The Groundbreaking Elevated Railway Liverpool Loved and Lost 

I travelled on this just after the war with my family. My Dad was in the navy during the war on corvettes protecting the convoys. Later he was seconded to an armed merchantmen, He was on radar. As we travelled on the railway we came to Canada Dock I believe. We were really surprised to see the ship he had been on docked there now in its white peacetime colours. This ship was the SS Arawa of the Shaw Saville line from New Zealand! I’m 84 now!

My mother worked in the ticket office in 1954 at WAPPING STATION, I have a photo of her at the exit gate in her uniform , RIP MUM xxx

In 1954 I went on a trip organised by our school (Manchester Road County Primary if anyone knows it). Starting at Manchester Docks we embarked on a boat called the Egremont and travelled up the Manchester Ship Canal to Liverpool. We disembarked and were shepherded on to the overhead railway. This took us along the line and at some point (can't recall detail) we got off and caught a main line train back to Manchester. The whole trip cost the princely sum of 13/6 which is approximately 67 pence in today's money! A memorable and treasured memory. Sad to hear of its demise.

I learned of the existence of the overhead line only a couple of years ago and had seen nothing of it. This video is wonderful. It's such a shame that it was forced to close. It was spectacular. Thank you.

My dad used to travel on this when he was young he said it was fantastic. Liverpool city council have committed so many crimes pulling down fantastic buildings over the years.

My Dad used to talk about this all the time, such a shame. It would be great to see it make a comeback. Imagine the lower congestion, better air quality, less stress of getting around the city. Tourists would love it, school trips to teach the kids about the city's history, the views would be fabulous.

Typically a great way to pay the people of Liverpool for their suffering in the ww2 ,not investing in the dockers railway , And then letting a part of Britain's industrial heritage rust to bits,

wow! I had no idea this had even existed. incredible. the footage looks like it could be Chicago until you see the three graces.. another fascinating video.. thank you :)

I vividly remember my father taking me on the overhead railway in the late 40’s or early 50’s. The memories of that day have never left me. There were sights that as a small boy simply amazed me. A brand new steam locomotive being hauled onto a ship, for delivery goodness knows where. Countless ships being loaded and unloaded, and a view of a huge railway siding filled with large WD locomotives, presumably surplus after the war. We lived on the North Wales coast so everything was extraordinary and special on that day. I regret never going back.

I believe the Liverpool Overhead Railway, gave Chicago and NYC their ideas for elevated railways. I've ridden on both of them, and the construction seems to be very similar with cast iron sections under the tracks.

Cars have so much to answer for with respect to the loss of human infrastructure serving human spaces.

I became aware of the Liverpool Overhead Railway in the 1980s while at school and remember feeling a huge sense of sadness when I realised what we had lost. Unfortunately, it was not part of nationalisation in 1948 and the need for repairs arose at a time when the city was turning its back on the older dock estate and cars were seen as the future, which the author notes in his commentary.. It would be a great asset now and having seen Overhead railways in Berlin and Paris, you can see how useful they are. There is a decent cycle route from the Albert Dock/Pier Head area and if you have a plan of the route from on line or a book, you can get a good idea of how it fitted into the locations along the North docks. Its a bit more fiddly along the south docks to dingle, but a bike is a good way of exploring the route and brings old photos to life. Great film!

I visited the waterfront museum and the re developed dock area, only one word Liverpool, fantastic. There is a small but very interesting overhead railway display including a full size railway car which you can sit in on a section of the overhead ironwork in the museum. There is so much to see and do in our Country. Switch the telly off for a month and get out and about a bit.

My Nain (Welsh Grandmother) told me about “The Dockers’ Umbrella” from when she worked in service in the city as a young woman.

Never seen moving pictures off this ,belting ,love the then and now shots .

"Herculaneum Dock". What a magnificent name.

This is a splendid video, Ollie. To think that this overhead railway system got demolished was sacrilege. So advanced for it's time, it' would have most certainly become a real tourist attraction these days, without a doubt. Manty thanks for this showing.

