'Miracle' cottage on the train tracks that thousands pass every day

A cottage that sits beside the train tracks offers a fascinating window into the past.

Situated on Portland Street in Southport, the cottage and old ticket office are the last traces of Southport's first railway station. The temporary terminus, known as East Bank Street Station, opened its doors in July 1848 as part of the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway.

Back then, the cottage was used as the former station master's house. It remained this way until the station closed in August 1851, when the trainline was extended around the corner into Chapel Street, welcoming passengers to the growing seaside resort of Southport.

After the station closed, the little cottage became home to a crossing keeper and their family, who looked after the level crossing. It is one of the last surviving railway cottages of its kind on the Liverpool to Southport line.

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Thousands of Merseyrail passengers travel past the Portland Street cottage on their daily commute each day, with many unaware of its former use.

We took a look at the history of the cottage as part of our Behind the Doors series. From the first townhouse to be built on one of the city's oldest streets to the wooden chalets by the sea, we love taking a closer look at Merseyside's much loved buildings and what came before them.

Whether you live in a quirky or historic building or walk past one on your daily commute, we'd love to hear from you. If you'd like to get in touch please email: charlotte.hadfield@reachplc.com

Railway enthusiast and photographer Martyn Hilbert, 66, told the ECHO: "In the early days of railways, when there was a level crossing, crossing keepers tended to live on the job. They were responsible for opening and closing the gates.

"There wasn't the density of traffic that there is now - there may have only been five or six trains a day, or up to a dozen. Crossing keepers used to live in the cottage with their family. They were available 24 hours a day until a train came along.

"It's incredible how people lived in such cramped conditions, but that's how it was in those days. The fact they had the cottage provided by the railway company would have been quite a prestigious thing.

"As railways grew and signal systems developed, cottage keepers' cottages became redundant because signal boxes came into existence."

The crossing keeper's cottage on Portland Street later became home to a member of staff from the railway. Today, it is used by the Southport Model Railway Society, paying homage to its roots.

At one time, Martyn said there would have been several more cottages of the same kind on the line between Southport and Liverpool, which have since been demolished. He said: "A lot of those houses have been swept away but there are two others that still exist like the one at Portland Street."

The other two cottages are based on Duke Street in Southport and Mersey Road in Crosby. They were also once used as crossing keepers' cottages and are now private residences.

Martyn said: "Those three cottages go back to the dawn of the railway. It's a bit of a miracle they've survived to be honest.

"They've all been built in the same distinct style. It's not just Merseyside but across the whole country, as the railway systems have been modernised a lot of old buildings have been swept away."

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