![]() 1920 map of the railway | |
Technical | |
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Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
Length | 13 miles 5+1⁄4 chains (21.03 km) (1919) [1] |
Track length | 40 miles 19 chains (64.8 km) (1919) [1] |
The Wirral Railway was a railway network in the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula, England. Its route was from Birkenhead Park in the east of the Wirral to West Kirby in the west. A branch off this line at Bidston went north to Secombe and New Brighton. It was incorporated in 1863 as the Hoylake Railway, running from Hoylake to Birkenhead Docks. After changes of name and of ownership, it was purchased by the Wirral Railway Company Limited in 1884. The network was extended to West Kirby, New Brighton, and Seacombe, and to Birkenhead Park station where it joined the Mersey Railway, enabling through trains through the Mersey Railway Tunnel to Liverpool. In the 1923 grouping the Wirral company became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which electrified the line (except the Seacombe branch) in 1938, allowing passenger services to be integrated with the Liverpool urban system. Most of the Wirral Railway network is still in use today as part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail rail network.
The Chester and Birkenhead Railway opened on 23 September 1840. [note 1] This was the first penetration of the Wirral by a railway, and for some years no further attempt was made to build in the peninsula. [2] [3]
Observing the success of the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway in encouraging residential building, and travel, a group of business people led by Braithwaite Pool, a career railwayman, proposed a railway, to be called the Hoylake Railway. It was to connect Hoylake with Birkenhead. The route was soon modified to connect Seacombe (instead of Birkenhead) to Hoylake, with a branch from Bidston to Wallasey Bridge Road to serve Birkenhead docks. Parliamentary powers were obtained on 28 July 1863. [2] [4] Authorised capital was £100,000 with £33,000 in permitted borrowing. [3]
The Hoylake company desposited further bills in quick succession, showing a desire to reach far beyond the initial area and break the Great Western Railway (GWR) and London and North Western Railway (LNWR) duopoly in the Wirral; these proposals included a long viaduct over the River Dee to Mostyn. All the Bills were heavily cut back or rejected. [3]
In the event the Seacombe portion of the line was not built at this stage as it would have been particularly expensive. Accordingly, the railway was constructed as a single line from Hoylake to Wallasey Bridge Road only, a distance of just over five miles. It was inspected by Captain Ritchie of the Board of Trade on 16 June 1866 and was opened to traffic on Monday 18 June 1866. However this apparently did not result in a regular train service until 2 July 1866, following a further inspection by Ritchie on that date. [3] There were six trains a day, four on Sundays, running from "Birkenhead Docks" (i.e. Wallasey Bridge Road) to Hoylake; an omnibus connection was operate to Seacombe. [2] [5] [3] "All the stations were of the most elementary type, having cinder platforms very scantily supplied with buildings, a state of affairs which in the case of the intermediate stations has persisted to the time of electrification." [4]
Although passenger business was very brisk at first, this soon tailed off and the financial performance of the company was very poor, and the train service was reduced. Robinson wrote: "The building of the line was premature, however. Hoylake in those days was a small fishing village and the rest of the coast quite undeveloped, and it was soon found that the traffic was too small to make it a paying concern. [4] Money was also owing from the construction of the line, and a Mr Vyner of Bidston had not been paid for land the company had acquired from him; the debt was £9,000, which the company did not have at its disposal; indeed its other liabilities amounted to £20,000. He was able to arrange for bailiffs to seize part of the line at the eastern end of the network, and traffic had to be suspended. [2]
It was reported:
Sale of a Railway: ln pursuance of a Chancery decree, obtained by Mr. Robert Vyner, who has never been paid for his land, that portion of the Birkenhead and Hoylake Railway which runs through his property, was offered for sale by auction at the Queen’s Hotel, Chester, on Saturday [18 September 1869]. One of the conditions of sale was that the purchaser was to pay, beyond his bid for the land, for everything found upon it a valuation made by the auctioneers, Messrs. Churton and Elphick. The solicitor representing the railway company protested against anything but the land being sold; but the auctioneer said he was acting under the authority of the Court of Chancery, and proceeded to put up the four "lots". The first lot was knocked down to Messrs. Roberts and Potts, Chester, for 4,000l, [note 2] the only bid; the lot including the Dock Cottages station, North Birkenhead (where the line commences), adjoining land, and the railway as far as lot two, which included the Bidston station, and a length beyond this lot being also knocked down to Mr. Roberts for 1,500l. [note 3] No offers were made for the other two lots. It was stated that Mr. Roberts was acting for Mr. Vyner. [6]
