Wirral Railway
The
Wirral Railway (WR) was incorporated in
1863 as the
Hoylake Railway (HR), with powers to build lines from
Birkenhead to
New Brighton, and to
Parkgate on the western side of the
Wirral Peninsula; the latter line was not built. Between
1872 and
1882 the HR was renamed twice, and extensions of the line from Hoylake to
West Kirby and to
Seacombe in Wallasey were authorised. The line was incorporated as the
Wirral Railway in
1882.
The lines ran from
Birkenhead Park to
West Kirby, with branches to
New Brighton and
Seacombe. The Railway's services were mainly passenger, as they were suburban lines that also carried daytrippers to
seaside resorts. Birkenhead Park station had a cross-platform connection with the
Mersey Railway's electric trains under the
River Mersey. All the stations on the line were very close together, in order to serve the population of the north Wirral. The total length of line was thirteen and a half miles.
The Wirral Railway became part of the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway at the
Railways Act 1921 Grouping.
In
1938 parts of what had been the Wirral Railway were electrified, with electric trains running to both New Brighton and West Kirby. The trains operated through the
Mersey Railway Tunnel to
Liverpool, and now form part of
Merseyrail's
Wirral Line. The branch to Seacombe (which was never electrified) later closed, and its route was used for the approach road to the
Kingsway Tunnel, which opened in
1971.
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The Wirral Railway
