Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway
Encyclopedia
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
& Preston Junction Railway was formed in 1884, and totaled 7 miles. In 1897 it became part of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
, and on 1 May 1901, its northern terminus switched from to .
It connected the West Lancashire Railway
West Lancashire Railway
The West Lancashire Railway ran northeast from Southport to Preston in northwest England.-History:Construction was started by Samuel Swire the Mayor of Southport, on 19 April 1873....
's lines to the north of Southport to the CLC
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway
Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway
The Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway is a now-disused railway line in Merseyside, England. It was built by the Cheshire Lines Committee, extending the North Liverpool Extension Line to Southport in 1884. Passenger services ended 7 January 1952 and goods six months later...
at Altcar and Hillhouse railway station
Altcar and Hillhouse railway station
Altcar and Hillhouse was a railway station located on the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway near Great Altcar, Lancashire. The station opened on September 1, 1884, and from 1887 to 1926 also served as the southern terminus of the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway, which...
. Known also as the Barton branch, it ran from September 1, 1887, to January 21, 1952. The Barton branch was notable for the "Altcar Bob
Altcar Bob
The Altcar Bob was a train service introduced in July 1906 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway on the Barton Branch of the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway. The service was so named because it terminated at , though from 1926 it only went as far as . The Bob was a diminutive...
" service, introduced in July 1906.
The short section of line that contains is still open and has replaced a section of the original Manchester and Southport Railway
Manchester and Southport Railway
The Manchester and Southport Railway in England opened on 9 April 1855. It merged with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in January 1885. The line eventually formed part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, 59.5 km Liverpool to Manchester route via a junction with the Liverpool and Bury...
. This northern part was electrified in 1904 and then de-electrified sixty years later.