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Long before the Euston and Manchester Electrification Project brought 25 kV a.c. traction to Manchester, the city was host to various electrified railways. The innovative Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, after a pilot scheme, electrified the Manchester Victoria to Bury commuter line which I hope to describe in the future. Overhead electrification at 1500 volts d.c. was next introduced on the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway in 1931 (there's a short post here).
Manchester London Road station (since renamed Manchester Piccadilly) was opened as a railway 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). The Sheffield, Ashton-under Lyne and Manchester Railway had opened as far as Godley by 1842 and, when fully opened, was always a challenging route, as the gradient diagram below reveals. The single-bore Woodhead Tunnels, each 3 miles long, added to the difficulties. For more about the tunnels, see the Wikipedia article here and the 'Forgotten Relics of an Enterprising Age' article here.
Click for larger view
Gradient Diagram: Sheffield - Manchester via Woodhead
In addition to passenger traffic, the line was an important freight route, conveying coal west across the Pennines to the factories of Lancashire. Coal originated both further south in the Nottinghamshire coalfield and from the South Yorkshire mines. Marshalling yards at Wath, north of Sheffield, consolidated the South Yorkshire traffic and a branch line from Wath joined the main Manchester to Sheffield line just east of Penistone. The branch from Wath included the fierce Worsborough Bank with a gradient of around 1 in 40 for which Gresley provided his massive U1 2-8-0+0-8-2 Beyer-Garratt as a banking engine (see the LNER Encyclopedia here for a brief description).
The success of the electrification of the Manchester South Junction & Altrincham railway in 1931 (briefly described here) encouraged the L.N.E.R. to proceed with their plans for electrification of the main line between Manchester and Sheffield via Woodhead and the branch to Wath but after the first locomotive had been built, World War II suspended completion.
After World War II, the long-planned scheme introduced main line overhead electrification at 1500 volts d.c. Full electric operation throughout the line was deferred until completion of the replacement double-line Woodhead tunnel large enough to accommodate the overhead line equipment. The double-line tunnel opened in 1953 and the majority of the electrified line finally opened in 1954, providing a modernised freight and passenger route across the Pennines. There's a Wikipedia article here and a Metropolitan Vickers publicity brochure from 1954 on the Railways Archive website here.
Between 1971 and 1973, a massive coal-fired power station was commissioned at Fiddler's Ferry, near Warrington. There's a Wikipedia article here. This power station produced a staggering 1,989 MW of power from its four 500 MW alternators. The Manchester-Sheffield-Wath route was used to transport coal to this facility.
Plans to rationalise British Railways by eliminating duplicate routes originally slated the former Midland Railway Hope Valley line from Manchester to Sheffield for closure with the Manchester-Sheffield-Wath line being retained. But the plans were reversed and the Manchester-Sheffield-Wath line was closed in 1981. Following closure, the later double-line Woodhead Tunnel and the two original tunnels have been re-purposed for National Grid power cables.
Class 76 locomotives 76033 and 76031 at Woodhead on 24th March 1981 (Photo: Kevin Cooke CC BY-SA 3.0)
Fiddler's Ferry Power Station continued in operation after closure of the Manchester-Sheffield-Wath line in 1981, obtaining coal via other routes. Final decommissioning of the power station was not until 2020.
Fiddler's Ferry decommissioned power station viewed from train approaching Runcorn in 2022
Electric Traction
Two classes of electric locomotive and one class of electric multiple unit were produced for the line. Freight trains were hauled by one or two of the class of fifty-eight 'EM1' Bo-Bo locomotives. Express passenger trains were hauled by the class of seven 'EM2' Co-Co locomotives until they were withdrawn in 1968, after which 'EM1' locomotives were used until closure of the line. Eight 3-car Electric Multiple Units were built for suburban services from Manchester as far as Hadfield.
EM1:
Click for larger view
'EM1' Electric Locomotive (from 'Metro-Vick Locos 1954' in Railway Archive)
The 'EM1' (later class 76) locomotive had four 467 horse power Metropolitan Vickers d.c. motors. Pair 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. The drawing below includes the mechanical drawing, wiring drawing and control table.
See also the Wikipedia article on Class 76 here and LNER Encyclopedia article here.
