Dee Bridge Railway

The Dee Bridge Railway was a railway company in England and Wales. It opened in 1897 and crossed the River Dee from Hoylake and West Kirby in the east, in England, to Point of Ayr in the west, in Wales, by use of the large structures that collectively became known as the Dee Bridge.

History
The railway across the Dee was first mooted in the early 1870s, when the Hoylake Railway (later the Wirral Railway), tried to gain permission to build a railway from the Wirral to north Wales; however, this was blocked by the London and North Western Railway, who had a rather more circuitous route through Chester. Eventually, the Hoylake Railway gave up, but twenty years later the Dee Bridge company was formed, at a public meeting at Hoylake Golf Club, and powers were granted for the line to be built.

Route
The line deviated from the now-Wirral Railway at Hoylake station, and headed north-west, whereas the existing railway went south-west to West Kirby. The railway had to cut across the Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) Golf Club, so compensation was agreed and land was reclaimed on West Kirby beach for the use of the golf club. A halt was erected at Red Rocks, on the edge of the peninsula, where there was a lighthouse, and later a cafe and eventually, a guesthouse. The area that surrounds Red Rocks quickly became 'the last village in England' and grew into Red Rocks village, which still exists today; indeed, such was the traffic there, that in 1901 the halt became a fully fledged station. The railway left the shore at Red Rocks and, travelling on the first of the Dee bridges, crossed West Kirby sands to Hilbre Island. Upon opening of the line, the decision was taken by the company board to construct a station at Hilbre, whose platforms were built on the bridge on the West Kirby side of the island. The station had two wooden platforms and a small sandstone building, with access paths from both sides of the railway. The line crossed the island via a level crossing with the road that led down to the Lifeboat station, and from the other side of the island the second bridge began. As with Red Rocks, Hilbre quickly grew into a small community, with a public house (the Sandstone Inn) opening during the railway's construction, frequented by the navvies who built the line. The salt mines that once existed on the island were reopened and a weekly service ran from Hilbre station to Hoylake with a train of salt wagons that had been filled early in the morning with the previous week's salt produce. Hilbre station never had a goods yard so all salt was carted up to the station and loaded on the platforms, whose surfaces were salt-covered for grip from the seawater that often spilled onto the station.

The railway continued along the second Dee bridge to a point roughly halfway across the river, on the Anglo-Welsh border. The engineer who surveyed the route, a Mr. Oscar M. Wilkinson, of Birkenhead, whose premises were on Laird Street, near the terminus of the Central Wirral Railway, had decided that the bridge should break there, so in the event of a collapse in the bridge the whole line wouldn't be put into jeopardy. The thinking was, that if the bridge collapsed, nearly the entire railway would fall into the river, whereas if there were two bridges and one collapsed, it would be easier and cheaper to repair. So a break was put in and soil and sandstone was poured into the river at this point by trains coming from Hoylake. Once a mound of sufficient size had been formed, it was compacted by navvies and a sandstone barrier built around it to keep the man-made island in place in the river. The second bridge thus ended at this island and the third began here on the welsh side. It was on this island, known jokingly as 'Oscar's Dyke' (after the ancient Anglo-Welsh border called 'Offa's Dyke', and a play on the name of the engineer), that a navvy noticed a seal colony on a sandbank nearby. The foreman was informed of this and the directors of the company travelled by train from Hoylake to observe the seals, and the numerous sea-birds that inhabit the area. Whilst watching the birds the directors decided to build a bird and seal hide on the island, facing Hoyle Bank to the north, that could be used by members of the public who obtained permission from the railway company itself. The permission slips would be given in at the ticket office and returned, stamped, with a ticket as far as the island. this could be shown to the guard of the train who would ensure the train stopped at the island so those with passes could alight for the period they were allowed, to watch the wildlife. The ground-level platform and ladder were soon replaced by a wooden structure and stone steps that led down to the hide. The third bridge began here and continued to Wales. The railway arrived in Wales at Point of Ayr, near Talacre, and thence onward to the North Wales route at Talacre station.

Motive Power and Stock
When the line was first opened, the SHDR provided the locomotives and rolling stock; SHDR locomotives and carriages were used but there was no goods stock. By 1898 the first DBR locomotive was delivered, a 2-4-0T from Beyer Peacock of Manchester. This was complimented by an 0-6-0T from Sharp, Stewart the same year. Both locomotives were housed at Birkenhead North on the SHDR, and the carriages, still, by this point, from the parent company, were kept at Hoylake. In 1899 the railway became semi-independent, and a locomotive shed was built at Hoylake for the use of the DBR locomotives. An 0-4-0T from Beyer Peacock was delivered, by train from Manchester, over the Birkenhead Dock lines by Birkenhead Junction Railway No.38, later to be used on that company's Wallasey King Street Branch line.