Why was the Mersey Railway Tunnel built? Opened in 1886 the Mersey Railway Tunnel was the first tunnel to be built below the River Mersey. It was designed to improve transport links between Liverpool and the developing town of Birkenhead and the Wirral peninsula across the River Mersey. Earlier suggestions to build a road tunnel and a bridge had both been unsuccessful and the first road tunnel beneath the Mersey was not opened until 1934. Earlier proposals for a railway tunnel were also unsuccessful. An 1866 Act of Parliament authorised a pneumatic (air driven) railway beneath the River Mersey but this was not built owing to the limitations of the available technology. Before the Mersey Railway Tunnel was opened ferries were the only means of crossing the River Mersey between Liverpool and Birkenhead. Despite some difficulties the Mersey Railway Tunnel was a great success and remains in use to this day. Courtesy:- George Stephenson (June 9, 1781 - August 12, 1848). British engineer who designed a famous and historically important steam-powered locomotive named The Rocket. George Stephenson was born in Wylam, England, several miles west of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1748, a wagonway -- an arrangement similar to a railway, but with wooden tracks and designed to support horse-drawn carts -- had been built from the Wylam colliery to the River Tyne, running for several miles. The young Stephenson grew up near it, and in 1802 gained employment as an engine-man at a coal mine. For the next ten years his knowledge of steam engines increased, until in 1812 he stopped operating them for a living, and started building them. Courtesy:- KNOWN universally as the Father of the Railways, George Stephenson (1781-1848) was the son of a Northumbrian colliery steam engine keeper. He began his working life alongside his father at Dewley Colliery but he was ambitious and took the first steps towards fame by learning to read and write at night school. Courtesy:- Top of left and right corner credits are about level with bottom of ".....From Stockton to Darlington" To solve the problem they offered a premium of £500 for the best locomotive engine which should satisfy certain conditions. It was not to exceed £550 in price and six tons in weight; it was also to draw three times its own weight, at a speed of ten miles an hour on level ground. The famous Rainhill trial (October 8, 1829), when Stephenson's Rocket won the prize, sealed the fate of canals and inaugurated the triumph of railways. An example of third party framing by an art dealer in London by the name of J Brown, 22 Duke Street, Aldgate, EC3. This was originally a poor quality matting job by a distributor who would buy silk strips from Stevens. You can click on most images to see larger images or more information. We wish to buy Stevengraphs. One at a time or collections. We also seek photos, brochures or any item of related history. Malcolm J Roebuck, Copyright © 1999-2009 Stevengraphs Bookmarks & Postcards Etc.