EM2:
The 'EM2' was designed for 90 mph running, not possible on the Manchester-Sheffield-Wath route and was intended to serve as the prototype for use on further overhead d.c. electrified schemes which did not occur because of the decision to use overhead 25 kV a.c. in the future. See the Wikipedia article on Class 77 here and LNER Encyclopedia article on EM2 here.
Class 506:
See the Wikipedia article here and LNER Encyclopedia article here.
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.
Related posts on other websites
Manchester–Sheffield–Wath electric railway (Wikipedia).
Metro-Vick Locos 1954 (Railway Archive).
British Rail Class 76 (Wikipedia).
British Rail Class 77 (Wikipedia).
British Rail Class 506 (Wikipedia).
The Electric Bo-Bo Class EM1 (BR Class 76) Locomotives (LNER Encyclopedia).
The Electric Co-Co Class EM2 (BR Class 77) Locomotives (LNER Encyclopedia).
The Glossop Line Class 506 Electric Multiple Units (LNER Encyclopedia).
LNER Class U1 (Wikipedia)
The U1 Garratt (LNER Encyclopedia)
Woodhead Tunnel (Wikipedia)
The story of the Woodhead Tunnels (Forgotten Relics)
Fiddler's Ferry Power Station
Related posts on this website
Manchester South Junction & Altrincham Railway
Class 'EM1' D.C. Electric
Class 'EM2' D.C. Electric
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).
I was a volunteer at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester (MOSI) for many years (you can find all my posts about the Museum here). A complete cab from an 'EM1' locomotive was displayed in the Power Hall at MOSI. 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.
One cab of the ex-Manchester, Sheffield, Wath 'EM1' electric locomotive 76039 has been preserved in British Rail blue livery.
Ex-Manchester, Sheffield, Wath 'EM1' electric locomotive 76039 preserved cab in British Rail blue livery with later running number and worksplate
Driving desk of preserved cab. The reflections from the various surfaces produce a rather confused result, sorry.
The 'EM1' Bo-Bo locomotives had four 467 horse power Metropolitan Vickers d.c. motors. Pair 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. The drawing below includes the mechanical drawing, wiring drawing and control table.
Click for larger view
'EM1' Electric Locomotive (from 'Metro-Vick Locos 1954' in Railway Archive)
Related posts on other websites
British Rail Class 76 (Wikipedia).
The Electric Bo-Bo Class EM1 (BR Class 76) Locomotives (LNER Encyclopedia).
Related posts on this website
Class 'EM2' D.C. Electric
It is with great sadness that I report the death of John Brandrick on 22nd May 2023. Amongst his many interests he was Chairman of the Old Locomotive Committee and well-known as a railway enthusiast, railway historian and live-steam modeller.
John Brandrick at 'Lionsmeet', Worcester, 13th August 1922.
In 2021, the Trade Show 'Railtex' resumed resumed after the interruption caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic (there's a brief report here). The once every two years format continued so it was next staged in May 2023.
On Wednesday 10th May 2023 I attended the show at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham, together with one of my friends from Bath who travelled independently by train. We both alighted at Birmingham International station which is a short walk under cover from the Exhibition Centre.
Getting there from Bath
My friend had an interesting journey so I've added a few notes. Bath to Gloucester was by a GWR diesel multiple unit. According to the Railcam.UK 'app' (there's a brief introduction to this 'app' here), this was reporting number 2E53 from Warminster to Great Malvern, making 14 intermediate stops (including Bath), taking just under 2 hours for the whole journey. At Bristol Temple Meads, he was surprised to find 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley' with its support coach standing on the siding adjacent to platform 3. Afterwards, we found out a little more about this steam working (see 'The Welsh Marches Express' below). On arrival at Gloucester he had a short wait before catching a Cross Country 'Voyager' - the 08:45 from Cardiff, reporting number 1M01, 09:49 Gloucester, due in Birmingham New Street at 10:45 before going forward to Nottingham (due 12:04). The final leg was another Cross Country 'Voyager' - the 09:25 from Manchester, reporting number 1O12 leaving Birmingham New Street at 11:05 and due at Birmingham International just seven minutes later.
