Mersey Railway
Encyclopedia
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
. Opened in 1886, it was the second oldest urban underground railway network in the world. The railway contained the first tunnel built under the River Mersey. It was constructed by John Waddell
John Waddell
John Henry Waddell is an American sculptor, painter and educator.-Early life:Waddell was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1921 and moved to Evansville, Indiana at the age of ten. There he began to study art at the Katherine Lord Studio, and by the age of 16 was teaching classes there...
, who had been sub-contracted the work by Major Samuel Isaac
Samuel Isaac
Samuel Isaac , merchant and projector of the Mersey Railway Tunnel.Isaac, son of Lewis Isaac of Poole, Dorsetshire, by Catherine, daughter of N. Solomon of Margate, was born at Chatham, Kent in 1815. Coming to London as a young man, he established a large business as an army contractor in Jermyn...
. The Mersey Railway remained independent in the railway grouping of 1923, although it became very closely integrated with the LMS electric services operated over the former Wirral Railway routes from 1938. The Mersey Railway was nationalised, along with most other rail services, in 1948.
Design
The Mersey Tunnel was designed by Sir Charles FoxSir Charles Fox
Sir Charles Fox was an English civil engineer and contractor. His work focused on railways, railway stations and bridges.-Biography:...
, and the design was carried out by his son, Douglas Fox
Charles Douglas Fox
Sir Douglas Fox was a British civil engineer.-Early life:Douglas was born in Smethwick, Staffordshire, the oldest son of Sir Charles Fox and had two brothers and a sister. Sir Charles was a civil engineer and had designed, amongst other things, The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park...
, a Civil Engineer who was joint engineer to the Mersey Tunnel Company (set up in 1866) with James Brunlees
James Brunlees
Sir James Brunlees was a Scottish civil engineer. He was born in Kelso in the Scottish Borders in 1816.In 1850, Brunlees worked on the Londonderry and Coleraine Railway...
. Douglas Fox was later knighted for his work on the project after its official opening by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
Charles Fox & Son, later known as Sir Douglas & Francis Fox is still in existence today trading as Hyder Consulting
Hyder Consulting
Hyder Consulting is a multi-national advisory and design consultancy with particular specialisation in the transport, property, utilities and environmental sectors. The firm employs approximately 4,200 people across the UK, Europe, Germany, Middle East, Asia and Australia and has been listed on the...
.
Opening and extensions
Green Lane railway station
Green Lane railway station serves the town of Birkenhead, Wirral, England, located in the south of the town. It is situated on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.- History :...
station in Birkenhead and James Street station in Liverpool in 1886, via Birkenhead Central
Birkenhead Central railway station
Birkenhead Central is a railway station serving the town of Birkenhead, Wirral, England. Situated on the south side of Birkenhead town centre, it lies on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network...
and Hamilton Square
Hamilton Square railway station
Hamilton Square railway station is situated near Hamilton Square in Birkenhead, Wirral, England, on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
stations, both in Birkenhead. James Street and Hamilton Square station were very deep, so deep only lifts could access the stations. Green Lane and Birkenhead Central stations were below ground level, however in open cuttings. In 1888 a branch to Birkenhead Park
Birkenhead Park railway station
Birkenhead Park railway station is situated in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 5 km west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.- History :...
station opened, with a connection to the Wirral Railway
Wirral Railway
The Wirral Railway was incorporated in 1863 as the Hoylake Railway , with powers to build lines from Birkenhead to New Brighton, and to Parkgate on the western side of the Wirral Peninsula; the latter line was not built. Between 1872 and 1882 the HR was renamed twice, and extensions of the line...
. This was followed in 1891 by an extension from Green Lane to Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry railway station
Rock Ferry railway station is situated in the Rock Ferry area of Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It lies south west of on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network...
with a connection to the Birkenhead Railway
Birkenhead Railway
The Birkenhead Railway was formed on 1 August 1859 as a result of the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Railway merging with the Chester and Birkenhead Railway. The new company was originally called the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway, but in 1859 shortened its name to The...
. In 1892 the tunnel was extended from James Street to a new Low Level station at Liverpool Central
Liverpool Central railway station
Liverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...
. The total length of the tunnel was 3.12 miles (5029 m) and by 1890 it was carrying 10 million passengers a year.
Steam locomotives
For the opening of the line, eight powerful 0-6-4T tank locomotiveTank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
s were obtained from Beyer, Peacock and Company
Beyer, Peacock and Company
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...
