildings are boring and doomed to end up ruined by the pass of time. If you want to keep them alive, put them back in use.

[@davids8449]

Unfortunately there is nothing left of britain in 2023.........your heart is in the right place....but may as well fill it in and build a Happy Eater Restaurant........ britain is finished a long time ago

[@billyedwards6941]

Imagine if the Americans invented the railways , edge hill would be sacred with uniformed staff and a visitor centre and restaurant, but what do our chiefs do in England ? Sweet fa , especially up in the north

[@uingaeoc3905]

This route needs repurposing for modern transport needs. Crucial for expansion of Merseyrail. into the Wapping Tunnel.

[@TrumpetGuy26]

I heard something about Merseyrail wanting to use it but that was a while ago, honestly I’d rather it just be preserved or something. I’d love to go down there one day

[@uingaeoc3905]

@@TrumpetGuy26 It is 'being preserved' as you suggest and therefore 'safeguarded' so it could be reutilised as infrastructure for Merseyrail expansion then it must be. that is the very best form of 'preservation'.

[@gregbolitho9775]

The wheels of Governement grind so slow, you can walk faster.

[@kpdvw]

so easy to let things go to hell and then with huge expense restore/rebuild them.....

[@bleulander7364]

The same as Stonehenge, I think that bloke has been smoking to much Rastafarian Old Holborn

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

I think you underestimate the impact railway systems have had on the world and modern civilisation as you know it. Just because it's not Angkor Wat or the Pyramids doesn't make it less important, even if its not been previously recognised as of such historical importance, and treated like a council tip. Well done to the team of volunteers and experts who've fought and fought for recognition of the site. Congratulations.

[@robertgaudry2826]

Please read so instead of si, done instead of donne, etc...

[@bewseybill3691]

Why do you have to play (music) over people who are trying to speak. Very irritating!

[@liverpoolandmanchesterrailway]

That is the Network Rail video we tacked on the end, we did not use any music.