The Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway was a British railway company, which opened a line in 1848 between Southport and Waterloo, extending into Liverpool in 1850. The company was acquired by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in 1855. The line is still open.
Formation and opening
Liverpool was thriving in the 1840's and growing fast, the number of ships using the port almost doubled from 1830 to 1840, and the tonnage they carried more than doubled. it was not surprising that the stretch of sandy coast north along the Mersey attracted wealthier residents and holiday-makers. The principal places in the area were Bootle, Crosby and Southport.
A project for a railway between Liverpool, Crosby and Southport was proposed in 1846, surveys were undertaken and parliamentary notices given. The (10 & 11 Vict. c. cv) was passed on 2 July 1847 and the company was incorporated, the first directors' meeting on 26 July 1847 elected William Blundell as chairman.
The act enabled the building of an line from a junction with the Liverpool and Bury Railway to Southport.
The company engineer reported there should be no difficulty in building the single-track line, although the ground work was constructed to take a double-track, from Waterloo (about north of Liverpool) to Southport by June 1848. Construction was undertaken by McCormick & Holme starting in March 1848 and the line finished within three months. The single-track line was hastily built, with light track on sand foundation.
It was inspected and passed on 17 July 1848, formally opened on 21 July with public traffic starting on 24 July 1848.
Early services
When the railway opened in 1848 there were three services each way on Tuesdays to Fridays, four each way on Mondays and Saturdays and two each way on Sundays, this improved slightly in 1849 when four trains went each way Monday to Saturday with two on Sundays.
In February 1855 there were five services each way along the whole line with an additional seven each way between Liverpool and Waterloo (three and three on Sundays).
Stations
The original, temporary, Southport terminus was at until 22 August 1851 when the line was extended half a mile (800 metres) into station, a road-bridge was constructed to carry Eastbank Street over the railway.