It had to be a wonder of the world. The first of it's kind. Had it been a building it would have been listed protected an preserved. But then this is the city that flattered the cavern and turned it into a car park.

A gem of a railway such a shame to lose it.

It looks a bit like the trains in New York. Amazing footage and very interesting information. Ta 😉

Liverpool had so many first its unbelievable 👍🏻

Wow enjoyed that. I had no idea Liverpool once had an overhead railway. It's amazing what we lose for so called progress!

I was born and lived in Seaforth for the first few years of my life. I still remember being taken on a few occasions on the Overhead Railway to visit my Uncle Bill and his son Ted, who lived above the Herculaneum Dock in Dingle. My brother and I got to view the activity in the whole length of the Liverpool docks on that journey. It is a major memory of my childhood. It was great to see this video that reminded me of that time.

I left school in 1956 and worked in a goods rail station in Birkenhead. Had to take some documents to Waterloo station, Liverpool. Probably September in that year, just before it closed. The 1951 Ealing comedy ‘The Magnet’ starring eleven year old James Fox has a sequence on the overhead railway.

I went on it a couple of times when I was a child. Once to drop my uncle off to board the ship he was sailing on and once the full length just for the experience. Fabulous memories.

what a tourist attraction it would be today, but back in 1950's no one knew how much a tourist thing Liverpool would be today.

I’m a scouser through and through, and honestly, This is a fantastic video! I do wonder though, if the LOR survived - Maybe it would’ve became part of the Merseyrail network? Maybe it would’ve been extended? Who knows really, but it’s interesting to think about.

Also know as "The Dockers Umbrella" as my Uncle George told me as a kid! Great video.

Hamburg still has many overhead railways on its metro and I think Hamburg is very similar to Liverpool generally. So if you want a rough idea of what it would have been like I’d suggest that to be the city to go.

Thank you for putting this on You Tube, I am in my eighth decade, & live in Greater Manchester, and I don't recall ever hearing of this mode of transport on Mersey Side. Local History is one of my hang ups. And anything to do with the Industrial revolution era. researching this subject can not have been easy, and I commend your huge effort in making such an interesting video, about something that is no longer with us. Thanks again, I am still going through your back archive, with interest. B.

The dockers umbrella 😊

I have childhood memories of the Overhead Railway from visits to my Grandparents, who lived in Liverpool. I was delighted to come across this video.

Greatest loss to our city.

If anyone is ever in Liverpool, the spoons in line Street station has some old posters about the overhead rail framed and hung up on the walls.

As a 19 year old I used the overhead to take cotton samples from the North docks usually West Hornby or Canada Docks as far as the Pierhead after every ship unloaded the cotton cargo.

Went on the overhead back in the mid 1950s on a school trip, Empress of Canada listing in dock after a fire. Then followed by a river trip on the Royal Iris I think, bright yellow and very curvaceous. Happy days.

superb video - great archival videos - thanks for sharing

Liverpool had the first electric elevated Railway in the world. But NYC had the first el line in 1868 that ran by cable and was later replaced by a steam dummy locomotive. It was later rebuilt with 2 tracks and ran on Greenwich Street and 9th Avenue. Finally rebuilt again with 3 tracks and ended service in June 1940.

My late grandfather shared his memories of the LOR with me. I was born too late and love to have travelled the line. I visited Liverpool One museum just to see the surviving car no: 3 which you can sit in and i imagined being a passenger travelling the route. I thought I should point out that though you mentioned the dacaying of the structure was down to age and war damage, a video that I watched states that as it was constructed over the steam operated harbour railway, the smoke from their locomotives contributed towards rust and decay.

This was superb. I only recently learned about this. I've worked on and off in Liverpool for over a decade and love the place. So rich in history. The people are awesome, so friendly and always up for a laugh👌🏻

Perhaps Liverpool CC should sue the German Government for replacement costs & reinstate the overhead railway...it would make a great tourist attraction!!

