View source for Liverpool Exchange railway station

{{Short description|Disused railway station in Liverpool, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox station
| name                = Liverpool Exchange
| other_name          = Liverpool Tithebarn Street
| status              = Disused
| image               = Liverpool Exchange Station 2019.jpg
| borough             = [[Tithebarn Street]], [[Liverpool]], [[Merseyside]],
| country             = England
| coordinates         = {{coord|53.4093|-2.9907|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name           = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|Grid reference]]
| grid_position       = {{gbmapscaled|SJ343908|25|SJ343908}}
| platforms           = 10
| original            = [[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]] and [[East Lancashire Railway 1844-1859|East Lancashire Railway]]
| pregroup            = Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
| postgroup           = [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]]
| years               = {{start date|1850|05|13|df=yes}}
| events              = Station opened 
| years2              = 13 August 1859
| events2             = Renamed ''Liverpool Exchange''
| years3              = 2 July 1888
| events3             = Station rebuilt
| years4              = {{end date|1977|04|29|df=y}}
| events4             = Station closed
}}

'''Liverpool Exchange''' was a railway station located in the city centre of [[Liverpool]], England. Of the four terminus stations in the city, Exchange was the only not accessed via a tunnel.

The station was damaged during [[World War II]] and lost a proportion of the trainshed roof, which was never rebuilt. The station's long-distance services were switched to {{rws|Liverpool Lime Street}} in the 1960s, and, as a terminus, the station became redundant in the late 1970s, when its remaining local services switched to the newly opened [[Merseyrail]] tunnels under Liverpool city centre. It was closed in 1977, being replaced by the new {{rws|Moorfields}} underground station nearby.

==First station==
[[File:Tithebarn Street station, Liverpool.jpg|thumb|Tithebarn Street as it was between opening in 1850 and 1859]]

The grandly-appointed station was jointly owned and operated by the [[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]] (L&YR) and [[East Lancashire Railway 1844-1859|East Lancashire Railway]] (ELR), it opened on 13 May 1850, replacing an earlier temporary terminus at {{rws|Liverpool Great Howard Street||Liverpool Great Howard Street/Liverpool Borough Gaol}} a half-mile (0.8&nbsp;km) further out of Liverpool.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|p=33}}{{sfn|Quick|2023|p=285}} On opening it was described as being second in architectural effect to none in Liverpool, yet it has been completed in the short space of six months.<ref name="ILN"/>

The first section of the extension involved crossing the concurrently being built [[London and North Western Railway]] (L&NWR) Waterloo goods line which emerged from Waterloo tunnel immediately south of {{rws|Liverpool Great Howard Street||Liverpool Great Howard Street/Liverpool Borough Gaol}}. To span the {{abbr|L&NWR|London and North Western Railway}} branch [[John Hawkshaw]], the chief engineer of the {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}},{{sfn|Marshall|1978|p=108}} designed two bridges, one, described in the Illustrated London News as being ''of large span and exquisite workmanship'' was a wedge-shaped brick arch {{convert|135|ft|abbr=on}} wide at the north end and {{convert|200|ft|abbr=on}} wide at the south end, on a level with the passenger station and about {{convert|60|ft|abbr=on}} above the {{abbr|L&NWR|London and North Western Railway}} lines.{{sfn|Beaumont|2015|p=43}}<ref name="ILN">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=New Railway Station, Tithebarn-Street, Liverpool. |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0001578/18500504/015/0003
 |newspaper=Illustrated London News  |date=4 May 1850 |access-date=1 Jun 2024 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The other bridge was a large bridge close to the mouth of the {{abbr|L&NWR|London and North Western Railway}} Waterloo tunnel, this comprised seventeen cast-iron arched girders and had a span of {{convert|150|ft|abbr=on}} at ground level.{{sfn|Beaumont|2015|p=43}}

The station had two names, as did its predecessor, because the joint owners could not agree on a name. The {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}} named the station '''Liverpool Exchange Station''' with the {{abbr|ELR|East Lancashire Railway}} naming the station '''Liverpool Tithebarn Street'''.{{sfn|Welbourn|2003|p=79}}

