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My first visit to Liverpool was over seventy years ago and my early experiences are described in the posts Liverpool (2008) and Liverpool (again) (2014). Since then, I've continued to publish posts about the area, grouped as Merseyside.
I only recently discovered the website Historic Liverpool) with old maps and a blog run by Martin Greaney and Sue Greaney. They offer framed maps and Martin's book 'Liverpool: A Landscape History'. In the blog, there's a post 'Postcards from Edwardian Liverpool' and two of these particularly interested me.
Liverpool: Edwardian postcard view of Princes Dock, looking north, showing in the foreground the pump house where 'Lion' was used to empty the Princes Graving Dock seen immediately behind the pumphouse (Photo: 'Historic Liverpool')
Liverpool: Edwardian postcard view of Princes Dock, looking north, showing 4-funnel liner at the Landing Stage and New Brighton Tower in the background (Photo: 'Historic Liverpool')
Apart from the general interest of any old photographs, I found three features of special note.
Princes Graving Dock Pumping House
The first postcard shows the Graving Dock emptied and with a cargo vessel receiving attention. In the foreground, the pumping house where 'Lion' was used to drive the chain pump used to empty the Graving Dock is visible. The details are not too clear but, by reference to the 1873 drawing below, the elaborate chimney associated with the Pumping House is definitely visible.
Liverpool: Drawing of Princes Graving Dock Pumping House circa 1873 (National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside)
It's assumed that, following electrification of the Graving Dock pumping in the 1920s and donation of 'Lion' to the Liverpool Engineering Society, this chimney was demolished. Certainly, it's gone in the 1961 colour image I included in the post 'Lion' Locomotive - the Lost Years, copied below.
Liverpool Pierhead in 1961 with the 'Empress of Britain' dominating the scene. Of interest to rail enthusiasts is the rare view of the Pumphouse (to the left of the 'Belfast' hoarding) from where the locomotive 'Lion' was rescued (Photo: N.P.B. collection from 'Reflections on a River').
Click for larger view.
In 1992, National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside documented the remaining Pumping House in drawings and photographs prior to demolition. This information was published in 'Lionsheart', the newsletter of the Old Locomotive Committee (No. 29 April 1993, No. 31 Sep 1993 and No. 61 June 2005) and some of which is reproduced here. All issues of 'Lionsheart' are available online to Old Locomotive Committee members via the OLCO website here, which also includes membership application details.
Four funnel liner
The second postcard shows a four funnel steamship moored at Liverpool Landing Stage. I was intrigued about the identity of this ship and was surprised to discover that only 14 liners were ever built with 4 funnels.
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse (launched 1897, scuttled 1914)
Deutschland (launched 1900, scrapped 1925)
Kronprinz Wilhelm (launched 1901, scrapped 1923)
Kaiser Wilhelm II (launched 1902, siezed by USA 1917 finally scrapped 1940)
Lusitania (launched 1906, torpedoed 1915)
Mauritania (launched 1906, scrapped 1935)
Kronprinzessin Cecilie (launched 1906, siezed by USA 1917 finally scrapped 1940)
France (launched 1910, scrapped 1935)
Olympic (launched 1910, scrapped 1935-1937)
Titanic (launched 1911, sank 1912)
Aquitania (launched 1913, scrapped 1950)
Britannic (launched 1914, mined 1916)
Arundel Castle (launched 1919, scrapped 1959)
Windsor Castle (launched 1921, torpedoed 1943)
The above and much more can be found on the Maritime Quest website here which has a marvellous collection of historic photographs.
This was the period when transatlantic companies vied to provide enhanced facilities to their First Class clientele. Of course, it wasn't just the rich and famous who travelled on these luxurious leviathans. Liverpool was the port of departure for many emigrants seeking a better life in the United States, usually travelling more modestly in 'Steerage' as Third Class was often called.
New Brighton Tower
In both the aboce postcards, New Brighton Tower is visible in the distance on the other side of the river. This tower, outlined in a Wikipedia article here had a fairly short existence (1898-1921), defining the possible range for the date of the two original photographs.