Getting there from Wolverhampton
I took the bus from Brewood to Wolverhampton at 09:35 and walked to the railway station. I suppose I have given up expecting to see much progress on the tram extension to the railway station but it was notable that Railway Drive was not teeming with the usual orange-clad workers. In fact, railway drive had been cleared of construction debris and the flangeways of the track were clean. Near the station, the area had been paved over, making it much easier for pedestrians to reach the station buildings, and the double-track tramway now swept right before the lines converged on a headshunt provided with a rather basic platform with awning. A few workmen with plant were still present in the headshunt area. There was no evidence of any overhead electrification so I decided it would be premature to imagine that actual running trams were imminent.
My rail journey was simple as the 09:25 from Manchester was routed via Wolverhampton, due 10:39. Just before the train arrived, the platform was swopped from 2 to 3 (to allow a down train into platform 2) but since platforms 2 and 3 form an island, it was no great inconvenience to passengers. We had a signal stop in New Street North Tunnel for a couple of minutes, waiting for a platform. Passengers waiting to board, including my friend, found that the platform announced previously had suddeenly swopped but my friend and I met up for the short journey to Birminham International.
The Welsh Marches Express
I don't follow main line steam specials but a quick check with the Railcam.UK 'app' showed movement 5Z65 leaving Bishops Lydeard at 05:43 so I presumed the locomotive had been prepared on the West Somerset Railway and made its way with the Support Coach to Bristol.
60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley' and Support Coach at Bristol Temple Meads on 10th May 2023 prior to 'Welsh Marches Express' (Photo: S. Morris): Bristol Area Rail.
My friend found the piece in the 'Shropshire Star' detailing the Paignton-Shrewsbury and return 'Welsh Marches Express'. As 1Z65, this had left Paignton at 05:45, diesel hauled, picking up passengers at various stations to Bristol. With the steam locomotive taking over, 1Z65 was due to leave at 09:14, head north through Filton then joining the Great Western Main Line west at Patchway, through the Severn Tunnel and continuing almost to Newport where the train was to take the eastern leg of the Maindee Triangle to reach the route to Abergavenny and Hereford. The schedule allowed two hours to Hereford, where the train was to pause for 50 minutes (a 'water stop' I assume). Another hour was allowed to reach Shrewsbury, due 13:05.
The 'Shropshire Star' had helpfully added a link to the detailed timings on the RTT 'app' (a similar 'app' to Railcam.UK, also using Open Rail data provided by Network Rail) so I was able to look at how the journey to Shrewsbury turned out. The diesel-hauled train arrived in Bristol just 5 minutes late but by the time 60007 was attached and joining passengers boarded, departure was 15 minutes late. Arrival at the Maindee Triangle was only 7 minutes late but, since the steam special had been booked to pause at Maindee North Junction whilst a conflicting movement cleared, the steam special was 'right time' setting off on the Welsh Marches Line. However, the train had lost 20 minutes by Abergavenny, with no improvement by Hereford. Further time was lost during the stop at Hereford and departure was 41 minutes 'down'. By Craven Arms, the arrears had increased to 50 minutes and arrival at Shrewsbury was at 14:01, 56 minutes late. And, later that day, the return journey would operate! Nobody should imagine running main line steam specials is easy.
The Exhibition
'Railtex' and 'Infrarail' had resumed after the Covid-19 Panemic in 2022 and there's a brief post here on that event.
In 2023, security personnel were again positioned on the broad, covered overhead walkway connecting the railway station to the Exhibition Centre, checking bags and the indications from two metal detector portals. As both my friend and I were pre-registered, admission merely required do-it-yourself scanning of the pre-registration 'QR' code which immediately printed card visitor badge for attachment to a lanyard selected from an adjacent dump bin. A number of ladies in formal suits were on hand to provide assistance, if required.
'Railtex', bills itself as an 'international exhibition of railway equipment, systems and services' and the stands occupied around 3/4 of Hall 3 (which is around 121m x 90m). The term 'Infrarail' seems to have been discontinued. Stands covered the range of topics I expected although a number of familiar names were absent and there were many unfamiliar names, often from Europe. My friend and I spent a few hours touring the stands, taking in one of the presentations in the Conference Zone. As my friend had specific further meetings planned, we split-up and I returned home by train.
We both found the visit useful but there's not the air of excitement which once seemed to permeate these exhibitions (or am I just getting old?). One exhibitor commented that the previous day had been quiet but the day we attended, it was busy without being 'jammed'.