The lines into the station were carried on a brick-built viaduct with several bridges over roads and the [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]], the lines were {{convert|25|ft|abbr=on}} above  Tithebarn Street and the station itself rose to {{convert|90|ft|abbr=on}} above the street so that it had to be approached by an inclined road, it was fronted by a balustraded terrace approached from below by an ornamental stairway.{{sfn|Biddle|1986|p=61}}{{sfn|Marshall|1969|p=139}}<ref name="OS1864">{{cite map |title=Liverpool Sheet 24 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/229948128 |orig-year=1850 |year=1864 |scale=1:1056 |publisher=Ordnance Survey }}</ref>

The main two-storey building façade facing onto Tithebarn Street was {{convert|117|ft|abbr=on}} long with two single-storey wings at right-angles each {{convert|193|ft|abbr=on}} long, the {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}} occupying the western (Bixteth Street) side of the station and the {{abbr|ELR|East Lancashire Railway}} having the eastern (Key Street) side. Each company had completely separate facilities with the exception that there was only one arrival platform which was located on the extreme eastern side. The {{abbr|ELR|East Lancashire Railway}} were not happy about this arrangement as it meant {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}} trains shunting across their side of the station to get to their own side often causing delays to {{abbr|ELR|East Lancashire Railway}} trains.{{sfn|Rush|1983|pp=23–24}}

Each side of the station had booking offices, refreshment rooms, waiting rooms etc. each company having two departure platforms covered by iron and glass roofs designed and built by [[Charles Fox (engineer, born 1810)|Fox, Henderson & Co]].{{sfn|Biddle|1986|p=132}} There was a carriage shed and an engine shed with a turntable at the station approaches.{{sfn|Rush|1983|pp=23–24}}

From 1 October 1850, trains of the [[Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway]] (LC&SR), which was operated on their behalf by the {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}}, began to run into Exchange/Tithebarn Street station, so now there were three companies using the terminus. The {{abbr|LC&SR|Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway}} became part of the {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}} on 14 June 1855.{{sfn|Marshall|1969|pp=153–154}} In all there were about 28 arrivals and departures each working day.{{sfn|Bradshaw|1855|loc=tables 103, 107 & 110}}

On 13 August 1859, the {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}} absorbed the {{abbr|ELR|East Lancashire Railway}}, from which date the name of the station was '''Liverpool Exchange''' and from then it was worked as a single station of five platforms.{{sfn|Grant|2017|p=173}}{{sfn|Wright|2008|pp=33–34}}

==Second station==
By the 1870s, the five platform station was struggling to cope with demand, in 1877 for example, there were 105 working day arrivals and departures, it became urgent to expand the station capacity.{{sfn|Bradshaw|1877|loc=tables 256, 262, 264 & 266}}{{sfn|Pixton|2008|p=2}}

Initially the {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}} sought to replace the station at the same height above street level, the lines still had to clear the canal and local streets. An act of Parliament{{which|date=August 2024}} giving approval was granted in 1875 and due to the difficulties in acquiring land in such a built-up area the powers were renewed in 1879. The company at this point decided to hold a design competition for the new station which attracted forty three entrants, the winner of which, John West, was announced on 3 August 1881. Detailed specifications were drawn up and tenders invited in early 1882, at which point a plan was submitted to build a station at street level.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|pp=79–81}} In July 1882 the company chief engineer, Sturges Meek, was asked to prepare new drawings for the station, and he instructed the newly-appointed company architect, Henry Shelmerdine, to design it and to include a hotel.{{sfn|Biddle|1986|p=148}}

At the same time, Liverpool Corporation was concerned about the poor road system in the area, the council, railway and canal company came together and agreed to fill in Clarke's Basin at the end of the canal, building a new basin and warehouse for the canal company, allowing the road system to be improved by extending Pall Mall over part of the infill with some of the remaining land sold to the L&YR to enable a lower level approach and an expanded, rebuilt, station.{{efn|Clarke & Hewitt (1992) note "There were several good reasons for the Canal Company’s agreement: despite modernisation, many of their facilities were old-fashioned; their finances were always tight; and their household coal trade, much of which used the western side of the basin, was declining as railways opened small coal yards in the suburbs. The scheme would provide them with modern warehouses, equal to any the railways owned, while the land released would give them a regular source of income from rents or sales."{{sfn|Clarke|Hewitt|1992|p=31}}}}{{sfn|Marshall|1970|pp=79–81}}{{sfn|Clarke|Hewitt|1992|p=30}}

