MERSEY RAILWAY

The Mersey Railway connected Liverpool and Birkenhead, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel from 1886 to 1948. The railway opened with four stations using steam locomotives hauling unheated wooden carriages; in the next six years the line was extended and three more stations opened. However, the steam locomotives created a polluted atmosphere in the tunnel, passengers reverted to using the river ferries and the railway was bankrupt by 1900. Recovery came after the railway adopted electric traction in 1903. The railway was rescued from bankruptcy by Westinghouse Electric, who electrified the railway and provided the first electric multiple units. The cars were supplemented in 1908, 1923 and 1925 and finally in 1936 to allow the progression from 4-car, through 5-car, and finally to 6-car trains. In 1938, when the Wirral Railway was electrified, the units were modified to allow through running between the two systems. Trains were not run in fixed formations but assembled at random. In 1956–57 the cars were replaced by units similar to those used on the Wirral Railway and again in 1980 by Class 507/508 units. The Mersey Railway remained independent in the railway grouping of 1923 but was nationalised in 1948. These photographs are published for information/research purposes only and are not for sale or copy under any circumstances. All information has been researched as fully as possible but accuracy cannot be guaranteed.