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  PHOTO GALLERY GROUP 110
 
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Bygone Railways of Liverpool. After recent forays into Spain (see galleries 107, 108 and 109), Chris Jennings brings us back to home shores with a selection of fine photographs from Liverpool.

Above: This magnificent building is Liverpool Exchange station on Liverpool's Tithebarn Street. The first station on this site was opened in May 1850 but it was soon too small for the volume of traffic, necessitating this rebuild which was carried out between 1884 and 1888. Once one of the largest railway termini in the north west, the Beeching closures hit hard, leaving only local services to Southport, Ormskirk and Bolton by 1970. The last train departed on 29th April 1977, after which a long decline set in, finally arrested in 2013 when the station was re-opened as an office block following a £5 million refurbishment. 4th July 2015. (Chris Jennings)

 
Above: The remains of the long viaduct on the approach to Liverpool Exchange, seen near Exchange Station Junction alongside Love Lane. The 'blue' engineering bricks indicate that this structure was not built on the cheap and was intended to last. Our photographer remarked that this area ' is not particularly lovely', but at least the sun was shining. 4th July 2015. (Chris Jennings)
 
Above: A view along Sprainger Street shows the abutments of a long-removed underbridge on the Liverpool Exchange viaduct, with another underbridge in the distance on the still operational Merseyrail line between Moorfields and Sandhills. 4th July 2015. (Chris Jennings)
 
Above: A little to the north west of Liverpool Exchange Station lies East Waterloo Dock, named after the Battle of Waterloo and opened in 1834. Initially called just 'Waterloo Dock', it was split into separate east and west sections in 1868. It was closed to shipping in 1988 but in recent years has been converted into residential apartments. 4th July 2015. (Chris Jennings)
 

Left: An old signal post alongside the wall at East Waterloo Dock warehouse, once used for signalling trains bound for Liverpool Riverside Station across Waterloo Road. It is obvious that some effort has gone into preserving the signal, but it is curious that it has been painted black rather than the customary white. The Liverpool Overhead Railway was on the other side of the wall. 4th July 2015. (Chris Jennings)
 
Above: Some old rails in Prince's Dock with RMS Queen Mary 2 in the distance. Construction of the dock started in 1810, with the name being chosen to honour the Prince Regent. In 1895, Liverpool Riverside station was opened between here and the River Mersey. 4th July 2015. (Chris Jennings)
 
Above: This view of Prince's Dock gives an indication of just how many railway lines were once here. A lot of re-development has been going on in the area, and still continues, so it is possible that these reminders of the past will not last much longer. 4th July 2015. (Chris Jennings)
 
Above: This photograph of the site of Liverpool Riverside Station would hold some interest on account of the old rails alone, but the presence of RMS Queen Mary 2 makes it something special. QM2 was the first Cunard ship to pick up fare-paying passengers in
Liverpool for nearly 50 years, and marked the 175th anniversary of regular transatlantic crossings – quite an event, as can be seen from the link here. 4th July 2015. (Chris Jennings)