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Mersey Railway
The Mersey Railway was the first part of the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool, Birkenhead, and now the rest of the Wirral Peninsula in England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel. The railway opened in 1886 with four stations using steam locomotives hauling unheated wooden carriages; in the next six years the line was extended and three more stations opened. Using the first tunnel under the Mersey the line is the world's oldest underground railway outside London. Because the steam locomotives created a polluted atmosphere in the tunnel, many passengers reverted to using the river ferries and the railway was bankrupt by 1900. Recovery came after the railway adopted electric traction in 1903. The Mersey Railway remained independent after the railway grouping of 1923, although it became closely integrated with the electric train services operated by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway over the former Wirral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illustrated London News
''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in 2003. The company continues today as Illustrated London News Ltd, a publishing, content, and digital agency in London, which holds the publication and business archives of the magazine. History 1842–1860: Herbert Ingram ''The Illustrated London News'' founder Herbert Ingram was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, in 1811, and opened a printing, newsagent, and bookselling business in Nottingham around 1834 in partnership with his brother-in-law, Nathaniel Cooke.Isabel Bailey"Ingram, Herbert (1811–1860)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 17 September 2014] As a newsagent, Ingram was struck by the reliable increase in newspaper sales when they featured pictures and shocking stories. Ingram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marc Isambard Brunel
Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (, ; 25 April 1769 – 12 December 1849) was a French-British engineer who is most famous for the work he did in Britain. He constructed the Thames Tunnel and was the father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Born in France, Brunel fled to the United States during the French Revolution. In 1796, he was appointed Chief Engineer of New York City. He moved to London in 1799, where he married Sophia Kingdom. In addition to the construction of the Thames Tunnel, his work as a mechanical engineer included the design of machinery to automate the production of pulley blocks for the Royal Navy. Brunel preferred the given name Isambard, but is generally known to history as Marc to avoid confusion with his more famous son. Early life in France Brunel was the second son of Jean Charles Brunel and Marie-Victoire Lefebvre. Jean Charles was a prosperous farmer in Hacqueville, Normandy, and Marc was born on the family farm. It was customary for the first son to inher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamilton Square Railway Station
Birkenhead Hamilton Square railway station (commonly shortened to Hamilton Square station) serves the town of Birkenhead, in Merseyside, England, on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. The station is close to Hamilton Square in Birkenhead. History Hamilton Square station was built by the Mersey Railway and opened on 1 February 1886. The station building was designed by G. E. Grayson in Italianate style, and has been designated as a Grade II listed building. It stood on that railway's original route from James Street station in Liverpool to Green Lane, later extended to Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Park. Just south of the station, the lines towards Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Park diverge; this junction was originally built as a flat crossing. With the platforms being at a deep level, three hydraulic lifts were provided to transport passengers from ground level to the platforms and back, as well as flights of steps. Each lift was able to accommodate up t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birkenhead Central Railway Station
Birkenhead Central is a railway station serving the town of Birkenhead, in Merseyside, England. Situated on the south side of Birkenhead town centre, it lies on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network. History Birkenhead Central station was opened in 1886 as part of the Mersey Railway's route from Liverpool, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. The station was the location of the Mersey Railway's headquarters. The disused building of Birkenhead Central depot, which closed in the 1990s, remains adjacent to the platforms. The station platforms were refurbished and finished in 2012. Facilities The station is staffed, during all opening hours, and has platform CCTV. There are toilets, several payphones, a vending machine, booking office and live departure and arrival screens, on the platform, for passenger information. Each platform has a waiting shelter, as well as sheltered seating. The station doe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Lane Railway Station
Green Lane railway station serves the Tranmere area of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The station is situated on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network. History The station was opened in 1886 as the terminus of the Mersey Railway's line from Liverpool via the Mersey Railway Tunnel. In 1891 the line was extended southwards to Rock Ferry, and was subsequently electrified in 1903. The line was integrated into the Merseyrail network in the 1970s. Merseyrail extensions in the 1980s and 1990s allowed train services to be extended beyond Rock Ferry; first to Hooton in 1985, then to Chester in 1993 and finally Ellesmere Port in 1994. In early June 2014 it was announced that this station would be among a small number of stations on the Merseyrail network that will be spruced up as part of a £3.7m programme of improvements. In May 2015, the ticket office closed for refurbishment works to take place, which reopened in June 2015. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mann Island