In fact Vyner had bought back his own land, and generously did not force closure of the railway for some time. However he must have lost patience eventually, for on 30 June 1870 a writ of ejectment was secured for him, and the Hoylake Railway was required to remove all its movable assets from the affected land. The section of line westward from Leasowe to Hoylake, outside Vyner's area of interest, was kept in operation for the time being, from 8 July 1870. Road coaches provided connections from Leasowe level crossing, where there was no proper station, and Birkenhead and Seacombe. [3]
A new company, the Hoylake & Birkenhead Tramway Company, was formed on 19 November 1870. Its objective may have been to acquire the Hoylake company's line and convert it to a tramway. It soon deposited a parliamentary bill to build a line from Woodside to Birkenhead Docks, but there proved to be procedural difficulties and the new company was dissolved by Act of 1 July 1872, when a new company, the Hoylake & Birkenhead Rail and Tramway Company was incorporated. It was authorised to operate street running tramways in Birkenhead, and to take over the assets and operation of the Hoylake Railway. It acquired the assets of the Hoylake Company for £22,000 and settled the outstanding debt with Vyner. [note 4] The railway part of its operation was started on 1 August 1872, Vyner's part of the line evidently having been retained intact. In 1873 the company opened a street tramway between Wallasey Bridge Road and the Woodside ferry terminal in Birkenhead. This was of course horse-operated; it was sold on to the Birkenhead Tramway Company on 11 October 1879. [2] [4] [3]
The company extended the railway line from Hoylake to West Kirby, [note 5] and, at the other end of the system, also made the short connection between Wallasey Bridge Road and the docks. Both of these new sections were opened on 1 April 1878. Now concentrating on its railway operation, the company changed its name to the Seacombe, Hoylake and Deeside Railway, by an act of Parliament of 18 July 1881. [2] [4]
The Wirral Railway was incorporated by act of 13 June 1883; it was to build a "Dee Extension" line from Bidston (on the Hoylake line) to Hawarden Bridge on the River Dee, and another line from the Birkenhead Central station of the Mersey Railway to Woodchurch. Woodchurch was a place on the Dee Extension a little south of the present-day Upton station on the Hawarden Bridge line.
In fact the Woodchurch line was not built; but on 14 August 1884 the company were authorised to build from Bidston to New Brighton. [2] [3]
Also authorised on 14 August 1884 was a separate company, the Wirral Railway Company Limited. This new company was authorised to purchase the previous Wirral Railway company as well as the Seacombe, Hoylake and Deeside Railway. Having acquired those companies, the WRC Ltd kept them in existence for the time being. In substitution for the cancelled Woodchurch line, the earlier Wirral Railway company had obtained powers to extend from near Wallasey Bridge Road to Birkenhead Park, joining the Mersey Railway there; there was to be an intermediate station at Birkenhead Docks. The Docks station was now constructed by the SH&DR and, with a short section of connecting line, opened on 2 January 1888, when Wallasey Bridge Road station was closed. The (original) Wirral Railway constructed the extension to Birkenhead Park, and that opened on the same day. The Mersey Railway had extended its own line to meet the Wirral at Birkenhead Park, and that extension too opened on 2 January 1888. [2] [3]
By this time, the train service had been increased to 22 each way on weekdays, 8 on Sundays. For a period, convenient changes of trains were provided at Birkenhead Park, but through trains were run from 1 May 1890. The Wirral engines did not have the power to climb the gradient in the Mersey Tunnel, nor condensing equipment, so the trains changed engines at Birkenhead Park. The through trains continued until 30 June 1894, when disagreements between the Wirral and Mersey companies led to a suspension of co-operation. [2] [3]
Writing in 1914, Mercer observed that the Wirral had become known as "'The Dormitory of Liverpool' owing to the number of people who reside on the Cheshire side of the Mersey and travel across under the water daily to and from business." [5] [3] In addition, New Brighton had become a popular destination for trippers by steamer, but the railway transformed it into a residential town. The Wirral Railway extended from a triangular junction west of Birkenhead Docks to Wallasey, Grove Road. This too opened on 2 January 1888, and was completed as far as New Brighton on 30 March in the same year. [2]