Getting back to Wolverhampton
From a rail and air point of view the National Exhibition Centre has an excellent location. A few minutes walk and you're at a main-line railway station. A few more minutes on the Air-Rail Link and you're at the International Airport. The Air-Rail Link is an automatic, cable-hauled people mover which replaced the original 'Maglev' system. There's a Wikipedia article on the Air-Rail Link here. The location is perhaps not quite so ideal from a road transport view, requiring large numbers of vehicles each with few passengers to have access to and from the location together with parking facilities.
When I got back to Birmingham Unternational station, information displays showed all sorts of trains (most with delays posted), but I couldn't discern a simple answer to the question "which is the best train to get me back to Wolverhampton?". There were lots of passengers around, but I couldn't see any staff. Without much confidence, I selected the 15:08 Holyhead service, off platform 5. I found a TfW class 158 (reporting number 1D15) standing at the platform and joined the few passengers aboard. As departure time neared, quite an influx of passengers boarded and we left, a few minutes late quite well-loaded.
At Birmingham New Street, we stood for a few minutes and, when a 'Pendolino' which had followed us ran in to an adjacent platform, I fully expected it to precede us to Wolverhampton before I realised it was terminating at New Street. I was surprised when a class 66 appeared from the Holliday Street tunnel with a long freight train and sedately made its way through the station and into New Street South Tunnel. Railcam.UK identified this working as 6E11 starting from Appleford at 11:07 routed via Didcot, Swindon, Gloucester, Birmingham and Derby ultimately reaching Milford Junction West, south of York. Further research later showed that Hanson Asphalt have a manufacturing site at Appleford which imports coarse aggregate by rail, so the train was probably 'empties' returning north.
We left Birmingham New Street with just one booked stop at Sandwell and Dudley before Wolverhampton but we were following the Walsall-Woverhampton 'all stations' reporting number 2W36 which slowed our progress, eventually bringing us to a brief standstill at Monmore Green. Once 2W36 had 'tucked himself' into bay platform 5, I expected us to move into the station, but we were held again at the final signal before the station (4271) whilst a 'Pendolino' running as Empty Coaching Stock (ECS) was crossed in front of us from platform 1 to the Up Main towards Birmingham. With platform 1 now available, my train was finally able to proceed into the station.
My local railway pictures
West Midland Railways.
Spring 2023 started on 20th March. Although we'd had some snow during the winter, we escaped bad snows where I am. But it had been cold by U.K. standards, made more painful by staggering recent increases in energy costs, so I was cheered by the prospect of better weather. The local birdsong also became more optimistic, encouraging me to make the first 'pilgrimage' of the year by train on the 24th March. I chose to visit Liverpool and the Wirral (a favourite destimation) and booked a First Class return ticket online.
In the past, I've often used the West Midland service which requires no changes and gives the shortest overall journey time although it makes a number of stops. But I decided to see how I fared with Avanti who have been getting heavily criticised for poor service and large numbers of cancellations at short notice. In general, I believe these criticisms are justified (as are the wider complaints about our expensive, pathetic railway services) but, on 24th March, all my Avanti trains were on time and provided a decent service.
The plan was to catch a Euston to Glasgow via Birmingham 'Pendolino' service as far as Crewe, waiting there for a Euston to Liverpool via the Trent Valley Line 'Pendolino' train. The first train arrived on time and I quickly found my reserved seat in coach J at the rear. With major engineering works around Carstairs, I discovered that the train would be terminating at Preston where onwards passengers would probably be decanted onto a Transpennine service to continue their journey north. During my half hour non-stop journey to Crewe (depart Wolverhampton 08:32, due Crewe 09:07) I was the only passenger in the coach so the friendly catering staff had time to serve a reasonable cooked English Breakfast with white toast, butter and jam, together with a mug of tea and a glass of orange juice. I was intrigued by the rather small oval plates but the food was good and at least the crockery was glazed pottery not plastic and the cutlery steel so I forgave the relative lack of refinement and alighted at Crewe platform 11, right time, in a good mood.
