Billychris

Re the '12 ' bus . Looking at timetable on Merseytrave site . It takes 20 minutes from bus station to retail park via Morrisons etc , then 5 minutes to return to town .

OK thank you NS Will get googling !

Thanks Dave , really good photos . When I passed the Ravenhead old windmill the other day , it looked to be in excellent condition ! I presume it's now a listed building .

Had a walkabout the other day and at one point on my walk In Ravenhead Road I passed Magnum auto parts . It is in an old building and I thought that at the back it looked like some sort of kiln . Being a 'newbie' I felt certain there would be some info on here about it . Correct ,it is actually an old windmill .In fact the auto parts store gives its address as being in the old mill . Most of the posts are from 9 years ago . In the topic 'windmills' started by Griffin in 2009 he put links of photos of old windmills that stood in the St Helens area . Unfortunately , presumeably because of length of time since they were posted , the links don't open up . Are they somewhere else on the site ?

I'll take a picture next time I go past .

Had a walk around Dream site earlier on . I noticed activity around Smithy Manor pub.(closed for about 3 years) A few white vans and lots of plastic piping in car park area of pub . At one time it was envisaged having a visitors centre for Dream site . Could the activity be something to do with that ?

I did a quick 'Google' when neighbour gave me photo . only info I found was that prize jazz bands were very popular in St Helens and Liverpool during the thirties. http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/prizebands.html

My neighbour handed me a tiny photo of what appears to be some type of walking day in the 1930's only a tiny photo , I've zoomed in and enlarged as best I can .The parade is led by Parr Prize Jazz band. Apparently in the thirties these type of bands were very popular.

Well done Phyll ! Looks like he was correct . I'll print that map off for him . Big thanks for the info . added 18 minutes later Phyll , have had a good look at the map .The tramway for the miners (from Helena Road) appears to start just past the bridge .. ie. where the bricked up area is in the photo .. fairly certain my friend was correct . By the way , it was his mother many years ago who had told him about the tramway.

When passing what looks like a bricked up doorway just under bridge at Junction Station a friend told me that there used to be a colliery railway that took the miners from just southeast of the Junction station to the pit and that this was the entrance for the miners . Is he correct ? Have uploaded photo from Google maps.

This photograph was on Facebook page ( St Helens Pubs) Have seen it somewhere else actually. The Facebook page says the pageant is walking past the old Red Lion Pub in Robins Lane . The old Red Lion was demolished and rebuilt in 1963 . I can make out ' Walkers Warrington Ales ' on side of pub . Does anyone remember the old Red Lion ? is it the one in photograph ?

Looked on lots of sites but apart from the photo no info. I presume another train ran into it and derailed carriage , Looking on Stephen Wainwrights excellent Sutton Beauty site , on the transport time line . Numerous accidents and incidents over the years at St Helens Junction , the 'Sutton incline' often mentioned Just how dangerous it was is referred to in an extract from Daily Post "January 1860 - Three trains collided on Sutton incline. In its report of the accident on the 9th, the Liverpool Daily Post wrote: 'It is a remarkable fact that though there are many more dangerous stations on the London and North-western Railway than St.Helen's Junction, yet it has always been noted for misfortune...Strange to say, it is the fourth accident which has occurred at this place in the short space of one month."

I did spot it on Sutton Beauty site . As you say , does seem a bit of a coincidence re two identical incidents . The Sutton Beauty site seems to be so well run though that its hard to imagine the chap that runs it getting the date wrong .

That's photo I spotted . Can't find any info though . Looked at various sites via Google but apart from photo and the date 1906 nothing else. No eyewitness accounts or why it came off rails etc

Have seen a photo of a 1906 rail crash at Junction Station . The train smashed into station masters building . Apart from the year it happened no other info . Was train going too fast ?Was it derailed by something on track etc ? Was anybody hurt ? . There might well be some info on here but I have used search engine at top of page and not been able to find any link .