Mann Island is a small area in Liverpool, England. It lies on the waterfront next to the River Mersey between the Albert Dock to the south and the Pier Head to the north. History Mann Island was formed in the 18th and 19th centuries as part of the Liverpool dock complex. It was a virtual island, with Georges Dock to the north, Canning Dock to the east and south, and the River Mersey to the west. It was connected to the shoreline by a narrow neck of land opposite James Street. It was the site of the Manchester Dock, opening onto the river, and two graving docks, opening into Canning Dock. It was also the location of the Great Western Railway warehouses, and the Mersey Railway pumping station, all of which are Grade II listed buildings. Later, in the 20th century, it was the site for the James Street station of the Liverpool Overhead Railway. The site ceased to be an "island" in 1899 when the Georges Dock was filled in to provide building land for the Port of Liverpoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shore Road Pumping Station
The Shore Road Pumping Station is a pumping station in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It was designed by engineers James Brunlees and Charles Douglas Fox and built in the 1880s as part of the Mersey Railway. The building originally housed two steam powered beam engine pumps which removed water from the railway tunnel under the River Mersey. These had ceased working by 1959 when they were replaced by electric pumps. One of the engines, named the 'Giant Grasshopper', remains in situ and was restored to working condition. The pumping station is a three-storeyed brick construction in the Italianate architectural style, with a Welsh slate roof. An external staircase, housed within a glass structure, was added to the front of the building in the late 1980s when being converted into a museum. A similar building, the Mann Island Pumping Station, also still exists across the river in Liverpool. Shore Road Pumping Station was granted Grade II listed status I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mersey Railway Tunnel - Ventilation And Drainage Machinery
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. The Mersey starts at the confluence of the River Tame and River Goyt in Stockport. It flows westwards through south Manchester, then into the Manchester Ship Canal at Irlam, becoming a part of the canal and maintaining its water levels. After it exits the canal, flowing towards Warrington where it widens. It then narrows as it passes between Runcorn and Widnes. From Runcorn the river widens into a large estuary, which is across at its widest point near Ellesmere Port. The course of the river then turns northwards as the estuary narrows between Liverpool and Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula to the west, and empties into Liverpool Bay. In total the river flows ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Brunlees
Sir James Brunlees FRSE MICE (1816 – 1892) was a Scottish civil engineer. He was President of the Institution of Civil Engineers for 1882-3. He was born in Kelso, Scottish Borders, Kelso in the Scottish Borders in 1816. Early life Brunlees was the son of John Brunlees, the gardener of the James Innes-Ker, 6th Duke of Roxburghe, Duke of Roxburghe's agent, and Margaret Rutherford. As a youth he assisted the surveyor Alexander Adie in surveying the roads on the Duke's estates and decided to be a civil engineer. He studied at Edinburgh University then worked on the Bolton and Preston Railway under Adie before working on various railways in Scotland and Northern England in a staff of engineers. Londonderry and Coleraine Railway In 1850, Brunlees worked on the Londonderry and Coleraine Railway#Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, Londonderry and Coleraine Railway. For this job he was obliged to build an embankment over Rosse’s Bay on the River Foyle, surmounting great difficu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Douglas Fox
Sir Charles Douglas Fox (14 May 1840 – 13 November 1921) was an English civil engineer. Early life Douglas was born in Smethwick, Staffordshire, the oldest son of Sir Charles Fox and had two brothers and a sister. Sir Charles was a civil engineer and had designed, amongst other things, The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. Douglas was educated at Cholmondeley School, also known as Highgate School, from 1851 to 1854 and King's College School from 1854 to 1855. He studied at King's College London from 1855 to 1857 and was to have studied further at Trinity College, Cambridge but the financial collapse of his father's contracting company in 1857 ended his education. Douglas was instead articled to his father who had set up an engineering consultancy, Sir Charles Fox and Sons. Douglas was a member of the Church of England and was active in the Church Mission Society as well as being the author of several academic papers. He married Mary Wright, daughter of Francis Wright and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Waddell (engineer)
John Waddell (1828–1888) was a Scottish railway contractor based in Edinburgh. He was born in the parish of New Monkland on 16 August 1828, the son of George Waddell and his wife Elizabeth Shanks, of the farm of Gain or Gane. He married Margaret Donald (1831-1892) on 15 June 1852. Biography He ran the enterprising and respected firm John Waddell & SonsMoore, R.F. (1973) Paddy Waddell's Railway: Whitby Literary & Philosophical Society and went on to complete many routes during the rise of the railways across England during the late 19th century, especially for the North Eastern Railway (UK), NER. Notable examples of his work include the rebuilding of Putney Bridge in London (1882), the Scarborough & Whitby Railway, completion of the Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway and the Mersey Railway tunnel. His company also built part of the approaches to the Forth Bridge. On 17 February 1883 an agreement was reached with John Waddell to construct a tunnel under the River Tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Isaac
Samuel Isaac (1812 – 22 November 1886) was a merchant and a projector of the Mersey Railway Tunnel. Early life Isaac, son of Lewis Isaac of Poole, Dorsetshire, by Catherine, daughter of N. Solomon of Margate, was born at Chatham, Kent in 1815. Coming to London as a young man, he established a large business as an army contractor in Jermyn Street, trading as Isaac, Campbell, & Company. His brother, Saul Isaac, J. P., afterwards member for Nottingham 1874–80, was associated with him in partnership. Confederate war The firm during the Confederate war in America were the largest European supporters of the southern states. Their ships, outward bound with military stores and freighted home with cotton, were the most enterprising of blockade-runners between 1861 and 1865. Isaac's eldest son Henry, who died at Nassau, West Indies, during the war, had much to do with this branch of the business. Having raised a regiment of volunteers from among the workmen of his own factory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