. These were fitted with condensing apparatus
Steam locomotive condensing apparatus
A steam locomotive condensing apparatus differs in purpose from the usual closed cycle steam engine condenser, in that its function is primarily either to recover water, or to avoid excessive emissions to the atmosphere, rather than maintaining a vacuum to improve both efficiency and power...
for working in the tunnel. One of them (number 5 Cecil Raikes) is preserved at the Museum of Liverpool
Museum of Liverpool
The Museum of Liverpool in Liverpool, England, opened on 19 July 2011 and is part of the National Museums Liverpool group....
. It is likely that it is named after Henry Cecil Raikes
Henry Cecil Raikes
Henry Cecil Raikes PC was a British Conservative Party politician. He was Chairman of Ways and Means between 1874 and 1880 and served as Postmaster General between 1886 and 1891.-Background and education:...
who was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Preston
Preston (UK Parliament constituency)
Preston is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
in 1882. Beyer Peacock built a ninth 0-6-4T locomotive in 1886, along with six 2-6-2T tank locomotives in 1887–1888. A seventh 2-6-2T was built by Kitson & Co in 1892.
After electrification four of the Railway's 0-6-4T locomotives were sold to J. & A. Brown of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where one, number 5, former Mersey Railway number 1 The Major, is preserved at the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum
New South Wales Rail Transport Museum
The New South Wales Rail Transport Museum located in Thirlmere, New South Wales south-west of Sydney, is a museum dedicated to displaying former locomotives, carriages and goods wagons from the New South Wales Government Railways as well as private operations in NSW. The collection features steam,...
, Thirlmere, New South Wales
Thirlmere, New South Wales
Thirlmere is a small semi-rural town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. Popularly known for its railway origins, the town is located 89 km south west of Sydney , one third of the distance from Sydney to Canberra...
. Three other 0-6-4T (nos. 2, 3 & 6) and all seven 2-6-2T locomotives (nos. 10-16) were sold to the Alexandra (Newport and South Wales) Docks and Railway between November 1903 and January 1905, becoming their nos. 6-11 and 22-25. All ten passed to the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in January 1922, and were withdrawn between January 1923 and May 1932.
Electrification
In 1903, the railway was electrified, becoming the first underground railway in the world to change over completely from steam to electric power. It was originally electrified with a fourth rail system, which was later replaced by a third railThird rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
system. The nearby Liverpool Overhead Railway
Liverpool Overhead Railway
The Liverpool Overhead Railway was the world's first electrically operated overhead railway. The railway was carried mainly on iron viaducts, with a corrugated iron decking, onto which the tracks were laid. It ran close to the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, following the line of Liverpool Docks...
, the world's first electric overhead railway, had already operated successfully with electric traction since its opening in 1893.
The Mersey Railway electric trains ran from Liverpool Central to Birkenhead Park and to Rock Ferry, where passengers to points beyond would change. In 1938 the LMS electrified from Birkenhead Park to New Brighton and to West Kirby, and built new trains which ran through to Liverpool. Normally new LMS trains handled the West Kirby route and Mersey Railway trains handled the New Brighton service, as well as the existing Rock Ferry operation. In 1948, on nationalisation of the railways, the Mersey Railway became known as the London Midland Region Mersey section and the old cars were renumbered in the British Railways sequence. In 1956 these trains were life-expired and replaced by further trains built to the LMS 1938 design, the last of the American-designed cars being phased out a year later.
Current Use
The tunnel and railway are still in use today as part of the Wirral LineWirral Line
The Wirral Line is one of the two commuter railway lines operated by Merseyrail that are centred around Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern Line...
of the Merseyrail
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...
commuter rail network.
See also
- Shore Road Pumping StationShore Road Pumping StationThe Shore Road Pumping Station is a pumping station situated in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It contains the pumps which remove water from the railway tunnel under the River Mersey. When it was built in the 1870s the pumps were driven by steam beam engines...
with pumps which remove water from the tunnel under the River MerseyRiver MerseyThe River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
External links
- A StevengraphStevengraphStevengraphs are pictures woven from silk, originally created by Thomas Steven in the 19th century. They were popular collectable items during the revival of interest in Victoriana in the 1960s and 1970s.-Detail:...
of the Mersey Railway Tunnel - Article from Scientific American on the opening of the tunnel from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
- UrbanRail.net article on Merseyrail
- Preserved locomotive Cecil Raikes