Wirral Railway (Amalgamation) Act 1891 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act for amalgamating the undertakings of the Wirral Railway Company and Seacombe Hoylake and Deeside Railway Company and for other purposes. |
Citation | 54 & 55 Vict. c. xxxv |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 11 June 1891 |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
The Seacombe, Hoylake and Deeside Railway had been wholly owned by the Wirral Railway Company Limited, and on 11 June 1891 it was fully absorbed. Construction to Seacombe itself was now undertaken; as this was a ferry terminal, heavy residential traffic was foreseen. Branching from the New Brighton line by another triangular junction, the Seacombe line was difficult in engineering terms, but it was opened on 1 June 1895. The hoped-for residential traffic did not develop as intended, with residential passengers preferring the convenience of travel by the Mersey Railway over a transfer to a ferry that could not convey them to the centre of Liverpool. [2] [5] [3]
The eastern chord of the triangular junction with the New Brighton line was chiefly used by a summer passenger service between Seacombe and New Brighton, but by this time a direct tramway service was in operation, and this was found much more convenient. The train service was discontinued in 1911, and the east chord was closed and the rails sent to France during World War I. [2]
The main line to West Kirby was single track, with passing places at Moreton and Hoylake after 1878. With increasing traffic volumes this became an operational difficulty, and the line was doubled as far as Hoylake in June 1895; Hoylake to West Kirby was doubled in 1896. The joint railway of the London and North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway had reached West Kirby, and there were discussions about the provision of a joint station there to include the Wirral operation; but these were inconclusive and separate stations were built. The Wirral rebuilt and extended its West Kirby station in 1898 - 1899. [2] [3]
The Wirral Railway had obtained powers for a "Dee Extension" in 1883, but this long route had been unaffordable. In 1889 the powers for construction were transferred to the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway jointly. The line became known as the North Wales and Liverpool Railway and the transfer was authorised by Act of 12 May 1889. The Wirral Railway's interest in the line was at an end, but the MS&LR and the WM&CQR acquired running powers to Seacombe, which they later exercised. (The two companies became part of the London and North Eastern Railway under the "grouping" of the railways in 1923.) [2]
The train service was further increased in the first years of the twentieth century, amounting to 40 or so trains each way on the main line, with eight on Sundays. The New Brighton line had 37 each way, eight on Sundays, and the Seacombe line had 17 and 8 respectively. [2]
Pursuant to the Railways Act 1921 ownership of most of the main line railways of Great Britain was transferred to one or other of four new large companies; the process was known as the "grouping". The Wirral Railway Company became part of the new London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) at the beginning of 1923.
Writing in 1928, McNaught said
At present the only through connection to and from the Wirral section is represented by one or more through carriages running once daily in each direction between New Brighton and London (Euston). Instead of entering the terminal station at West Kirby, this train passes direct on to the joint line there, and is detached at Hooton to join a through express from Birkenhead (Woodside). This innovation has been very popular since its introduction in 1923, as the journey from Birkenhead to New Brighton, though only some 5 miles as the crow flies, is in actuality somewhat inconvenient, involving either the crossing of Birkenhead Docks by swing bridges, or a ferry trip to Liverpool landing stage, there changing to a Wallasey Corporation steamer, to complete the journey.
Since being taken over by the L.M.S., the Wirral line has been re-laid throughout, and comfortable modern rolling-stock placed in service. Train sets of eight vehicles, former L.N.W. and L. and Y. [note 6] stock, are now used. [7]
The Wirral Railway had been predominantly a passenger line, with a locomotive fleet consisting of tank engines. Electrification had been considered as early as 1900; Mercer reported in 1914 that the powers had been acquired; [5] but no action was taken then. In 1936 the LMS decided that the time was right for electrification, and work was put in hand. Station modernisation and signalling improvements were incorporated into the scheme, but the Seacombe line was scheduled for closure.
