Wednesday, 15 August 2012
The Mersey Railway company opened in 1886 to connect the communities of Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey; the company built the Mersey Railway Tunnel for its line; this was the first tunnel built under the River Mersey. The line opened with steam locomotive traction, hauling unheated wooden carriages: it later electrified its services in 1903.
The Mersey Railway remained independent in the railway grouping of 1923, although it became closely integrated with the LMS railway's electric train services operating over the former Wirral Railway routes from 1938. The Mersey Railway was nationalised, along with most other British rail services, in 1948.
The tunnel and railway are still in use today as part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail commuter rail network.
Lowry refers to five stations on the Mersey Railway in his work - Birkenhead Central, Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Park, James Street and Liverpool Central.