New powers were obtained in 1882 and 1883 to build the station at street level and lower the approach lines, the approaches were improved by building of a new four-track loop line which avoided {{rws|Great Howard Street||Great Howard Street goods station}} and the awkward bends on the approach to the original station resulting from the imposed conditions to avoid the Borough gaol which had since been demolished.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|pp=82–84}}

The new station was built in two halves, the first half accessed by the new loop line was opened on 12 December 1886 and the 1850 station closed and demolished to provide the space for the second half of the new station. Two platforms of which opened on 23 February 1888 and the remainder on 2 July 1888.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|pp=82–84}}

There were ten platform faces each about {{convert|200|yd|abbr=on}} long, platform 1 was at the eastern (Pall Mall) side of the station and was slightly shorter than the others.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|p=84}}{{sfn|Christiansen|1995|p=22}} The platforms were protected by four longitudinal glazed gabled roofs, initially there were all the same length, the  ones over platforms 1 to 5, for the longer distance services, survived until closure but the roofs over platforms 6 to 10 were shortened after being damaged during [[World War II]], the roof work was completed in 1954.<ref name="RWL"/>{{sfn|Pixton|2008|p=5}}{{sfn|Wilkinson|1999|p=36, 1930s photograph}}

Trains were controlled from two signal boxes, box 'A' in the centre of the station approach lines and box 'B' in an elevated position above the carriage sidings adjacent to Pall Mall.{{sfn|Pixton|2008|pp=3 & 9}}

There were two turntables. One {{convert|50|ft|abbr=on}} long between the approaches to platforms 3 and 4 where there was enough space as an access roadway off Pall Mall running between those platforms.{{sfn|Pixton|2008|pp=4 & 6}} The other served the western side of the station (the higher numbered platforms), it was used less after electric trains began operating as they did not require turning.{{sfn|Pixton|2008|p=8}}

The front portion of the station looking out onto Tithebarn Street contained the hotel and railway offices, it was separated from the platforms by a carriage concourse, later a cab road, with its own glazed roof that had an entrance on Pall Mall.{{sfn|Pixton|2008|p=4}}

Beyond the carriage concourse was a circulating area containing several booking offices (General, local, season tickets etc.), parcels offices (inbound and outbound) various waiting rooms and conveniences, refreshment rooms (first class tea room and third class refreshments), a telegraph office and the stationmaster's office.{{sfn|Christiansen|1995|p=22}}

There was a subway connecting the platforms about half-way down their length which meant that passengers connecting between services did not need to go through the ticket barriers twice to change trains.{{sfn|Pixton|2008|p=5}}

In 1886, there were 216 trains in and out of the station daily rising to over 300 by 1928.{{sfn|Pixton|2008|p=9}} In 1895, trains departed to a wide variety of destinations including {{rws|Manchester Victoria}}, {{rws|Southport}} (via {{rws|Burscough Junction}} and via {{rws|Waterloo|Merseyside|Waterloo}}), {{rws|Ormskirk}}, {{rws|Blackpool Talbot Road}}, {{rws|Leeds Central}}, {{rws|York}}, {{rws|Newcastle}}, {{rws|Bradford Exchange}}, {{rws|Bacup}}, {{rws|Edinburgh Princes Street}}, {{rws|Glasgow Central}}, {{rws|Bury Knowsley Street}}, {{rws|Bury Bolton Street}}, {{rws|Colne}}, {{rws|Blackburn}}, {{rws|Accrington}} (some of the services to Blackburn and Accrington involved a [[slip coach]]).{{sfn|Bradshaw|2011|loc=tables 478, 496, 508, 514 & 520}}

The [[Midland Railway]] (MR) started using the station on 1 August 1888 to provide services to {{rws|Glasgow St Enoch}} and {{rws|Edinburgh Waverley}} via {{rws|Blackburn}}, {{rws|Hellifield}} and {{rws|Carlisle}}.{{sfn|Stretton|1901|p=218}}

