Today’s edition of Picture in Time is of a tramway/railway very rarely illustrated on these pages as we head to a resort on the northwest coast but instead of Blackpool we are a bit further down the coast at Southport for a view of the Pier Tramway/Railway in black and white.
There has been a tramway at various times on the Pier since 1863 (although sadly not now following the closure and removal of the latest tram in 2015) but the incarnation of the tramway we see in this photograph opened to the public in 1950. Replacing a previous line which had been in the centre of the Pier and used a 3’6” gauge this version of the tramway was at the side of the Pier and was built to a gauge of 1’11 ½”. Whereas previously it could have been considered a tramway the rebuild probably made it far more of a railway with the two new trains called the Silver Belle.
In this view we see the lengthy Silver Belle on Southport Pier on 24th April 1960. This was 10 years after it had reopened and 13 years before the Silver Belle was replaced by the Rose.
Photograph by Tony Sullivan
NICE PHOTO. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CONTACT YOU THROUGH THE CONTACT OPTION ON THIS SITE BUT THE PIER TRAM LEFT FOR STORAGE SOMEWHERE EARLIER THIS YEAR. AS IT WAS SUPPOSIDLEY DAMAGING THE PIER DECKING, THOUGH THE PIER TRAIN (DOTTO)N IS STILL RUNNING, YOU CAN HERE THE DECKING RATTEL AS IT PASSES!
I remember the Belle very well as kids it was the thing to do when visiting Southport.
I remember on one occasion arriving at the sea end to find a steam loco, possibly steam outline parked up. Was this an earlier train and how could it have managed the different gauge?
the steam train would be the Lakeside Miniature railway, which terminates at the land end of the pier
The silver Belle went to the now closed
Steamport Museum in 1973, from there one loco and 3 coaches went to the west Lancs railway, where they were re built a trailer cars. The remaining loco and carriages went to a narrow gauge railway in Stoke On Trent. The replacement tram “English Rose ” lasted till 1998 , when it was sold to the Milky Way Theme Park in Devon, were it is still in use.