An illustration of the Rainhill Trials which took place in October 1829

In 1829 the celebrated Rainhill Trials took place on a two mile stretch between Rainhill and Sutton as the line was level there. A prize of £500 was on offer for the winning steam locomotive and the five competing engines ran the equivalent of seventy miles backwards and forwards. It was won by Robert Stephenson's Rocket and he and his father George got the contract for the railway.

A ceremonial opening of the new line and station took place at Lea Green in September 1830. In January 1832 the St.Helens Railway connected to the L&M line with the main station at Sutton originally known as Bottom of Sutton Incline when built c.1833 and later renamed St.Helens Junction.

A postcard of the Bury-Ackermann print of the Sutton intersection bridge

Although England's first fully fledged railway cut through Sutton township, it largely bypassed what was to become the borough of St.Helens. The Sankey Canal had provided a means of transporting St.Helens coal to Liverpool markets but the railways were seen as a quicker and cheaper alternative. So in February 1833, the St.Helens and Runcorn Gap railway which connected with the Mersey, was officially opened. In 1845 it amalgamated with the Sankey Brook Navigation to become the St.Helens Canal and Railway company.

In the picture above a locomotive of the 'Novelty' type is crossing the Liverpool and Manchester Railway by the two-span Intersection Bridge in Sutton, hauling coal wagons to the dock at Widnes. Beneath it heading towards Manchester is a 'Rocket' type locomotive. At the right of the picture, beyond the bridge, Leach Lane becomes Penlake Lane.

Passengers alight from a steam train at Sutton Oak station (undated)

The railway ran from St.Helens to Widnes serving passenger stations at Sutton Oak (first appearing in a timetable in 1852, closed 18.6.1951), Farnworth, Bold and Clock Face. It was mainly used for freight and served collieries and other industries in Sutton and St.Helens. However, the railway was also popular with passengers who could use the line for connecting to trains throughout the north west. Sutton Oak station was originally known as 'Sutton' station, gaining the 'Oak' prefix in 1864. The bridges in Sutton, especially near Reginald Road, reveal that up to ten tracks crossed them.

The residents of St.Helens Junction now found themselves living in a triangle composed of two sides of railway lines and referred to the area as 'Pudding Bag' with just one way in.

Edward Borrows' workforce at their Sutton Junction works

Edward Borrows & Sons (originally J. Cross & Co, later H.W.Johnson & Co, then Allen Barton (Engineers) Ltd.) at St.Helens Junction built around 50 locomotives which being compact and robust were mainly employed at works such as Pilkingtons and collieries in and around St.Helens. Pilkingtons transported glass by rail until after WW1 with each works connected to the main line railways.

'Agnes' pictured at Edward Borrows & Sons foundry at St.Helens Junction in 1883

Edward was a former locomotive superintendent of the St.Helens Canal and Railway Company. In the photograph above, the management wear bowler hats, ties and velvet-collared jackets. The workers by contrast wear caps, mufflers, waistcoasts and clogs. The apprentices are on the front row and are little more than children. Starting work at twelve in Sutton, St.Helens was quite common.

The St.Helens Canal and Railway Company had its own workshops in Sutton and constructed the White Raven engine, a 2-4-2 tank, passenger locomotive with Adam's patent radial axle boxes. The Raven which became known as the White Raven as it was once painted in white livery) was produced in November, 1863. It was the last locomotive built by the company before it was bought out by the London and North West Railway Company in 1864.

Clock Face station with its station sign (inset)

Clock Face Station was opened c.1845, first appearing in a timetable on the St.Helens and Runcorn Gap line in 1852. It was situated on both sides of a small road overbridge in a cutting near the junction of Gartons Lane and Clock Face Road. The Widnes Platform was located to the north of the bridge and had a small waiting shelter. The St Helens Platform was south of the bridge were the main station building was.

The cost of train travel was a deterrent to many and travelling 5 miles was quite an event in those days. Tram and bus services were embraced more enthusiastically but were slow in reaching much of Sutton. In 1879 an Act of Parliament incorporated The Saint Helens and District Tramways Company in which single-track, standard guage tramways were authorised. One was intended to connect St.Helens town centre with the outskirts of Sutton, or more precisely Marshalls Cross at the corner of Robins Lane.

Steam engine no.8 and passenger car no.6 at Peasley Cross c.1895

Construction work began on November 8th 1881 with the first tram running on the line in May the following year, although the terminus became the corner of Sutton Road in Peasley Cross, 700 yards short of Robins Lane. In April 1890 steam trams replaced the unprofitable horse-driven service and in 1899 electrification of the St.Helens tramways took place. A one mile extension from Peasley Cross to St.Helens Junction was constructed during the summer of 1900, opening on September 5th. However, due to disputes the terminus became Peckers Hill Road, some 200 yards away from the Junction station until 1925.

Gateway to Sutton - A Leyland Titan (TD1 No 70) passes under the notorious Peasley Cross bridge, a hazard for open-top tram passengers

There were a number of complaints about the high speed of trams with some said to be dangerously exceeding 10 mph! On 12th April 1903 a tram from St.Helens Junction collided at full speed with a steam tower-wagon undertaking maintenance work on overhead wires causing severe damage to both vehicles. Bridges could also be problematic, especially at Peasley Cross. Not only was it prone to delays through severe flooding but it was capable of decapitating standing passengers on the top deck of open-top trams! So a large warning sign was erected on both sides of the bridge.

Going to town - the Sutton Manor bus photographed in August 1955

On May Day 1935 trolleybuses replaced trams on the St.Helens Junction route, with all services ending in 1952. The spread of new housing estates in Sutton and St.Helens required a widescale expansion of transport services and further investment in trolleybus infrastructure was not not seen as cost-effective. Motorbuses were more flexible and as electricity had been nationalised and no longer municipally supplied, it was not as financially beneficial for local authorities to provide electric transport for their citizens.