The Overhead Railway was known as "The Ovie" and "The Dockers Umbrella" ... It was NOT run by Liverpool City Council as it was a private venture ... it was The Liverpool Overhead Railway Company. Due to erosion of the iron structure, the cost of maintenance was not viable so the last passenger train ran on New Years Eve 30th December 1956. Funny thing is ... the Liverpool tram network finished in the following year 1957.

Excellent. This subject fascinates me being a frequent visitor to Liverpool.

They knocked this down and built Cantril Farm ...wtf

Wow, didn't know it was there. Fantastic video.😎

Great video, i hope sometime in the future it will be rebuilt and brought back, even just as a tourist attraction.

My grandfather worked at Liverpool docks in the 50's and always referred to it as the 'dockers umbrella' 😁. Great video.

We were up in the Museum at the weekend and apparently a decision was made back in the 50s to demolish it as it was going to cost £2 million then to refurbish the line. I agree though in that it was short sighted not to keep it running. What an amazing attraction it would be now and also useful for getting in and out of the city.

Getting rid of the trams was a mistake also😟

This is a fantastic documentary, excellently presented with superb archive photos and films. Good choice of music too. Many thanks!

Knew about this as my late father grew up in Liverpool and he told me about it ..... riding it down the docks and liner row ...must have been some place back in the day ...never knew it was the world's first overhead electric railway though ...predating the iconic Chicago and New York systems... Brilliant and informative 👏 👍

I used to travel on this frequently with my uncle who was a tug boat captain, it was fantastic and went underground at the Dingle, I was told it’s demise was because of the steam engines that travelled underneath it gave off steam which damaged the metal supports which held up the overhead railway, I wish it was available now

Never been to Liverpool, but I wish this still existed

Never knew this existed. Bit like telling kids about trolley buses.

I travelled on it with my grandmother when I was about 4yrs old. A lovely memory :)

Showing my age used to live quarter of a mile from it, went on it numerous times.

Maybe this could be rebuilt with more modern materials that last longer. With the need to reduce car dependency, and clean up the air in cities, a returned Liverpoool Overhead Railway would be more likely to be a success now, especially if it was built and run as part of the Merseyrail network. The central section would obviously attract tourists, as well as commuters, and they could extend eastwards, if they rebuilt this, extending into suburbs of Liverpool that do not yet have railways. Is the route still clear or have any buildings been constructed in the way of it?

Thank goodness people saw fit to take video clips and photos, otherwise we would never have been able to imagine what it looked like Thanks for posting.

Fantastic well-made video about something I knew nothing about despite being a rail enthusiast from nearby Stoke on Trent. I loved the melancholy music and wondered if The Beatles must have used this railway as children? Thanks for making this excellent mini-documentary. 🙂

Wonderfully evocative footage of this - to me anyway - previously unknown ‘EL’. Thanks for posting!

Thanks for that Ollie, another piece of history I knew nothing about ...until now! Have to say, your production skills are fantastic. The editing, script, and background music fit together seamlessly. I know from experience how much time and effort goes into achieving the end result I've just enjoyed. Hope you're enjoying the extra day's off this weekend mate....cheers!

Well i never . Brilliantly presented as usual. Thanks .

I moved from the UK to the USA in the early 1980s and they had a number of elevated rail sections in New York City. Locals called it the 'El' (for Elevated). I'm not sure if they are still there or not.

Thanks for an interesting video

There is a fantastic poster of this railway in the Jubilee Refreshment Rooms at Sowerby Bridge Station. It's easy to see why the yanks copied this approach. Cheaper and easier than tunelling.

That was brilliant, so very very interesting. Thank you for this as I had not known of this elevated railway in Liverpool. You videos do us such a great service. Cheers Well done.

Fascinating, as a self confessed anorak its to my shame that I never new that this existed. I wonder if it hadn't been demolished in the 50s if the gentrification, and for want of a better word the yuppification of the docks that began in the 1980s, would have started earlier in the 60s.

Many times you don't miss something till it's gone...

Wonderful footage; well-presented.👍

Nice one. I've always seen the exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool, but it's hard to imagine it was ever actually there.

Great video again. The Dingle tunnel mystery... Always wondered where it ended up! 👍🏻

Very well explained and informative, thanks!

