Where else to start a gallery other than with the River Mersey itself, where records of a ferry service date back to the 12th century. Ferries have not just operated across the river but also to Ireland and the Isle of Man as shown.
From January 1886 the Mersey Railway provided an alternative means of crossing the river using steam trains. The deep tunnels under the river required passengers to access the station at Birkenhead Hamilton Square by hydraulically powered lifts – water tanks in the tower provided that power. The frequent steam service led to severe pollution in the tunnels; in 1903 electric trains replaced the steam engines. Following electrification of the Wirral Railway in 1936 the long-envisaged through running began to places such as New Brighton.
On the Liverpool side of the river the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway electrified its Southport Line in 1904 and its Preston Line to Aintree in 1906 & to Ormskirk in 1913. Merseyside PTE electrified the former L&Y’s Bury Line as far as Kirkby in 1977.
Some 10 years earlier the electrically operated Liverpool Overhead Railway had opened in 1893 and demonstrated the potential of the new form of traction.
The first steamer arrived on Lake Windermere in 1845, two years before the extension of the branch line from Kendal to Windermere gave a major boost to visitors. Further milestones were the opening of the Furness Railway branch to Lakeside in 1869 and the takeover of all steamer services by the railway company in 1872. A fuller history of steamers on England’s largest lake can be found on the Lake Cruises website.
Here are also some fine examples of station architecture. More details of railways in the county are on the Cumbrian Railway Association website. My couple of photos of stations on the famous Settle & Carlisle Line are from shortly before BR withdrew local stopping servcies from the route. Sadly, modern DMUs do not provide such views.
Britain’s most famous seaside resort was created by the railway, but as these photos show it did not always involve travelling in style. For those wishing a more select and refined experience Morecambe provided an alternative destination. Here we see the station and, a few steps away, the LMS Railway’s modernist hotel just before its restoration.
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