An evocative black-and-white picture of the Docks when Coal was King.
(Photo: Museum of Liverpool)
My earlier post Liverpool discussed my fascination with Liverpool. When I was young, the whole of the extensive dock system, operated by the The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (M.D.& H.B.), was still active.
Although the docks themselves were 'enclosed', hidden behind massive walls, the Liverpool Overhead Railway gave a splendid aerial view of the activities on the many quays. See The Liverpool Overhead Railway.
The docks were served by extensive railway sidings and the M.D.& H.B. had a double-track 'main line' linking the landward side of all the docks and, for much of the route, this ran under the elevated tracks of the Liverpool Overhead Railway. Parts of this 'main line' track were 'inset' using granite setts and the cobbled route then also formed a vehicle thoroughfare.
The M.D.& H.B. ran its own fleet of steam locomotives and one of these has been preserved by Liverpool Musuem. Sadly, this locomotive is not currently on display, but is in a Museum of Liverpool store. I visited the Museum Store on 15th May 2010 (the visit is described here) and I was able to inspect the 0-6-0 saddle tank built in 1904 by Avonside. There are a few pictures of the Avonside here. A few years previously, I'd seen the locomotive when it was still on public display in the Transport Gallery at the old Liverpool Museum in William Brown Street (now called the 'World Museum Liverpool'). Prior to that (when I was quite young) I remember seeing these engines at work around the docks.
The preserved Avonside 0-6-0T is not on display,
but is in a Museum of Liverpool store.
From 1907 until 1994 the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board had their headquarters in the Port of Liverpool Building, usually called the Dock Office, an impressive building which, together with its next-door-neighbour the Cunard Building and next-door-but-one neighbour the Liver Building, form the 'Three Graces'.
The Dock Office, Pierhead, Liverpool.
After 1994, re-development as residential and office space restored the grandeur of this Edwardian Baroque Garde II* building. For more details, see the Wikipedia article here.
The portland stone exterior features extensive carving. The plaques on the ornamental gates feature gilded inter-twined letters 'MDHB'. Note the maritime reference on the gate pillars - gilded tridents.
There are more pictures of the Dock Office and the 'Three Graces' in my set of pictures Liverpool.
I was lucky to have seen Liverpool before major changes altered its role. Today, a reduced set of docks is operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, part of Peel Ports.
External Links
The Mersey Docks 1949.
Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (Wikipedia).
Port of Liverpool Building (Wikipedia).
Book References
[1] 'Jesse Hartley - Dock Engineer to the Port of Liverpool 1824-60' by Nancy Ritchie-Noakes, published by National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (ISBN 0 906367 05 0).
[2] 'L.N.W.R. and the M.D.& H.B. - The History of the Dock Lines from the Records' by J. C. James, Limited Edition published c1981.
[3] 'Prince's Dock - A Magnificent Monument of Mural Art' by Adrian Jarvis published 1991 by Merseyside Port Folios (ISBN 0 9516129 0 5).
[4] 'Liverpool and its Canal' by Mike Clarke and Allison Hewitt published 1992 by Merseyside Port Folios (ISBN 0 9516129 3 X).
[5] 'An Illustrated History of Liverpool's Railways' by Paul Anderson, published Irwell Press (ISBN 1-871608-68-6).