Merseyside in March: Breakfast on Avanti 'Pendolino' Wolverhampton-Crewe
I'd about 20 minutes to wait for my connection, also from platform 11 but before that was due, a single unit DMU from Chester arrived in platform 11 from the north, discharged its passengers, re-loaded and scuttled off back to Chester. Although Crewe station is now a shadow of its former days, I still enjoy looking at what remains. There's a short post about a visit I made in the 1950s here. Although the station buildings have been repeatedly modified over the years, some of the grandeur of the LNWR expansion of the station in 1907 remains, particularly in what's left of the overall roof. The post here talks about the station buildings. On time, my connecting service came snaking in through Crewe South Junction and I boarded coach J at the rear of the 'Pendolino'. This train, reporting number 1F12, had left Euston at 07:43 and on leaving Crewe at 09:26 had one stop at Runcorn with a scheduled arrival at Liverpool Lime Street at 10:04.
Merseyside in March: Liverpool-bound 'Pendolino' on Avanti service 1F12 arriving at Crewe platform 11.
Catering was once again promptly offered and I accepted white toast and an orange juice as we sped along the familiar route to make a 'right time' arrival at Liverpool, where the weather was dry with patchy sun. Disembarking, I paused to record another view of the elegant train sheds and then some details of a conveniently located 3-aspect colour light signal supplied by Unipart Dorman before purchasing an All Areas 'Saveaway' day ticket which would give me flexibility to change my plans during the day.
Merseyside in March: Train Sheds at Lime Street viewed from platform 9.
I made my way to the underground Merseyrail station, unsure of my initial destination. With four trains an hour currently to New Brighton, West Kirby and Chester, plus two trains an hour to Ellesmere Port, I knew I should have less than five minutes to wait for a train. The first train was for New Brighton and I was tempted to stay on it all the way but uncertainty over the weather made me alight at James Street with the aim of taking a Mersey Ferry Trip before the possible deterioration of the weather. At street level, the sun was encouraging but there was quite a breeze coming from the river. Guessing that the next ferry would still be at 11 o'clock, I decided that I'd time to call in at the Museum of Liverpool to check on the preserved locomotive 'Lion' before continuing to Pierhead. Well, the exhibit was safe, if a little dusty, but I was pleased to see that the associated audio-visual screens which had been out of order on my last visit were working again. There's a short post about the audio-visual systems as originally installed here.
A short walk took me from the Museum to the ferry booking office. I knew that Seacombe landing stage had re-opened after a recent lengthy refurbishment. There's a brief mention of this work in the post about my trip in August 2021 here. But I hadn't realised that Birkenhead Woodside landing stage had now closed for two years whilst it, too, was refurbished. In the past, I have used the ferry to Seacombe and walked to New Brighton (in 2016) or the reverse (in 2019). But walking seemed ambitious and bus did not appeal so I booked a round trip 'River Explorer' which involved a modest extra payment. I boarded the waiting 'Snowdrop' (still in its 'dazzle' livery which I hate) and took up my customary position on the outside upper deck towards the bow. With the tide coming in, we were moored facing the sea. A combination of wind and tide made the water surge between the landing stage and the hull, giving the ferry an unpredictable motion which fortunately subsided once we were under way.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' at Pierhead looking downstream. Bunkering vessel 'Mersey Endurance' at Cruise Terminal on the right.
As the electronic chimes of the Liver Building clock struck eleven, the usual group of late passengers rushed to board and we cast off. The ferry initially headed downstream while the recorded commentary described some of the notable features of Liverpool North Docks, then we turned across channel and headed for Seacombe Landing Stage, finally turning to approach facing downstream.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' approaching the re-opened Seacombe Landing Stage, showing one of the new linkspans connecting the pontoon to the land.
We moored and the new powered gangway was lowered to let passengers off and on. I've always been amazed that the previous counterbalanced, manually operated gangways (usually requiring quite strenuous attention) have survived so long.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' berthed at the refurbished Seacombe Landing Stage. Note the new, hydraulic gangways.
The original method of positioning the pontoon with multiple anchor chains at each end has been retained. The lively sea in the picture below suggests the skill needed by the ferry skippers dock repeatedly without incident.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' at the re-opened Seacombe Landing Stage, showing pontoon anchor chains.