In 1960, loudspeakers were introduced; there were 46, in nine groups, with an announcing room over the left-luggage office and auxiliary microphones positioned in the inspector's office on platform 7. There were four speakers on the concourse, each in multiple units of six.<ref name="RWL"/>

{{Disused Rail Start}}
{{rail line|previous=[[Sandhills railway station|Sandhills]]|route=[[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]]|col={{LYR colour}} }}
{{s-end}}

==Station hotel==
The {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}} opened the ''Exchange Hotel'' at the station on 13 August 1888.{{sfn|Dunning|2013|at=Location 1431}} The eighty bedroom hotel shared the building on Tithebarn Street with the railway offices being to the right of the central pedestrian entrance and the hotel to the left with its own decorative iron entrance canopy stretched out over the pavement.{{efn|Marshall (1970) states the hotel provided 150 rooms but most other sources quote eighty. Some diagrams of the station layout show the hotel above both sides of the building facing onto Tithebarn Street, see for example Christiansen (1995) whereas the OS mapping generally shows the hotel only over one side, see for example the map of 1908.{{sfn|Christiansen|1995|p=22}}<ref>{{cite map |title=Lancashire CVI.10 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/126523106 |year=1908 |scale=25 inch |publisher=Ordnance Survey }}</ref>}}{{sfn|Patterson|2016|p=59}}

[[File:Exchange Station, Liverpool - geograph.org.uk - 1039443.jpg|thumb|Exchange station and hotel frontage in 2008]]

The hotel was designed by Henry Shelmadine, the {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}} land agent and architect.{{sfn|Patterson|2016|p=59}}{{sfn|Marshall|1970|p=81}}{{sfn|Carter|1990|p=66}}

The hotel frontage was in free renaissance style with columns dividing the windows, an intricately decorated iron ''[[Porte-cochère|porte cochère]]'' and a matching projecting clock. John Pearson. a former chairman of the {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}}, mayor of Liverpool and High Sheriff of Lancashire is commemorated by a bust in bas-relief.{{sfn|Biddle|Nock|1990|pp=105–106}}

In addition to the bedrooms the hotel provided private sitting-rooms, a ballroom and hair-dressing rooms, it had its kitchens sited on the top floor which created problems keeping food cool during the summers.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|p=84}}{{sfn|Carter|1990|p=70}}<ref name="OS1935">{{cite map |title=Liverpool - Lancashire CVI.10.22 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/229948704 |orig-year=1895 |year=1935 |scale=1:500 |publisher=Ordnance Survey }}</ref>

The hotel name was changed to ''Exchange Station Hotel'' on 11 January 1892.{{efn|Possibly to avoid a clash, the OS town plan surveyed in 1895 shows an Exchange Hotel on the corner of Tithebarn Street and Pall Mall, almost adjacent to the station.<ref name="OS1935"/>}}{{sfn|Marshall|1970|p=84}} The hotel's coffee room was extended in 1892 and a new banqueting hall was built.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|p=84}}{{sfn|Bradshaw|2011|p=729}}

Author and [[First World War]] poet [[Siegfried Sassoon]] frequently lodged in the hotel adjoining Exchange station. In 1917, after having earlier written at his London club his [[A Soldier's Declaration]] which appeared in the press and was read to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], Sassoon was visited at the hotel by Colonel Jones Williams who reprimanded him for his actions. It was from Exchange station that Sassoon made his famous trip to [[Formby]] the next day, ripped the ribbon of his Military Cross off his tunic and flung it into the waters at the mouth of the Mersey.{{sfn|Egremont|2005|p=155}}

In 1933, the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS) improved the premises. Running hot and cold water and central heating was fitted to all rooms. Additional bathrooms were built, alterations were made to the front hall and lounge, with an extension of the dining-room. On top of this, a new smoke-room and lounge were built on the first floor and the hotel was completely redecorated.<ref name="RWL">{{cite magazine |title=Echoes of Exchange: An obituary for Liverpool Exchange station |last=Howard |first=Darryl C. |magazine=Railway World Magazine |date=1 July 1977 |url=https://archive.org/details/railwayworldmaga123unse_5 |url-access=registration |pages=322–325 }}</ref>

