Liverpool Overhead Railway

I first came to know of the Liverpool Overhead Railway when I found a print of Dingle Station amongst the Birmingham photo's.  I knew it wasn't in Birmingham and a quick Google introduced me to the fascinating history of the L.O.R.  A trawl through the prints and slides revealed that my father had, once again, made an effort to capture a piece of history on film via a visit to Liverpool in the year before the system would be shut down for good.

You can find some interesting facts about the L.O.R. on Timbo's Liverpool site and UrbanRail.Net.  Rather oddly, and for reasons that will become clear later, there is also an interesting page on the Subterranea Britannica site.

Up until now, Dewi William's photo's have been the definitive internet resource to show the railway as it was.  I think my father's photographs complement these wonderfully.  Put the two pages together and you have a superb visual record of the network!

My thanks to Ray for providing this very early photograph of the L.O.R.

L.O.R. Train Approaching Seaforth & Litherland Stn - 10/4/55

Not a particularly exciting start!  Seaforth & Litherland was a Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway station and it had been equipped with a third rail as part of reciprocal arrangement with the L.O.R.

N End of Seaforth Sands Stn - 10/4/55

Seaforth Sands station was the first proper L.O.R. station on the trip.  It was not part of the original system, however - it had opened in 1894 with the completion of an extension from Alexandra Dock.

N Approach to Seaforth Sands Stn - 10/4/55

A similar shot to above but my father has moved closer to the end of the platform. I highly suspect that the two gentlemen to the right of the picture are Vic Goodwin and Ken Morris - friends of my father and big rail enthusiasts too!

Seaforth Sands Stn - 10/4/55

A nice exterior shot of Seaforth Sands Station.

N End of Alexandra Dock Stn - 10/4/55

One of the main functions of the L.O.R. was to serve the docks.  There were many 'dock' stations.

Train Arriving at Huskisson Dock Stn - 10/4/55

The large building dominating this shot was the warehouse of the Sandon and Canada Dock goods depot.  It was built by the Midland Railway company in the 1850s.  Here is another shot from 1924. It was spotted by Andy Doherty in 1998 but local man Dave tells me it sadly no longer exists.  Thanks to Jon for his help with this one.

Train Leaving Huskisson Dock Stn - 10/4/55

The ship's funnel and the numerous cranes show how close the railway was to the docks.

Train Leaving Pier Head Stn - 10/4/55

The fascinating Art Deco style building in the centre of this picture survives to this day and serves a double role in life!  The tall column is a ventlation shaft for the Mersey Tunnel and the offices at the base were used by the company that ran the tunnel.  There is some interesting information about the building on the Liverpool World Heritage website. Thanks to Will for his help with this one.

Train Nr Herculaneum Dock Stn - 10/4/55

This is the part of the railway that fascinates me!  In 1896, three years after the line opened, it was extended to Dingle Station.  To achieve this, a tunnel had to be cut.  Surely the L.O.R. must have been the only 'overhead' railway with an extensive underground section! A local resident provided a modern view of this scene and also a close up of the tunnel entrance.

Dingle Stn, L'Pool O'Head Rly - 10/4/55

A cracking shot of the interior of Dingle Station.  Seeing this, it's not surprising that the station has an entry on Subterranea Britannica.

Frontage of Dingle Stn - 10/4/55

The end of the line and a close up of the station entrance.  Have a look at the left hand side of this shot and then check out the colour picture below.

Fares at Dingle Stn - 10/4/55

A lovely colour slide of the fares board outside the station.  The advert for Wall's ice cream is a nice snap shot of times gone by too.  Simple cones and bricks in wafers instead of today's fancy Soleros etc!

Dingle Stn - 10/4/55

A wider view of Dingle Station shows the nearby Gaumont cinema too.  A modern view taken by a local resident shows the house to the right and the Gaumont cinema survive.  The station building, sadly, does not...

Site of Pier Head Stn L.O.R. - 26/6/60

In 1960 my parents went to the Isle of Man for a holiday.  My father obviously had to re-visit the site of Pier Head station to see what was left.  The simple answer - nothing.  After it's closure in 1956, the railway remained in place for a year or so with the hope that someone would take it over and get it running again.  The investment never happened and the system was dismantled starting in September 1957.  The demolition was completed by January 1959.

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