'Snowdrop' moved away from the landing stage and performed a 180 degree turn to starboard to continue upstream. We passed the entrance to the Great Float and Birkenhead Docks and the unoccupied Twelve Quays landing stage, used principally by Stena 'Ro-Ro' vehicle and passenger ferries to Belfast. It was a new experience to continue past Birkenhead Woodside landing stage without stopping. The only river traffic we saw was a tug heading downstream near the Liverpool shore and a dredger. Dredgers, of various types, are a permanent feature. The action of the tide and river flow continually shifts massive amounts of sand and keeping marked channels to adequate depths means dredgers are always required.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' heading upriver in choppy conditions with the Liverpool Shore and Anglican Cathedral in background. Note tug going down river and dredger.
On the Birkenhead shore to starboard (our right) we then passed the Cammell Laird shipyard with its large Wet Basin and Dry Docks used for ship repair work. The picture below gives an idea of the layout.
Aerial view of Cammell Laird shipyard: River Mersey top left, Wet Basin top right, various dry docks in the centre (Photo: Cammell Laird Ltd)
One of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary 'Tide' class tankers, 'Tiderace' A137 was dry docked.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' of Cammell Laird docks showing Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tanker 'Tiderace' dry-docked.
'Ben My Chree' was in an adjacent dry dock. She is a 'Ro-Ro' vehicle and passenger ferry built 1998 (125m long, 40m beam) operated by Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, normally on the Heysham - Douglas route. The Company refer to her as a 'Ro-PAX' and cite her as a reliable performer.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' of Cammell Laird docks with 'Topaz Tangaroa' multi-purpose offshore vessel (background) and 'Ben My Chree' Ro-PAX ferry (foreground).
As 'Snowdrop' continued upstream, I had a better view of 'Topaz Tangaroa' in the Wet Basin. Her whole foredeck is enclosed to provide accommodation for 82 crew and blended into the bridge giving her a bullet-like appearance, somewhat diminisheded by the helicopter deck mounted above on columns. The rear of the ship is a flat workdeck, dominated by a massive side-mounted crane. Length is 98m, breadth is 20m. She was built in 2019 by Vard in Norway as a multi-purpose offshore vessel for Topaz Energy and Marine in Dubai. Registered in the Marshall Islands, she is operated by P&O Offshore Logistics, based in Dubai. There's brief information here.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' of Cammell Laird docks with 'Irish Sea Pioneer' drill ship (visible left) and 'Topaz Tangaroa' multi-purpose offshore vessel (centre).
But the award for the oddest-looking vessel went to 'Irish Sea Pioneer', also in the Wet Basin. Built in 1996 by Bollinger in the USA for Halliburton-BHP and 55m (or perhaps 47m) long with 24m beam, she's a type of Offshore Support Vessel variously termed a 'drillship', a 'giant liftboat' or a 'four legged jack-up boat'. There's a fascinating article here and more than you need to know about designing such a vessel in a Conference Paper here.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' of Cammell Laird docks with 'Irish Sea Pioneer' drill ship (left) and Topaz Tangaroa' multi-purpose offshore vessel (right).
Leaving Cammell Laird astern, we approached Tranmere Oil Terminal with its oil storage tanks one of which, I noticed, has acquired a partial geodesic-domed roof. As we turned across river towards the Liverpool shore, there were two oil tanker berthed at Tranmere, each attended by a tug. I assumed the tugs were there as fire precautions because all modern tugs have powerfull water pumps and and water monitors for firefighting. I was unable to identify any of the vessels visually. I've explained in the post Watching The Ships Go By how ships with Automatic Identification System (AIS) operating can be identified and tracked. The whole of the river area 'Snowdrop' had cruised can be displayed in real time here.
Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' of Tranmere Oil Terminal showing two unidentified, berthed oil tankers, each attended by a tug.
Now heading downstream, 'Snowdrop' passed the re-development of the former South Docks, the remarkable preserved area of Albert Dock, the offensive modern architecture of the Museum of Liverpool and berthed back at Pierhead in the shadow of the Three Graces as the iconic Custom House, Cunard Building and Liver Building are known. UNESCO awarded Liverpool World Heritage Status in 2004 for the “outstanding universal value” of its waterfront but this accolade was lost in 2021 because of “irreversible loss” to the historical value of its Victorian docks caused by insensitive redevelopment which continues with the construction of a new football stadium for Everton Football Club at the former Bramley-Moore Dock. I left the ferry after an interesting cruise, passing the long queue of passengers waiting on the landing stage to board the 12 noon cuise.