Top quality as usual!

Engineering marvels like this existed all over south Lancashire.The Liverpool overhead was one of them.

Shame. Liverpool would've been the UK's Chicago/NYC

👍 brilliant video

Thanks for this piece of unique history..

What a sad little bit of history!

Back when Britain was still great

Very cool bit of industrial history. Never heard of it before. Thank you.

Another great video, brought to life by the footage and the photo! I never knew this existed. Thanks.

My father was part of the team from John Summer's steel works at Shotton who cut it up for melting in the steelworks furnaces. He said it was a terrible job as the steel was covered in grease and oil wihich burned and gave off huge amounts of smoke.

I knew about it , but whow..well done mate 👍👍👍👍

With trams making a comeback in some cities, perhaps some day in Liverpool.

Fantastic video many thanks 👍

Belter well done on your research and info you have us. Your not even a local lad but it seemed you presented this with a bit of passion. Im only 40 so don't have any experience of it but would kill someone to have something similar back. I can't understand why someone hasn't done similar for tourists an that. Maybe in the future when the renovation of all the dockland areas.has been done someone might. I hope its in my lifetime tho. So jelous of me nan an that having been on it. Anyway thank you so much. Appreciated.

Amazing amount of research and fantastic photographs

glorious tribute with priceless imagery, wow...now I've a pair of superbly fantastic screenshots 🍺

A fascinating account...so informative, nicely put together and a pleasure to watch and to learn. My knowledge had previously been limited to seeing an image of one of the posters in a railway book about 50 years ago. A gem of a video!

I rode it many times, first with dad who worked on the docks and used it for work ..and then with the lads for fun n games.....later National Service called ...i went away , came back , and there it wasn't ..gone ! OK it had problems but the idea shouldn't have been discarded.....but who in ths society thinks of people ? This was an idea thought up by Lverpool Dock Engineer Fosberry-Lister....a monorail with pasengers sitting back - to - back and exposed to the elements.....unworkable but the start of the idea which culminated in the Docker's Umbrella.. ..and yes KL has an excellent system ....but you should have been there when it didn't !

Am I right in thinking that, the tunnel at Dingle (shown in the video) was visible on the way into Liverpool Garden Festival? I’m sure I noticed it on the way in to the festival from the car park.

Pre-War and as a kid, I often rode on this Train on Saturdays, with my Dad. A terrific view of all the Big Docks, big cranes, big trucks and Big Ships, ( ones, from all over the world). Very educational. My most " incredible" trip, = In 1937 Dad took me to see the Battleship " HOOD " It was having a new ,stronger top deck installed to resist big enemy killer shells and thus make become "Unsinkable, ( if we ever went to war )" etc DAD knew 'some officer" on the ship and we were invited to step on board for an hour or so. I walked ON the Deck ! etc. ! I ran wild !... (So, I'm the last person on Earth ....who ever walked on the Deck of the HOOD !.... 4 or 5 years later England WAS at WAR ! and this great ,unsinkable, ship got SUNK in a big Naval battle ! So! I learned."... "So much for the validity of Unsinkable ship stuff" etc. ..."That's about when I got into the ATC and air-o-plane stuff. ( and helped to clean and get bent/shity ones, ready to return to their bombing runs again. Many never came back. Life was dumb... but at least... I... survived ! Years later, ...I found... GIRLS! ....They were much more exciting.... than all my War stuff ! .... .

I vaguely remember the removal of the road bridge of the Aintree extension at Seaforth Sands station. Although the station buildings were long gone many Corporation bus services still terminated there and crew facilities in a building across the road survived for a number of years.

Beautifully told story. Great historic footage and photos. Thanks.

What a pity this would have been great for travel to Everton stadium at Bramley Moor dock - site of old generator !

Yesss! I've found a channel that talks about Northern History! Our history is so rich and interesting, yet nobody ever talks about it. New subscriber. Up the north!

Fantastic video

Fantastic film. They could do with that railway nowadays!

Great video.

fascinating - thank you for sharing this