Croft to Birkenhead in 1874

How did Ellen Yates travel to work in Birkenhead from her home in Croft?

Those who have read the sad story of Ellen Yates will know that she was employed as a mill hand in Birkenhead, according to her death certificate.
I had assumed she must have travelled there by horseback, or even walking. Somebody else suggested that she may have had lodgings in Birkenhead, which is also possible.

It is unlikely we will ever know for certain how she travelled to work and how often, but I wanted to look further into it.

I came across an advertisement in a copy of the Leigh Chronicle from 1856 showing train times and prices.

Article from Leigh Chronicle, 1856

Leigh would probably still have been too far out for her to walk, though she did have family in Leigh at the time.

Culcheth Station wasn’t opened until 1884, after her death, which ruled out her travelling from there. I then found that another local station, Kenyon Junction Station, had been open to the public from 1831.

An estimate of the distance from where she lived (Hop Pole Farm) to Kenyon Junction is about two and a half miles, which she could have easily walked.
The train journey took one hour and forty minutes, meaning a long day for her if this was the method she used.
The Kenyon Junction Station was on the Liverpool to Manchester Line and there were many routes to Birkenhead mills available from Liverpool Crown Street Station.

Kenyon Junction Station. Photograph courtesy of Lowton Websites.