page_title: Mersey Railway
section_title: Steam locomotives
hierarchical_section_title: Mersey Railway / Rolling Stock / Steam locomotives
caption_attribution_description: Mersey Railway 0-6-4T No.5 "Cecil Raikes" at Steamport Southport in 1988
context_page_description: The Mersey Railway was the first part of the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool, Birkenhead, and now the rest of the Wirral Peninsula in England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel. The railway opened in 1886 with four stations using steam locomotives hauling unheated wooden carriages; in the next six years the line was extended and three more stations opened. Using the first tunnel under the Mersey the line is the world's oldest underground railway outside London.
  Because the steam locomotives created a polluted atmosphere in the tunnel, many passengers reverted to using the river ferries and the railway was bankrupt by 1900. Recovery came after the railway adopted electric traction in 1903. The Mersey Railway remained independent after the railway grouping of 1923, although it became closely integrated with the electric train services operated by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway over the former Wirral Railway routes after 1938. The Mersey Railway was nationalised, along with most other British railway companies, in 1948.
context_section_description: For the opening of the line, eight powerful 0-6-4 tank locomotives were obtained from Beyer, Peacock and Company, fitted with condensing apparatus for working in the tunnel. Designated as Class I, a ninth followed within six months. Beyer Peacock also built six 2-6-2T tank locomotives in 1887 (Class II) and three further 2-6-2T (Class III) were built by Kitson and Company in 1892.
  The 0-6-4Ts were built with steam and vacuum brakes and steam reversing gear and weighed 67 long tons (68 t). The 2-6-2Ts were fitted with vacuum brakes only; those built by Beyer weighed 62 ¹⁄₂ long tons (63.5 t) and Kitson's 67 ¹⁄₂ long tons (68.6 t).
  As electrification progressed, the old rolling stock was advertised for sale. An attempt to sell the 18 locomotives and 96 carriages by auction in June 1903 proved completely unsuccessful – the auctioneer had to remind the bidders that he was not selling scrap. It was September before the first locomotive was sold; it would take another two years to sell all-bar-one of the locomotives. The last locomotive — which had been retained for working permanent way trains — was sold in January 1908.
  The first to be sold was No. 5 Cecil Raikes, which was bought by Shipley Collieries for £750  (equivalent to £81,130 in 2019).  They came back and bought No. 8 for £650; but not before Alexandra (Newport and South Wales) Docks and Railway had bought all six of the Class II locomotives for £3450  (equivalent to £374,453 in 2019).  They became ADR 6–11 (not in order). Alexandra Docks later bought four more locomotives: Three 0-6-4T (nos. 2, 3 & 6), and one Class III 2-6-2T  (no. 16), these becoming 24–22 and 25. All ten ADR locomotives passed to the Great Western Railway in January 1922, and were withdrawn between January 1923 and May 1932.
  The other two Class III locomotives were bought by Whitwood Colliery for £1240.
  The last four locomotives (nos. 1, 7, 9 and 4) were sold to J. & A. Brown Limited (as their Nos. 5–8) for use on the Richmond Vale railway line in New South Wales, Australia. No. 4 Gladstone had been retained by the Mersey Railway until 1907 for departmental use, but was then replaced by Metropolitan Railway A Class (4-4-0T) No. 61, built by Beyer Peacock. This was replaced in 1927 by an earlier Metropolitan Railway 4-4-0T, No. 7.
  Two of the Class I locomotive have been preserved: No. 5 Cecil Raikes is preserved at the Museum of Liverpool; and no. 1 The Major is preserved at the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum, Thirlmere, New South Wales.
caption: Mersey Railway 0-6-4T No.5 "Cecil Raikes" at Steamport, Southport, on 30 May 1988, showing the condensing pipes
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