In March 1971, it was announced that the Exchange Hotel (now rated as three-star) was to be closed. This occurred on 3 July and on 11 August the insides were stripped and auctioned. The hotel business being transferred to the [[Britannia Adelphi Hotel|Liverpool Adelphi]].<ref name="RWL"/>{{sfn|Carter|1990|p=30}}

==Electrification==
The {{abbr|L&YR|Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway}} introduced multiple-unit third-rail electric powered trains from Exchange station to {{rws|Hall Road}}, {{rws|Southport||Southport Chapel Street}} and {{rws|Crossens}} from March 1904,{{efn|Initially it was a four-rail system, but the fourth, centre rail, was gradually removed and the running rails used to return the current.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|p=160}}}} with a full service from 13 May 1904. The trains used two platforms at Exchange, prior to electrification there were seventy-four trains a day, the maximum the platforms could manage, after electrification the number of services increased to one hundred and nineteen.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|pp=156–157}}

On 1 June 1906, the [[North Mersey Branch]] was electrified and services began to run from Exchange to {{rws|Aintree}} and later that year on 19 November 1906 a direct electric service to {{rws|Aintree}} via {{rws|Kirkdale}} began.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|p=166}} The electrification of this line was subsequently extended to {{rws|Ormskirk}} in 1913.{{sfn|Marshall|1970|p=168}}

Electric trains used platforms 6 to 10, with trains to {{rws|Southport}} usually departing from platforms 9 and 10 though platform 8 would also be used when it was busy.{{sfn|Pixton|2008|p=5}}

==World War II damage==
Exchange station was blocked for over three months when three fallen arches and two bridge-piers blocked the lines as a result of the particularly devastating bombing raid of 20 December 1940.{{sfn|Carter|1964|p=184}}

Services out of the station were disrupted by enemy action and to assist the [[Cheshire Lines Committee]] ran special trains between {{rws|Liverpool Central}} and {{rws|Southport Lord Street}} to relieve some of the pressure, this service ran from 24 December 1940 to 5 July 1941.{{sfn|Griffiths|1958|p=36}}

During the night of 7–8 May 1941, the loop-line viaduct was damaged and impassable resulting in Wigan services terminating at Preston Road, and later at Kirkdale. Preston services terminated at Aintree and the electric services at Kirkdale with buses making the connection into the city centre. The station was completely out of use for three months and normal service did not resume until May 1942.{{sfn|Pixton|2008|p=14}}{{sfn|Wright|2008|p=36}}

== Operations post-World War II ==
[[File:Liverpool Exchange Station 2057102 9e8419a0.jpg|thumb|left|275px|Liverpool Exchange Station in 1954]]
[[File:Liverpool Exchange railway station.jpg|thumb|left|275px|Liverpool Exchange's departures end on 4 May 1968 showing station structure and roof and the morning express to Glasgow Central about to leave for Preston]]

On 2 May 1944, the station staff were provided with Liverpool’s first rail canteen. After the war, Exchange Station was thought to have a long future ahead of it and a series of improvements followed, heralded by the alteration of the Exchange clock to show the right time. This impressive machine, above the Tithebarn Street entrance, had previously been five minutes fast.<ref name="RWL"/>

In 1951, the decision was taken to renew the roof which had been damaged by a bomb during the war; it was completed in 1954.<ref name="RWL"/>

==Closure==
{{main|Merseyrail#History}}

The withdrawal of the {{rws|Aintree}} via North Mersey Branch services took place in 1951.<ref name="RWL"/>

The early sixties saw the beginning of the decline of the station, fourteen cuts in services between Manchester Victoria, Wigan, Southport and Exchange took place in September 1958.<ref name="RWL"/>

The programme of route closures in the early 1960s, known as the [[Beeching Axe]], included the closure of {{rws|Liverpool Exchange}}. The Beeching Report recommended that the mostly-electrified suburban and outer-suburban commuter rail services into Exchange and Central High Level stations from the north and south of the city be terminated. Long and medium-distance routes would be concentrated on one mainline terminal station at Lime Street station serving Liverpool, the Wirral and beyond.<ref name="RWL"/>

