Britain >Merseyside >St Helens Central Thatto Heath Garswood

St Helens Central

CRS Code SNH
Collected date 02/07/13

St Helens Central sign

In St Helens did Network Rail a stately pleasure doughnut decree. So although it was very wet, arriving at the 2007-built modern station was a pleasure. The front of the station building:

St Helens Central front

A side view of the front of the station building:

St Helens Central side

An advert for the new station building, in which the EU apparently had a hand:

St Helens Central advert

A poster about the history of the station:

St Helens Central poster

Inside the station building, to the left of the central tower:

St Helens Central waiting area

Inside the waiting area, a very handsome penguin:

St Helens Central penguin

Plaques in the station building:

This glass opening plaque was rescued following demolition of the last station in 2006 and repaired as a reminder of the proud industrial heritage of St Helens. The use of 12 different types of glass in the 1961 station paid tribute to the industry for which St Helens is famous. The plaque is made from Vitrolite, an opauq, yet often vividly coloured glass made by Pilkingtons between 1932-1968. It was primarily used for internal and external tiling and facades of buildings from the 1920s to 1950s and was particularly associated with the art deco movement. Considerable publicity was gained for the new product when it was used to line the walls of the Mersey Tunnel opened in 1934. Vitrolite is no longer manufactured anywhere in the world. / THIS STATION WAS RECONSTRUCTED IN 1961 AND OPENED OFFICIALLY BY SIR HARRY PILKINGTON CHAIRMAN OF PILKINGTON BROTHERS LIMITED ON NOVEMBER 17th OF THAT YEAR / St Helens Central Station Officially opened on 3 December 2007 by The Rt. Hon Rosie Winterton MP Minister of State for Transport and Councillor Mark Dowd OBE Chair of Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority.

The National Rail logo seen from inside:

St Helens Central withiel

Steps and a lift lead up to the first floor, for access to the footbridge and a coffee shop:

St Helens Central end of footbridge

The coffee shop:

St Helens Central balcony

The rear of the station building from the footbridge:

St Helens Central rear

The station building backs onto platform 1. Looking north along the platform:

St Helens Central platform 1 looking north

On platform 1, one of the things St Helens Central is for:

St Helens Central for Shopping Centre and World of Glass

At the northern end of platform 1, looking south at the station buildings:

St Helens Central platform 1 looking south

At the northern end of platform 1, looking north at the signalbox:

St Helens Central signalbox

At the southern end of platform 1, looking south along the line, where a defunct branch heads towards St Helens Junction:

St Helens Central looking south

Platform 2's building seen from platform 1. The curve of the steps is a continuation of the curve of the building on platform 1:

St Helens Central platform 2 building

Platform 2 has a different idea of what St Helens Central is for:

St Helens Central for the North West Museum of Road Transport

All photographs are © Alexandra Lanes You may reproduce them anywhere for any purpose. Coastline maps are reproduced from Ordnance Survey map data by permission of the Ordnance Survey © Crown copyright 2001