I walked back to James Street Merseyrail station, intending to catch a train to New Brighton. That didn't prove quite as straightforward as I hoped. The first train to arrive was for Chester, so I remained on the platform, looking at the artwork applied to the original patterned tiling on the normally-unused platform 2. I'm afraid I preferred the original, tiled decorations.
Merseyside in March: View of Merseyrail James Street station showing artwork on the normally-unused platform 2, looking towards Birkenhead.
The next arrival was for New Brighton train so I boarded. Like the Chester train, it was a Class 507, a 40-year old veteran, not one of the new Stadler Swiss-built Class 777 currently being introduced. We made the usual rather noisy progress under the river via the Mersey Tunnel and stopped at Birkenhead Hamilton Square. After a flurry of passenger activity, we set off, taking the flyunder to reach New Brighton/West Kirby line. We stopped at Conway Park, an unattractive, modern sub-surface construction in a deep 'station box', open to the sky. The doors opened. A few passengers alighted and boarded. The doors closed. Then nothing. Squinting through the window, I could just see reflected light from the colour light signal at the end of the platform. It was red. After a few minutes, the lady driver announced over the public address a delay because the traction current had been disconnected. No comment about reason (usually a fault or an accident) or likely delay so we all waited in silence. After a few more minutes, another announcement invited us to continue our journey by other means, if we wished and the doors were released. Nobody moved at first, then a trickle of passengers left the train which turned, lemming-like into a flood which I joined, pausing only for a picture of the stranded train and to note a poster saying that the Kirkby Line was the first to be operating Class 777 trains. I just managed to join an already-crammed lift to the surface.
Merseyside in March: View of Merseyrail Conway Park station from platform, with my train stranded by an unexpected traction current interruption.
I started to form a plan to walk back to Hamilton Square station, where I hoped trains to other destinations would still be running. The local area map in the booking hall didn't give me a clear idea of the roads I needed to get to Hamilton Square and even Google Maps on my mobile phone had trouble giving me details, but after a while, I decided on a route to take. The Conway Park station is next to a roundabout on Europa Boulevard, a dual carriageway with a broad central reservation of well-established trees. The area is partially redeveloped but with little traffic. I followed the dual carriageway north to a rather abrupt T-junction with Price Street. Turning right, I came to a railway bridge over what had been two parallel, double-line railways, long disused. I realised this would have been the goods lines to Birkenhead Docks which formerly diverged from the main Chester - Birkenhead Woodside L.M.S. & G.W.R. joint line at Blackpool Street signal box. An earlier post here gives a little background on the railways around Birkenhead. I decided a photograph of the location would be useful and, whilst framing the shot, stumbled on an uneven pavement and crashed to the floor, falling painfully on my left arm. A concerned lady came over to see if I needed help but nothing appeared broken (although everything hurt). I dragged myself upright and assured the lady I would be fine, making sure I had taken the picture.
Long-disused Goods Lines to Birkenhead Docks at Price Street, Birkenhead.
I slowly continuing along Price Street to Hamilton Square itself where I rested on one of the seats in the gardens before continuing to nearby Hamilton Square station.
Hamilton Square Gardens, Birkenhead (Return to New Brighton)
I caught a train back toward Liverpool with thoughts of changing to the Northern Line and visiting Kirkdale (where the depot servicing the Kirkby Line is located) but when the public address announced that, after traversing the Liverpool Loop, the train was for New Brighton, I decided that I was happy to just stay on the train and be taken to my original destination. I felt a sense of deja vu, as my train left James Street, made a brief stop at Hamilton Square Station and arrived at Conway Park. This time, after a normal delay, we carried and called at Birkenhead Park.