Liverpool City Council took a different view, proposing the retention of the suburban services and integrating them into a regional electrified rapid-transit network by linking all lines via new tunnels under the centres of Liverpool and Birkenhead. This approach was supported by the Merseyside Area Land Use and Transportation Study (the MALTS report). Merseyrail was born when Liverpool City Council's proposal was adopted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/afc5ced4-5152-47ab-bbdb-4dc4e9ed1514 |title=Merseyside Area land use Transportation study (MALTS) project report. &#124; The National Archives |publisher=Discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date=23 July 2016 |archive-date=6 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106161415/http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/afc5ced4-5152-47ab-bbdb-4dc4e9ed1514 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 3 August 1968, the last British Rail scheduled passenger train to be hauled by a standard gauge steam locomotive ended its journey at Liverpool Exchange, Stanier 'Black 5' no. 45318 having hauled from Preston the Liverpool portion of the evening Glasgow to Liverpool and Manchester train.{{sfn|Welbourn|2003|pp=126–128}}

Platforms 1 to 3 were closed in 1970 and the area used for car parking.{{sfn|Cadwallader|Jenkins|2010|p=15}}

In 1973, platforms 8 to 10 at Exchange were closed and their site used for construction and access to the underground station being built by [[Merseyrail]] at {{rws|Moorfields}}. Platforms 4 and 5  were provided with conductor rails to accommodate the trains that would have used the now closed platforms. There was only one remaining diesel service that went to {{rws|Wigan Wallgate}} and [[Bolton Interchange|Bolton]].{{sfn|Cadwallader|Jenkins|2010|p=15}}

To mark the final closure of Liverpool Exchange station on 29 April 1977, the London Midland Region of BR ran a special of Mk II coaches at 23.32 thence to Wigan and Liverpool Lime Street, where it was due at 01.11 on the next morning.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Liverpool Exchange Final Train |last=Howard |first=Darryl C. |magazine=Railway World Magazine |date=1 June 1977 |url=https://archive.org/details/railwayworldmaga123unse_4 |url-access=registration |page=299 }}</ref>

This ambitious scheme involved diverting the Ormskirk and Southport electric services under Exchange station and into a new tunnel running north to south under Liverpool's city centre, named the Link Tunnel, linking separate lines in the north and south of the city creating a north–south crossrail. Exchange station would be replaced by a station in the new tunnel named {{rws|Moorfields}}.{{sfn|Holt|Biddle|1986|p=43}}{{sfn|Gleaves|2015|p=108}}

Trains formerly serving Exchange station call at the new nearby Moorfields underground station then continue in the tunnel to terminate at {{rws|Liverpool Central}}, or onwards to {{rws|Hunts Cross}} in the extreme south of the city. At both Moorfields and Central stations easy interchange was possible for the first time with [[Wirral Line]] services, which until then had operated as a completely separate network.{{sfn|Holt|Biddle|1986|p=43}}{{sfn|Gleaves|2015|p=108}}

Liverpool Exchange closed on Saturday 30 April 1977.{{sfn|Quick|2023|p=285}} The replacement {{rws|Moorfields||Liverpool Moorfields}} station opened the following Monday, 2 May 1977.{{sfn|Quick|2023|p=286}}

After closure, in 1978, the old station was demolished by Oldham Bros, a local demolition company.<ref>{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Ross |title=Business Diary |newspaper=The Times Digital Archive |issue=60466 |date=23 November 1978 |page=25 }}{{subscription required|via=The Times Digital Archive}}</ref>

However, the frontage of the station building was preserved and incorporated into a new office building built behind, named 'Mercury Court' opening in 1986.{{sfn|Biddle|2003|p=527}}

In 2013, after a £5 million redevelopment it was renamed [[Exchange Station]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Molyneux |first1=Jess |title=Old Liverpool hotel loved by celebrities was 'dead' on weekends |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/nostalgia/famous-liverpool-hotel-loved-celebrities-28643746.amp |access-date=25 May 2024 |work=Liverpool Echo |date=18 February 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