Following the success of Blackpool Tower, opened in 1894, New Brighton acquired its own tower in 1898. The tower itself (like Blackpool) surmounted an impressive brick-built ballroom. The tower was closed during World War I during which maintenance stopped and, after the war, it was decided to demolish the tower and sell the low carbon steel used in its construction for scrap. The Tower Ballroom remained in use until destroyed by fire in 1969.
New Brighton Tower (Photo: Historic England Archive)
Related posts on other websites
Lion & The Old Locomotive Committee (OLCO website)
Four Funnel Liners (Maritime Quest)
New Brighton Tower (Wikipedia)
Related Pumping House posts on this website
'Lion' and the Pumphouse
'Lion' Locomotive - the Lost Years
To find all my posts about the Old Locomotive Committee and the locomotive 'Lion', click here or select 'OLCO' under 'Labels to select a blog topic'.
To find all my posts on Liverpool, The Wirral and Merseyside, click here.
Long before the Euston and Manchester Electrification Project brought 25 kV a.c. traction to the Manchester, the city was host to electrified railways introduced by the innovative Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, which I hope to ruminate on in the future. Electrification was next introduced on the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway. Manchester London road station (now renamed Manchester Piccadilly) was opened as a terminus in 1842 to serve two main line railways: the Manchester and Birmingham (from the south) and the Sheffield, Ashton-under Lyne and Manchester Railway (from the east, then opened as far as Godley). The need to link-up with other railways around Manchester, particularly the Liverpool and Manchester was recognised and the two companies promoted a line to the west of Manchester London Road on a brick viaduct linking up with the Liverpool and Manchester (known as the South Junction Line), together with a branch to Altrincham. The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&A) originally opened in 1849 using steam traction, extending from new through platforms adjacent to Manchester London Road station, Oxford Road station and Knott Mill and Deansgate station, the line then splitting to serve Altrincham or join the Liverpool and Manchester Railway at Ordsall Lane.
Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Electrification
Following the 1923 Grouping, ownership and operation passed to the MSJ&A Railway Committee representing the L.M.S and L.N.E.R. The L.N.E,R. were keen on electrification; the L.M.S. perhaps less so. After a difficult period, an electric service using 1500 volts d.c. finally started operation in 1931, using standard 3-car electric trains of a design already in use on the L.M.S.
MSJ&A overhead electric unit at Altrincham circa 1930 (Public Domain)
In 1971, following conversion of the line to the British Rail standard of overhead 25 kV a.c. electrification, a modernised service was introduced on the line using Class 304 Electric Multiple Units. This class, introduced in 1960, was built in three batches as 4-car sets and were widely used. Maximum speed was 75 m.p.h. and I enjoyed some spirited runs travelling on this class, particularly after 1984 when refurbishment of the class reduced them to 3-car sets.
3-car Class 304 near Sale (Photo: Wikimedia Creative Commons)
This electric service continued until the end of 1991 when the line was closed to allow Manchester Metrolink to take over much of the line. Many of the existing overhead supports were retained as part of a new 750 volts d.c. scheme using modern trams. Towards Manchester, significant re-routing was made and the Metrolink trams now use part of the abandoned C.L.C. route, including the listed 'Birdcage' viaduct as far as the site of Manchester Central (whose arched train shed remains, converted into the G-MEX exhibition centre, forming part of the Manchester Central Convention Complex) before descending to street level through the centre of the city then passing through the Undercroft of Piccadilly Station. Piccadilly was the original terminus of Metrolink but the success of the project has led to a number of new extensions.
Manchester Metrolink: Deansgate-Castlefield with a 'double' unit arriving from St. Peter's Square direction.
Related posts on other websites
Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (Wikipedia).
British Rail Class 505 (Wikipedia).
British Rail Class 304 (Wikipedia).
The Manchester South Junction & Altrincham (BR Class 505) Stock (LNER Encyclopedia).
Metrolink Altrincham Line (Wikipedia).
Usual disclaimer: the above links worked when this post was published but may cease to work in the future if the site owner makes changes.
Related posts on this website
To Altrincham via the former C.L.C.
Manchester by Rail
The Cheshire Lines Committee Routes Today
Book References
[1] ‘British Electric Trains’ by H. W. A. Linecar (Ian Allan) 2nd edition 1949.
