Liverpool's overhead railway 'Docker's Umbrella'?

Question

Anybody heard of it? Any info? I am artist doing a site specific. Would like feedback and ideas for a sculpterd peice.

Answer 1

I have never seen it or pictures of it but had its route shown to me. It was an overhead railway and the dockers walked to work underneath hence when it rained "Dockers Umbrella".

Answer 2

The origins of the Overhead Railway
On 4 February 1893 the British Prime Minster Lord Salisbury opened the Liverpool Overhead Railway. It was the world's first electric powered elevated railway, which meant it ran on tracks raised above the ground and was seen as the shape of things to come. At first the railway was very successful, carrying more than 19 million passengers in 1919. Increased competition from the electric trams and heavy damage during the ‘blitz’ in World War Two had a devastating impact. The high costs to maintain the railway could not be found so it was closed in 1957 and demolished the following year.

The railway had its origins in the rapid growth of Liverpool's docks in the early 19th century. There was such a large amount of passenger and cargo traffic trying to move along the Dock Road that something had to be done. In 1853 the engineer John Grantham proposed a high-level steam goods railway with storage facilities underneath. The scheme was criticised by the dock engineer Jesse Hartley who was developing plans for additional docks and the construction of the railway would have made his proposals more costly.

Traffic on the Dock Road
Traffic on the dock estate, and the Dock Road in particular, increased and by the mid 1870s the situation was made worse with the introduction of horse-drawn vehicles along the (Hartley's) Dock Line. The frequent need to leave the track to get around obstructions made this service very unpleasant for its passengers. In 1877 shipowner Alfred Holt called for the Mersey Docks & Harbour Board (MDHB) to build an overhead tramway in order to leave the ground-level clear for goods traffic. The idea gained some local support and local Acts were passed in 1878 and 1882 although nothing was actually done despite the example of a successful opening of an elevated railway in New York in 1881. In 1885 the Dock Engineer George Fosbery Lyster was asked by the MDHB to prepare a report on Holt's proposal and Lyster calculated that the line would need to carry more than eight million passengers a year to cover its operating costs.

In 1887 Parliament blocked the MDHB’s attempts to extend the proposals for the railway. Concerns about what the MDHB could legally do as a non-profit making trust lead to the formation of the Liverpool Overhead Railway Company in July 1888. Under the terms of the 1887 Act the Liverpool Overhead Railway Company would rent the land from the MDHB in return for a percentage of the profits. The compulsory purchasing powers given to the railway company by Parliament gave it considerable weight and the MDHB saw this as a chance to buy land for its own improvements at a better rate than the market value would otherwise allow.

One of the most impressive features about the construction of the railway was the use of a moving gantry crane (a gantry was a large metal frame used to support heavy machinery) which moved each span into place. This method allowed up to 600ft (over 180 metres) of spans to be laid in a single week. Once the platform was in place the track itself was very easily laid on top

The rise and fall of the overhead railway
The Liverpool Overhead Railway Company failed to realise that a railway built 16 feet (nearly 5 metres) above ground level would need more maintenance than the more traditional railways. Although it had a full-time maintenance team, the money put aside for this did not increase in real terms between the 1930s and the 1950s. During its construction the Liverpool Docks engineer George Fosbery Lyster, who prepared a report on the overhead railway in 1885, predicted that the railway would need to carry more than eight million passengers a year before it would be become profitable. This figure was reached in 1897 and rose to nearly 10 million before the First World War in 1914.

Competition with the trams
The introduction of electric trams in Liverpool in 1898 had a dramatic impact on the overhead railway from which it never really recovered. The overhead railway motor coaches were rebuilt to offer a faster service – with the travelling time on the whole route cut down to twenty two minutes – but this was revised to twenty eight minutes as the coaches had to go at a slower speed to make savings because of rising fuel costs.

The number of trains was also increased with trains running every three minutes during peak time and ten minutes during off-peak hours. Although the trams were much slower than the overhead railway, they proved to be more successful because they were more flexible and could cover a wider area. Trams also had lower fares as the money raised from fares on other routes meant that lower fares could be charged on the dockside routes. These factors and other concessions granted to the trams by its owners Liverpool Corporation meant that the overhead railway could never compete on equal terms.

Changes in the nature of the dock industry also had an impact – the increasing use of the telephone replaced the need for messenger boys. Improved ship building meant that repairs were less frequent. Increasing moves towards larger passenger vessels all had an impact on the overhead railway. The number of people using the overhead railway reached its highest figure after the First World War with more than 19 million passenger journeys in 1919. The economic decline in the 1920s more than halved this figure within two years.

Closure of the overhead railway
The continued failure to invest large sums into the repair and maintenance of the railway meant that by 1954 the repair costs were rising at an alarming rate. A detailed investigation took place and reported on the true state of the railway and the amount of repairs that were needed so the railway could make a profit once again.

Answer 3

Beyond that my grandfather was an electrican working on it and fell off, broke his back but survived I know nothing of it.
By the way, he was put in a full body cast, walked home and went to work the next day. As he said, he had 7 kids to feed! they don't make them like that any more.

Answer 4

There is a Video of it by Online Video, that would help you. I'll send you a copy of the cover if you think that would be useful.