On the way to the next station, Birkenhead North (where the New Brighton line diverges from the West Kirby line), my hope that I'd soon be in New Brighton was dashed by a announcement from the lady driver that the service would terminate at Birkenhead North. She explained that extreme late running caused by the earlier traction current disconnection meant that, in an attempt to get back to schedule, the train would return to Liverpool. At Birkenhead North, platform 3 filled with disappointed passengers decanted from my train. I noticed a loaded train in platform 1, which I assumed was about to leave for Liverpool but, after a couple of minutes, these passengers got off and used the overbridge to get to platform 3 and joined the train I'd just abandoned. I'd not previously noticed the trailing crossover and position light ground signal on the main line at the Liverpool end of platform 3. The ground signal came 'off' and my train set off through the reversed crossover to reach the correct line and scuttled off back to Liverpool. The passenger information screen (an orange scrolling LED display capable of detailing the next three departures) displayed some rather unlikely timings for a while but eventually settled down to show the next train for West Kirby with the second train for New Brighton. The West Kirby train arrived and departed and, eventually, the promised New Brighton arrived, allowing the waiting passengers to pile aboard for the ten minute journey to New Brighton, stopping at Wallasey Village the Wallasey Grove Road.
So, despite the delays and my fall, I made it to New Brighton. I turned left on leaving the station and made my way north down Atherton Street towards the Marine Promenade. Liverpool Businessman James Atherton (1770-1836) is credited with developing the North Wirral and New Brighton.
Looking north down Atherton Street from the station (Return to New Brighton)
James Atherton (Williamson Art Gallery and Museum)
I explored along the main road parallel to the promenade, King's Parade, as far as RNLI's New Brighton Lifeboat station but decided not to navigate the car parks and modern retail and hospitality developments to reach the sea wall itself, thinking I'd probably had enough excitement for one day and that I should focus on getting home. It was quite a stiff climb back up Atherton Street to the station and, when the train arrived, I was quite content to flop on board and wait for departure. The journey back to Liverpool Lime Street Low Level was without incident then escalators and walking took me to the main line concourse where I could select my return train.
At 15:33 there was a direct Birmingham service (a Class 350 'Desiro' reporting number 1G59) but I decided to see what the catering was like on Avanti's London service at 15:43 (reporting number 1A58) which meant at least a change at Crewe. The inbound Avanti 'Pendolino' arrived in platform 9, discharged its passengers and departing passengers immediately started to board so I trekked almost the length of the train to reach First Class. I was surprised at how many passengers had already boarded but I found a suitable table and almost immediately the attendant appeared although we were not due to leave for over ten minutes. I explained that I was only going to Crewe with them and studied the menu, ordering an orange juice and a Mushroom and Cheese Croque with Bechamel Sauce which I'd not tried before. The jolly attendant said he'd get the toasted sandwich started, to make sure I had plenty of time to enjoy it. In fact, the hot food and cold drink arrived before we set off up the 1 in 93 bank to Edge Hill and were excellent, ensuring a relaxing journey to Crewe. I monitored the journey on my mobile phone using the Railcam.UK 'app' (there's a brief introduction to this 'app' here). My express only stopped at Runcorn before Crewe whereas 1G59 which had left Liverpool just ten minutes ahead of us made stops at Liverpool South Parkway, Runcorn, Acton Bridge, Hartford and Winsford before Crewe.
Although the Working Timetable suggested that my train would not be 'baulked' by the preceding Class 350, watching the live display on Railcam.UK suggested that we were catching up and we were actually brought to a stand briefly before Winsford. The rest of the journey to Crewe was a bit subdued and we stopped again at signal 0144 outside Crewe. After a couple of minutes, the signal cleared and, as we moved away, I caught a glimpse of a Class 66 with a train of yellow-painted, loaded bogie stone wagons moving from the Up Slow to the Up Liverpool Independent and descending the gradient to enter the tunnel under Crewe North Junction before emerging in a cutting on the Down side of the station. In steam days, this cutting was always referred to as "The Muckhole" by the army of trainspotters always to be found around the footbridge used by enginemen between the station and Crewe North Shed. Railcam.UK identified the Stone train as 6K06, Shap to Basford Hall. As we stopped in platform 5, the train which had slowed our approach to Crewe, 1G59, was still in adjacent platform 6, awaiting the 'right away'.
I left the Avanti train (1A58 was next stop Milton Keynes then Euston) to look for a service stopping at Stafford and discovered another Avanti London service due in platform 1 in a few minutes with a Stafford call. The train arrived and, with only a 20 minute dash to Stafford, I was happy to join the Quiet Coach at the rear with just one other passenger.
At Stafford, I left the station and took a taxi home, very tired but pleased with the trip.
Previous similar Liverpool trips/strong>
Trip on 1st April 2022
Trip on 9th January 2016
My pictures from this trip
Merseyside in March