Electric power was taken at 11 kV 50 Hz 3 phase from the Clarence Dock power station; the cables were laid through the Mersey Tunnel. The traction supply to the trains was at 650 V DC by third rail. Goods traffic continued to be steam hauled. [2] 10+1⁄2 route miles of railway were electrified. It had been proposed to electrify at 1,500 v dc overhead, but this was technically impossible through the Mersey Tunnel, so the third rail system was adopted. The position of the third rail was the same as on the Watford New Line electrification, and required the Mersey Railway system to alter its third rail from 22 inches outside the running rail to 16 inches, and to fit duplicate collector shoes to its rolling stock. [8]
The new rolling stock was in three-car units of which there were 19, with steel bodies and open saloon accommodation. They had air-operated sliding doors, and automatic couplers. There was one motor coach in each three car unit, and it was equipped with four 135 hp motors. Additional power was considered to be required for the steep gradients in the Mersey Tunnel. [note 7] Electrical equipment was supplied by British Thomson-Houston, and the vehicles were manufactured by Metropolitan Carriage and Wagon Company and the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company. [2] [9] The units later became British Rail Class 503. [8]
Automatic notching was provided. [note 8] When the trains were running in the Mersey Tunnel where there is a gradient of 1 in 27, provision was made to increase the notching point of the acceleration relay. This could be actuated by a sealed push-button in the driver's cab, for use in exceptional circumstances, such as a six-car train operating with one motor coach out of action. [9] Tuplin wrote that the new vehicles did not have an on-board air compressor; at the end of the run:
the motorman emerged from his compartment with a hose, lifted an iron cover plate from a hole in the station platform and connected the hose to an underground air-supply line. Incredible though it may seem, there was no compressor on the train, but reliance was placed on periodic charging of a reservoir which fed air to the Westinghouse brakes and also to the Westinghouse electro-pneumatic controllers for the traction motors. When a satisfactory charge had been obtained, the motorman turned off the cocks on supply-pipe and reservoir, and pulled up the hose with a loud "sssh—ack" as the air in the hose escaped. [10]
The Wirral line was operated on the third rail system but the Mersey Railway system was on fourth rail, so the new trains were fitted with negative contact shoes and a contactor which was automatically operated according to the system. [9] This was considered to be a cheaper option than installing a fourth rail throughout the new Wirral electrified area. There was a 50-foot gap in the conductor rails at each end of the Birkenhead Park station: the only such changing point on any British Railway. [8]
The new service was inaugurated on 13 March 1938, [note 9] with trains running through to Liverpool through the former Mersey Railway route, now also, of course part of the LMS. Trains ran every 15 minutes, enhanced to 10 minutes at the busiest times. The Seacombe branch passenger service was now exclusively operated by steam trains of the London and North Eastern Railway (as successor since 1923 to the Great Central Railway). [2] [8]
Through coaches from New Brighton to London had been inaugurated in 1923, one journey in each direction being made. When the New Brighton line was electrified, the London service continued at first, and was the only steam hauled passenger service on the New Brighton line. The coaches ran via West Kirby to Hooton, where they were attached to a main line train. The engine power was customarily a class 3F 0-6-0. [2]
On 1 January 1948 most of the railways of Great Britain were taken into national ownership under British Railways.
In the 1950s usage of the Seacombe branch declined steeply: both the goods traffic and passenger traffic diminished. The passenger service was withdrawn after the close of service on Sunday 3 January 1960. The branch was closed to all traffic on 17 June 1963. Some years later its route was used for the approach road to the Kingsway Tunnel that opened in 1971. [2] [11]
Bidston West to North curve closed officially on 28 November 1983, but the dominant traffic had been iron ore trains which ceased in 1980. [11]
Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail serves 69 stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lines – the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The network uses 750 V DC third rail electrified lines having 75.0 miles (120.7 km) of routes, of which 6.5 miles (10.5 km) are underground. Since January 2023, Merseyrail commenced replacing its train fleet, withdrawing the Class 507 and 508 trains and introducing 53 new Class 777 trains. The network carried 25.5 million passengers in the 2022/2023 statistical period.
Bidston is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England.