[2] ‘DC Electric Trains and Locomotives in the British Isles’ by R. L. Vickers (David & Charles) ISBN 0-7153-8674-3.
My Pictures
Depending on the display device, the right hand edge of pictures included in this blog post may not display. To see an uncropped image, click on the picture. Alternately, you may find most images by following the links below which allow display or download in various resolutions.
Manchester Metrolink.
Manchester Area Rail.
Altrincham Station
An undetected text error resulted in this post claiming to describe the 'EM1' class for some months. I'm sorry.
The success of the 1931 project to electrify the Manchester South Junction & Altrincham railway (briefly described here) encouraged the L.N.E.R. to proceed with their plans for electrification of the main line between Manchester and Sheffied but World War II delayed completion of this project. After World War II, the long-planned scheme introduced main line overhead electrification at 1500 volts d.c. The majority of the electrified line was opened by 1954. Freight trains were single-headed or double-headed by one or two of the original class 'EM1' Bo-Bo locomotives (later TOPS classification was Class 76). Passenger trains were hauled by class 'EM2' Co-Co locomotives (later TOPS classification was Class 77).
A complete 'EM2' named 'Ariadne' is preserved at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester (in addition to one at Midland Railway Centre and one at Utrecht Railway Museum). The Manchester locomotive is 27001 (later E27001) built at Gorton in 1953 which when withdrawn was sold to the Dutch railways, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) in 1969 for further service in Holland. On withdrawal by NS, the locomotive returned to Manchester where it is displayed with its NS running number (1505) and in NS livery. However, on my last visit to the museum in 2022 (described here), many exhibits, including 'Ariadne' were not viewable because of a 'multi-million-pound restoration programme' in progress.
Ex-Manchester, Sheffield, Wath type 'EM2' electric locomotive 'Ariadne' in its NS (Dutch Railways) livery.
I was a volunteer at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester for many years (you can find all my posts about the Museum here). On rare occasions, it was necessary to shunt 'Ariadne' from its normal location in the Power Hall for one reason or another by coupling the electric to another locomotive, either the battery electric shunter or a steam locomotive. I was involved a few times as Shunter or Driver. I never saw 'Ariadne' move under her own power.
Preserved Battery Electric locomotive: General view in Central Electricity Generating Board livery.
A few of the volunteers had made sure that all the auxiliaries, switchgear and the pantograph (the locomotive was parked under a short section of 'dead' overhead contact wire) were kept in working order so that everything could be exercised and 'driving' practised, without actually moving the locomotive. I was told that, before I became a member, an enterprising volunteer had rigged cables from the batteries in the site's battery electric shunter to 'Ariadne', coupled the two together and had driven the combination from Ariadne's cab up and down the site, to the consternation of The Powers That Be, who quickly put a stop to that sort of adventure. I can testify that in the 1990s the locomotive was complete and maintained by volunteers. One of my friends would periodically check the general functioning of the controls by exercising everything except actual motion, going through the start-up routine, accompanied by all sorts of mysterious sounds from the equipment room, the pantograph could be raised and the motor contactors energised. The sequence of 'notching-up' the motors could be carried out, followed by coasting, braking, shutting down and lowering the pantagaph, all without moving.
Just once, my friend let me "drive", without moving. I found it an eerie experience and the 'notching-up' so different from a steam locomotive. The locomotive had four 467 horse power Metropolitan Vickers d.c. motors. Pairs of motors on each bogie were permanently in series. For starting, all four motors were in series with 15 starting resistors in series. 'Notching-up' progressively removed these resistors. The two pairs of motors were then placed in parallel with the starting resistors re-instated. Further 'notching-up' progressively removed the resistors. Final acceleration was achieved by weakening motor fields by switching-in a resistor.
Related posts on other websites
British Rail Class 77 (Wikipedia).
The Electric Co-Co Class EM2 (BR Class 77) Locomotives (LNER Encyclopedia).
Related posts on this website
Class 'EM1' D.C. Electric
My photograph album
Where necessary, clicking on an image above will display an 'uncropped' view or, alternately, pictures may be selected, viewed or downloaded, in various sizes, from the albums listed:-
Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester.
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[Class number corrected, EM1 data moved to separate post: 28-May-2023]
