Mersey Railway

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Sign from the Water Street entrance to James Street.
Sign from the Water Street entrance to James Street.
Original Mersey Railway painted sign on Birkenhead Central station, the company's former headquarters.
Original Mersey Railway painted sign on Birkenhead Central station, the company's former headquarters.

The Mersey Railway connected Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. It was the first tunnel built under the river, in 1886. It was constructed by John Waddell, who had been sub-contracted the work by Major Samuel Isaac.

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[edit] Design

The Mersey Tunnel was designed by Sir Charles Fox, and the design was carried out by his son, Douglas Fox, a Civil Engineer who was joint engineer to the Mersey Tunnel Company (set up in 1866) with James Brunlees. 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.

[edit] Opening and extensions

The Mersey Railway opened between Green Lane station in Birkenhead and James Street station in Liverpool in 1886, via Birkenhead Central and Hamilton Square stations, both in Birkenhead. In 1888 a branch to Birkenhead Park station opened, with a connection to the Wirral Railway. This was followed in 1891 by an extension from Green Lane to Rock Ferry with a connection to the Chester and Birkenhead Railway. In 1892 the tunnel was extended from James Street to a new Low Level station at Liverpool Central. The total length of the tunnel was 5029 m and by 1890 it was carrying 10 million passengers a year.

[edit] Steam locomotives

For the opening of the line, eight powerful 0-6-4 tank locomotives were obtained from Beyer Peacock. These were fitted with condensing apparatus for working in the tunnel. One of them (number 5, Cecil Raikes) is preserved at the Museum of Liverpool.

[edit] Electrification

In 1903, it was electrified, becoming the first railway in the world to change over completely from steam to electric power - it sold ten of its steam engines to the Pontypridd Caerphilly and Newport Railway. It was originally electrified with a fourth rail system, which was later replaced by a third rail system.

[edit] Current use

The tunnel and railway are still in use today as part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network.

[edit] External links


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