Birkenhead Railway

The Birkenhead Railway was formed on 1 August 1859 as a result of the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Railway merging with the Chester and Birkenhead Railway. The new company was originally called the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway, but in 1859 shortened its name to the The Birkenhead Railway.Casserley (1968). Pages 140-142.] It was taken over, on 1 January 1860, by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR), becoming a joint railway. It remained a Joint Railway until Nationalisation of the railways in 1948.

Routes

The original main routes were those created by the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Railway's Chester Loop and the main line from Chester to a junction with the London and North Western Railway at Walton Junction, near Warrington; and the Chester and Birkenhead Railway's main line from Chester to Birkenhead.Casserley/> Awdry (1990). Pages 206 & 209-210.] Dewick (2005).] Further branches were created:

* A single, twelve mile line branch from Hooton to Parkgate opened on 1 October 1866.Butt (1995).] On 19 April 1886 the line was extended to West Kirby where it connected to the Wirral Railway.

utton Tunnel

The Sutton Tunnel was the scene of a train crash in 1851 on the day of the Chester Cup. An overcrowded train was unable to make progress through the tunnel and had to be pushed by a following train. As both trains were in the tunnel making very slow progress, a third train entered the tunnel at full speed, unaware of the slow progress of the two trains already in the tunnel. More than fifty people were injured, with nine deaths. An inquest was held in the Red Lion pub in Preston Brook, with a verdict of "Accidental Death", though "great blame" was placed on the Executive Committee of the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway Company, while officers and servants of the company were criticised for "want of prudence and discretion". [cite web
url=http://www.cc-publishing.co.uk/Archives/traincrash.html
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Currently working

The lines between Birkenhead and Chester, and from Hooton to Ellesmere Port (on the Helsby branch) now form part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. The section of line from Ellesmere Port to Warrington is operated by Northern Rail as the Chester to Helsby section.

Closed section

The branch line branch from Hooton to West Kirby was closed to passengers in 1956 and to freight traffic in 1962; the track bed of this route is now the Wirral Way, a footpath forming part of the Wirral Country Park.

See also

* List of rail trails

References

Sources

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Further reading

* Merseyside Railway History Group (1982). "The Hooton to West Kirby Branch Line and the Wirral Way", Metropolitan Borough of Wirral., ISBN 0-904582-04-3.
* Vinter, Jeff (1990). "Railway Walks: LMS", Stroud: Alan Sutton. ISBN 0-86299-734-8.

External links

* [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/b/birkenhead_monks_ferry/index.shtml Disused Stations: Birkenhead Monks Ferry railway station]
* [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/h/hadlow_road/index.shtml Disused Stations: Hadlow Road railway station]
* [http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/countryside/OutandAbout/country_parks/wirral_country_park.htm Cheshire County Council: Wirral Country Park]
* [http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/670/content_0001012.html Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council: Wirral Country Park]

Gallery