SPECIAL celebrations will mark the 150th birthday of Ellesmere Port and Little Sutton train stations.
On July 6, the anniversary of the stations and the rail line between Hooton and Helsby, will see Mayor of Ellesmere Port, Bob Crompton, welcomed to Ellesmere Port Station.
The exact celebration day was July 1, but on July 6 there will be an open day at the station as well as a special train running along the line.
The train leaves Liverpool Lime Street at 9.42am and offers an opportunity to travel the whole line from Hooton to Helsby on one train and to cross the Halton Curve on the return journey.
The train calls at Ellesmere Port at 10.47am, 12.20pm and departs back to Liverpool at 1.17pm.
At Ellesmere Port Station between noon and 1pm, the Mersey Morris Men will be performing and the itravelsmart Team will be on hand to encourage people to use public transport and also offer free security chipping for bikes.
Mayor Crompton said: “I am looking forward to welcoming visitors to Ellesmere Port Station and hope that they will join the celebrations at the station and on the special train.
“We should be proud of our stations and railway line celebrating 150 years in the same year that the Beeching report was 50 years old.”
A vintage bus service and a new Stagecoach bus will also operate between Helsby and Ellesmere Port in the afternoon; from Helsby at 1.35pm, 2.05pm, 3pm and 4.30pm; and from Ellesmere Port at 1pm, 1.25pm, 2.15pm and 2.45pm. Times are provisional and a donation is requested.
To mark the day there is free entry to the National Waterways Museum on presentation of a Hooton Helsby Day Ranger ticket valid on July 6.
Tickets for the special train – Hooton Helsby 150 Day Ranger tickets – can be purchased at any staffed Northern or Merseyrail station from July 1. The cost is £10 for adults and £5 for children.
