Description: A collage of three engravings published on one page in The Illustrated London News magazine dated January 26, 1884 entitled as follows: "Completion of the Mersey Tunnel in Liverpool" - see below The images show the Tunnelling Machine and crowds waiting on the Birkenhead side waiting for the final cut Good condition - see scans. Dated in top border. Page size 22 x 16 inches. These are original antique prints and not reproductions . Great collectors item for the historian - see more of these relating to Sudan in Seller's Other Items which can be combined for mailing at no extra cost. Note: International mailing in a tube is expensive - the quoted charge assumes the page is lightly folded and mailed in an envelope Mersey RailwayFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to searchFor the modern rail service that includes this railway, see Merseyrail.Mersey RailwayThe Illustrated London News showing the opening of the Mersey Railway TunnelDates of operation1886–31 December 1947SuccessorBritish RailwaysTrack gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)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.[1]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 Railway routes after 1938. The Mersey Railway was nationalised, along with most other British railway companies, in 1948.The tunnel and railway are still in use today as part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail rail network.Contents1History1.1Origins1.2Opening and extensions1.3Electrification1.4Wirral Railway1.5Nationalisation and Legacy2Rolling Stock2.1Steam locomotives2.2Locomotive hauled coaching stock2.3Electric multiple units3Preservation4References and Notes4.1Notes4.2References4.3Bibliography4.4Historic publications5External linksHistory[edit]Origins[edit]Records exist of a ferry service across the River Mersey between Birkenhead on the west bank and Liverpool on the east since the middle ages. In 1332 the monks of Birkenhead Priory were granted exclusive rights to operate a ferry; following the dissolution of the monasteries these rights passed through a number of operators eventually to the township of Birkenhead.[2] It is recorded that Marc Isambard Brunel suggested a road tunnel when designing the Birkenhead docks and from the 1850s a railway tunnel under the Mersey was proposed several times. The Mersey Pneumatic Railway received Royal Assent for a single line pneumatic railway in 1866 but failed to raise the necessary capital. In 1871 the Mersey Railway was given the necessary permissions for an orthodox two track railway connecting the Birkenhead Railway near their Rock Ferry station through a tunnel under the Mersey to an underground station serving Liverpool.[3] However the company found it difficult to raise the necessary funds until Major Samuel Isaac undertook to build the railway in 1881. He contracted construction to John Waddell, who appointed Charles Douglas Fox and James Brunlees as Engineers.[4]1886 illustration showing the ventilation and drainage systemConstruction of the river tunnel started from two 180 feet (55 m) deep shafts, one on each bank, containing water pumps. Three tunnels were to be dug, one for the two tracks, a drainage tunnel and a ventilation tunnel. A 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m) diameter ventilation tunnel was dug as the pilot heading. Some 38 million bricks were used for the construction of the main tunnel.[5] When the tunnel was opened, fans on both banks changed the air in the tunnel every seven minutes.[6]The geology of the riverbed meant that the plans were changed and at the deepest section the drainage and ventilation tunnels combined. The grade on the Liverpool side was increased to 1 in 27.[7] Estimates of the influx of water varied from 5,000 imp gal (23,000 l) to 36,000 imp gal (160,000 l) per minute; after the works were completed the maximum pumped out of the tunnel has been 9,000 imp gal (41,000 l) per minute.[8] There were two pumping stations, Shore Road Pumping Station on the Birkenhead bank near Hamilton Square and Georges Dock Pumping Station on Mann Island on the Liverpool Bank.[9] The Railway's Workshop was built next to Birkenhead Central; stabling was also provided at Birkenhead Park.[10]
Price: 10 USD
Location: Los Angeles, California
End Time: 2024-12-16T22:51:42.000Z
Shipping Cost: 3.5 USD
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Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Date of Creation: 1800-1899
Print Type: Engraving