Merseytravel is the passenger transport executive, responsible for the coordination of public transport in the Liverpool City Region in North West England. Merseytravel was established on 1 December 1969 as the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive. From 1 April 2014, with the creation of the Liverpool City Region, Merseytravel expanded its area of operation from the metropolitan county of Merseyside to also include the Borough of Halton.
Wallasey is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it is at the mouth of the River Mersey, on the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. At the 2011 Census, the population was 60,284.
The Wirral Peninsula, known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about 15 miles (24 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpool Bay to the north.
The Wirral line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern line.
West Kirby railway station serves the town of West Kirby in Merseyside, England. The station is the terminus of the West Kirby branch line, which is one of the two branches of the Wirral Line on the Merseyrail network. There is a central island platform between two terminus tracks and two parallel sidings for out-of-use electric multiple units. A second station, which was the terminus of a branch line from Hooton, lay to the east of the Wirral Line station; it was closed in 1962.
Bidston railway station serves the village of Bidston, Merseyside, England. The station is situated at a junction of the West Kirby branch of the Wirral line, which is part of the Merseyrail network; it also serves as the northern terminus for the Borderlands line from Wrexham Central, with services operated by Transport for Wales.
The Borderlands line, also known as the Bidston–Wrexham or Wrexham–Bidston line, is a railway line between Bidston on the Wirral Peninsula in England and Wrexham Central in the north-east of Wales. Passenger train services are part of the Wales & Borders franchise and are operated by Transport for Wales Rail. The line connects to the Merseyrail network at Bidston, the North Wales Coast Line at Shotton and the Shrewsbury–Chester line at Wrexham General. Parts of the line in Wales are used by freight trains, serving Deeside Industrial Park and the Hanson Cement works to the south of Buckley.
New Brighton railway station serves the suburb of New Brighton in Wallasey, Merseyside, England. It is situated at the end of the New Brighton branch of the Wirral Line 8.25 miles (13.28 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead Park railway station is a station serving the town of Birkenhead, in Merseyside, England. It lies on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead North railway station serves the town of Birkenhead, in Merseyside, England. The station is situated on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network, close to the junction of the New Brighton and West Kirby branches. Birkenhead North TMD, situated just to the west of the station, is the main traction maintenance depot for the Merseyrail fleet.
Leasowe railway station is a station serving the village of Leasowe, in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.
Seacombe railway station was located in Wallasey, Wirral, England. The station was opened by the Wirral Railway in 1895 and closed in 1963.
Liscard and Poulton railway station was located in Wallasey, Wirral, Cheshire and was an intermediate station on the Seacombe branch of the Wirral Railway.
Poulton is an area of the town of Wallasey, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula and bordered by Liscard to the north, Egremont to the north east and Seacombe to the east. The West Float, is to the south.
Moreton railway station serves the town of Moreton, in Merseyside, England. The station is on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, which is part of the Merseyrail network.
Hoylake railway station serves the town of Hoylake, Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network.
Birkenhead Dock Branch is a disused railway line running from the South junction of Rock Ferry, to the site of the former Bidston Dock on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The branch is approximately 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) in length. Although called a branch, the line was accessible from both ends, from Bidston East junction and from Rock Ferry railway station. The former Mollington Street Rail Depot was branched into the line. A section of the line runs through Haymarket Tunnel and a low-level cutting through the centre of Birkenhead; visible from the road flyovers. The former Canning Street North signal box has now been demolished following fire damage, and the rails across the level crossing there have been removed due to the provision of cycle lanes on the roadway. The non-standard gates remain on the east side, but a fence has been erected on the other side despite the railway being officially out of use, rather than closed. Level crossings are also located at Duke Street and Wallasey Bridge Road. The railway lines are still partially intact.
The Birkenhead Railway was a railway company in North West England. It was incorporated as the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway (BL&CJR) in 1846 to build a line connecting the port of Birkenhead and the city of Chester with the manufacturing districts of Lancashire by making a junction near Warrington with the Grand Junction Railway. The BL&CJR took over the Chester and Birkenhead Railway in 1847, keeping its own name for the combined company until it shortened its name to the Birkenhead Railway in 1859. It was taken over jointly, on 1 January 1860, by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR). It remained a joint railway until nationalisation of the railways in 1948.