==Reopening for high-speed rail==
As of 2023, the planned route of [[HS2]] has been scaled back. There had been calls by local architects to open Exchange station extending over Leeds Street to the north and onto the approach viaduct.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://petermcgurk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/go-on-you-know-you-want-to.html|title=it's Liverpool: Go on. You know you want to}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://petermcgurk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/trade-tourism-and-heritage.html|title=it's Liverpool: Selling your soul: Heritage Infrastructure}}</ref> The proposal had been to branch off the 1830 Liverpool-Manchester line at Broad Green and onto the North Liverpool Extension trackbed. The line runs to the north then curves to the south at Walton and Kirkdale. The old Exchange station site is in the heart of Liverpool's business quarter and not far from the cruise liner terminal and the [[Liverpool Waters]] development.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/the-northerner/2013/mar/07/liverpool-architecture-peelgroup-mersey-wirral-docks-regeneration|title=The breathtaking potential of Liverpool (and Wirral) Waters|work=The Guardian|date=7 March 2013 |last1=Taylor |first1=Kenn }}</ref>

==Station masters==
{{Div col}}
*John Ingham 1879 - 1897<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Day to Day in Liverpool |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000081/18971214/044/0009 |newspaper=Liverpool Mercury |location=England |date=14 December 1897 |access-date=1 March 2020 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref>
*Thomas Wood ca. 1897 - 1902<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=From All Quarters |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000582/19020814/087/0004 |newspaper=Dundee Evening Post |location=Scotland |date=14 August 1902 |access-date=1 March 2020 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref> (formerly assistant station master at Manchester Victoria)
*Frederick Shaw 1902 - 1921<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Half-century on railway |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19210122/045/0002 |newspaper=Liverpool Echo |location=England |date=22 January 1921 |access-date=1 March 2020 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref>
*James Abram 1921<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Exchange Stationmaster |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19210302/136/0008 |newspaper=Liverpool Echo |location=England |date=2 March 1921 |access-date=1 March 2020 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref> - 1930 (formerly station master at Blackburn)
*James Hale 1930<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Lancaster stationmaster leaving |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002036/19300502/212/0010 |newspaper=Morecambe Guardian |location=England |date=2 May 1930 |access-date=1 March 2020 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref> - 1932 (formerly station master at Blackburn)
*William Miller 1932 - 1938
*Sidney RIchard Sayer 1938 - 1943<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mr. S.R. Sayer |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002041/19480130/091/0004 |newspaper=Clitheroe Advertiser and Times |location=England |date=30 January 1948 |access-date=1 March 2020 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref> (formerly station master at Blackburn)
*Francis Joseph Boothroyd 1943 - 1956
*Robert W. Ward 1956 - 1961
*Matthew Edward Redhead 1961<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=News in Brief |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002134/19610517/478/0021 |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Post |location=England |date=17 May 1961 |access-date=1 March 2020 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref> - 1964 (formerly station master at Rugby)
*Walter Bishop 1964 - 1966<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=New Rail Chief |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19661124/156/0011 |newspaper=Liverpool Echo |location=England |date=24 November 1966 |access-date=1 March 2020 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref> (afterwards station master at Bootle)
{{Div col end}}
{{Incomplete list|date=March 2020}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Beaumont |first=Martín |title=Sir John Hawkshaw, 1811-1891: The Life and Work of an Eminent Victorian Engineer |date=2015 |publisher=Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Society |isbn=978-0-9559467-7-6 |oclc=1064307721}}
*{{cite book |last=Biddle |first=Gordon |title=Great Railway Stations of Britain |publisher=David & Charles |publication-place=Newton Abbot |date=1986 |isbn=978-0-7153-8263-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/greatrailwaystat0000bidd |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last1=Biddle |first1=Gordon |last2=Nock |first2=O. S. |title=Railway Heritage of Britain: 150 years of railway architecture and engineering |publisher=Studio editions |publication-place=London |date=1990 |isbn=1-85170-595-3}}
*{{cite book |last1=Biddle |first1=Gordon |title=Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: An Oxford Gazetteer of Structures and Sites |date=2003 |url=https://archive.org/details/britainshistoric0000bidd |url-access=registration |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780198662471}}
