Guest Blog by Martyn Hilbert
On the damp evening of Saturday 5th September 1964, the last electric train ran from Southport to Crossens and back, bringing to a close of sixty years of electric trains services along the three mile route through the suburbs of Southport serving the stations at St Lukes, Meols Cop, Hesketh Park, Churchtown and Crossens.
At the time the event was somewhat overshadowed by the closure of the Southport to Preston line (over which the electrics ran to and from Crossens) the following day on 6th September as part of the ‘Beeching Axe’.
The final electric train to carry passengers was the 22.10 from Crossens formed by a three-coach Class 502 electric multiple unit.
Had the line survived, it would now be part of the well-patronised Merseyrail Northern Line and would have been a frequent and green way of getting to and from Southport.
In the sixty years since closure, piecemeal redevelopment along where the railway once ran, has ensured that trains will never run again between Southport and Crossens.
Crossens Electric – Southport’s Lost Electric Railway
To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the closure the ‘Class 502 Preservation Trust’ has compiled a small 48 page book -‘Crossens Electrics – Southport’s Lost Electric Railway’, that features many vintage scenes, maps and ephemera of the line, including how the route looks today.
The Trust are custodians of the sole surviving Class 502 train that was once part of the National Collection, and the pair of coaches that are preserved and undergoing restoration, formed part of the very last electric train to run from Southport to Crossens and back on 5th September 1964.
The book is available from the ‘Class 502 Preservation Trust’ via the website and Facebook pages via the links below
https://www.facebook.com/502group/
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