THE old photograph reproduced on April 24 brought back memories for readers including Arthur Moore, of Moss Bank Road, who was delighted to be reminded of his birthplace.

“I am almost sure the photograph shows the crossing at Moss Bank Station, sadly no longer there,” he recalled.

“The building on the right of the picture is the ‘Railway Hotel’, now renamed ‘The Moss Bank’. Directly opposite the pub is Gorsey Cottage, not shown in the photograph, where I was born.

“Many years ago my father was a porter at Moss Bank Station, where he met my mother. His father was an engine driver on the same stretch of line and my mother’s father was a signalman in the box at Crank Station. Hence I have strong family connections with the former St Helens to Rainford Junction line and I found your photograph most interesting.”

Another to correctly recognise the local was Sandra Pennington who said: “The old time photo is of the bottom of Moss Bank Road (Pikes Brow) at the Moss Bank Hotel in Victorian times, well before the rail line was ripped out and made into Scafell Road and the pub turned into a roundabout.”

What was the date of the last train to use this stretch of line? Moss Bank and neighbouring stations opened on February 3, 1858 and closed on June 18, 1951, although freight trains ran the route for a few years after.