*{{cite book |last1=Bradshaw |first1=George |author-link=George Bradshaw |title=Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation Guide, for Great Britain and Ireland |date=1855 |publisher=Bradshaw & Blacklock |location=Manchester |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6R8pAAAAYAAJ }}
*{{cite book |last1=Bradshaw |first1=George |author-link=George Bradshaw |title=Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation Guide, for Great Britain and Ireland |date=1877 |publisher=Bradshaw & Blacklock |location=Manchester |url=https://archive.org/details/bradshawsgeneral1877unse }}
*{{Bradshaw-1895December}}
*{{cite book |last1=Cadwallader |first1=Jonathan |last2=Jenkins |first2=Martin |title=Merseyside Electrics |publisher=Ian Allan |publication-place=Hersham |date=2010 |isbn=978-0-7110-3417-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Carter |first=Ernest Frank |title=Railways in wartime |publisher=F. Muller |publication-place=London |year=1964 |oclc=1245755905 |url=https://archive.org/details/railwaysinwartim0000unse |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last=Carter |first=Oliver |title=An Illustrated History of British Railway Hotels, 1838-1983 |year=1990 |publisher=Silver Link Publishing |location=St Michael's |isbn=0-947971-36-X}}
*{{cite book |last=Christiansen |first=Rex |title=Regional Rail Centres: North West |publisher=Specialist Marketing International  |date=1995 |isbn=0-7110-2348-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Mike |last2=Hewitt |first2=Allison |title=Liverpool and its canal |publisher=Merseyside Port Folios |publication-place=Wirral |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-9516129-3-4 |oclc=1392432368 |url=https://archive.org/details/liverpoolitscana0000clar |url-access=registration }}
*{{cite book |last=Dunning |first=David |title=Great British Railway Hotels |year=2013 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=978-1-4903-3339-7 |edition=Kindle }}
* {{cite book |last=Egremont |first=Max |author-link=Max Egremont |title=Siegfried Sassoon: A Biography |year=2005 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=0-330-37526-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Gleaves |first=Graeme |title=Electric Railways of Liverpool and Manchester |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-4456-3989-5}}
*{{Grant-RailCo}}
*{{cite book |last=Griffiths |first=R. Prys |title=The Cheshire Lines Railway |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NtyWxgEACAAJ |edition=First edition (1947) reprint with minor revisions |year=1958 |publisher=Oakwood Press}}
*{{Holt-NorthWest}}
*{{Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway 1}}
*{{Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway 2}}
*{{cite book |last=Marshall |first=John |title=A Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R7MMAQAAIAAJ |date=1978 |publisher=David & Charles |isbn=978-0-7153-7489-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Patterson |first=Michael |title=Railway Hotels |publisher=Amberley |publication-place=Stroud |date=2016-09-15 |isbn=978-1-4456-5434-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Pixton |first=Bob |title=Liverpool and Manchester 3:Lancashire and Yorkshire Lines |publisher=Kestrel Railway Books |date=2008 |isbn=978-1-905505-07-4}}
*{{Quick-stations-5.05}}
*{{cite book |last=Rush |first=Robert William |title=The East Lancashire Railway |date=1983 |publisher=Oakwood Press |isbn=0-85361-295-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Stretton |first=Clement E. |title=The history of the Midland Railway |publisher=Methuen & Co. |publication-place=London |year=1901 |oclc=1037519916 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmidland00strerich}}
*{{cite book |first=Nigel |last=Welbourn |title=Lost Lines: LMR |publisher=Ian Allan |year=2003 |orig-year=First published 1994 |isbn=9780711022775 |oclc=863421456}}
*{{cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Colin |title=Liverpool from the Air |year=1999 |publisher=Bluecoat Press |isbn=978-1-872568-45-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/liverpoolfromair0000coli |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Paul |title=Lost Termini of North West England |series=Disused Stations: Closed Railway Stations in the UK | date=2008 | isbn=978-1-85794-316-0}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite magazine|title=Liverpool Exchange|magazine=Back Track|volume=21|issue=7|date=July 2007|issn=0955-5382}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=http://www.ronniesoo.com/ronnie/images/mercury.jpg |title=Photograph of Mercury Court|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040617012211/http://www.ronniesoo.com/ronnie/images/mercury.jpg |archive-date=17 June 2004 }}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/l/liverpool_exchange/index.shtml |website=Disused Stations |title=Liverpool Exchange station}}

{{Liverpool B&S}}
{{Closed stations Merseyside}}

[[Category:Former railway stations in Liverpool]]
[[Category:Former buildings and structures in Liverpool]]
[[Category:Former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1850]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1977]]