User:ShakespeareFan00/Rail Transport in Britan/Early Electric railways

Early Electric Railways.

The first electric railways were developed outside Britan (Semens demonstrating in Berlin in 1879), but by 1883 a demonstration line had been built by Magnus Volk in Brighton, A line that barring wartime interruption, continues to operate. Volks line, operated on a low voltage system, the power initially being supplied by the running rails" Later this was changed to power being supplied by an additional rail, the predecessor of the 'third' rail systems used extensively elsewhere.

In Liverpool, an elevated railway, the Liverpool Overhead Railway, opened in 1893. The choice of electrical traction on this line was a matter of practicality, the risk of ash and sparks from conventional steam engines being a fire risk to the numerous wharehouses and wharfs which fronted the river, and were below the proposed viaduct carrying the line.

It was the Edwardian era, that saw the first use of electrification on the main-line.

Liverpool's main-line railways were also the subject of electrification schemes, the inherent limits of steam traction were again being a contributory factor, The Mersey Railway, largely in tunnel, was electrified by 1904, the cleaned stations a contrast to the smoke filled atmosphere that had preceded them. On the Northern side of the river, the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway was electrified to Southport by 1903, and two years later this section of was linked to the otherwise independent Liverpool Overhead railway. Both the L&Y and Mersey railway's electrified sections from core portions of the current Merseyrail network.

Prompted by competition from tramways the North Eastern railway, considered and implemented an overhead scheme (the electricity being supplied by wire hung over the tracks) on it's Tyneside routes. These lines later termed the "Tyneside Electrics" formed a circular loop, and although were de-wired in the mid 60's, later formed the basis of the Tyne and Wear urban rail scheme of the late 1970's.

London, also saw the electric railway advance, again prompted by competition, The South London Line (even by the turn of the century) a largely urban route, was by 1910 electrified using an overhead scheme. By 1911 these had reached out to the suburban fringes of Crystal Palace and Selhurst over the London Brighton and South Coast's route. The eventual aim was to have been to use the scheme for the entire main-line to Brighton! However, the other railway companies south of the Thames had opted for a third rail system, and in the interests of inter-running a Govt panel in 1920, strongly urged the companies to agree a common standard. When these companies all came under common management from 1922, It was a third rail system that became the standard, the overhead scheme being rapidly replaced. The London and South Western's suburban network had by this time been electric for a few years, and by 1930 practically all of the railways within the urban extent of South London were electric. Brighton itself was eventually reached by a third rail. The extent of the "Southern Electric" became a marketing point, there was even an electric Pullman service (the Brighton Belle)!.

North of the river, the London and North Western, also had a Suburban system under electric operation. By late 1916 this extended to most of the North London Railway's route from Broad Street to Richmond (now part of the London Overground). Parallel to it's main line from Euston, suburban lines had been built to cater for a growing commuter traffic, by 1922 these were electric, eventually extending beyond London, to Rickmansworth (1927). Towards the end of the 1930's there were major plans for more extensive

Beneath London, the first major 'tube' railway, the City and South London (1890), was electric from opening ( although cable traction had been considered). The Central London Railway (1900) was also electric. All subsequent 'tube' lines, adopted a 4 rail system, which is still in use of the current London Underground. On what had become known as the 'surface' portion of the Underground (Namely the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District), electrifcation began in 1906. The Metropolitan District preceeded the Metropolitan itself, It's 1906 efforts, utilising unit operations and rolling stock cars based on US inter-urbans. In the inter-war years, both railways invested heavily in expanding the electric portions of their network, and upon de-facto nationalisation in 1933 (under the LPTB), practically all of it's railway within London was electric in operation.