Rye and Camber Tramway

Rye Station 1921 Courtesy of The Colonel Stephens Railway Museum

The Rye and Camber Tramway was an English narrow gauge railway in East Sussex. It was of 3 ft  (914 mm) gauge. It operated from 1895 until 1939, connecting Rye to the nearby coast at Camber. It was a short line, only about 13⁄4 miles (2.8 km) in length, and had three stations - Rye, Golf Links and Camber Sands. It operated mainly to transport golfers from Rye to the nearby golf links and holidaymakers to the coastal dunes. Read more 

Lowry refers to the tramway in a letter to Conrad Aiken dated 5/8/1946; "I hope you and Mary are by now ensconced in Jeakes House, Rye and that the sea-poppies and Camber Castle, not to say tram, and the ships blithely sailing down the meadows are still there, and that that which was once the province of the sea is not now too much a province of the same again by virtue of being a naval base." (Collected Letters Vol 1 Pg. 623). Lowry stayed on many occasions with Aiken in Rye travelling out to Camber a few miles from the town to swim in the sea there. (Gerald Noxon, Miguel Mota, Paul Tiessen On Malcolm Lowry and other writings Pg. 8 and 15). Lowry either walked or took the tramway as he recalled in letter dated 26/8/1940 to Gerald Noxon;  "Ten years ago we took a Camber train, walked Camber beach: Hugh Sykes was going to be married. We drank much beer, and smoked Balkan (it's like eatin') Sobrainie." (The Letters of Malcolm Lowry and Gerald Noxon Pg. 28). For a detailed walk on the former route - read the Worthing Wanderer.

Camber Golf Links Station

Queen's Park Railway Station

Lowry refers to this station in his novel Ultramarine; "At a quarter to eight, descending from his train at Queen's Park, where, to please her mother, he has once seen Janet safely into a tin church for a prayer meeting. the one figure now drifts slowly under the grainy sky past Morgan Roberts' Oesteopathy and Manipulative Treatment and the children's playground on the left into Brighton Road again."

There has never been a station with that name on the Wirral. This is a rare instance in the novel when Lowry doesn't use real places on the Wirral or Liverpool. Given the topography of of the above - the station would be in the vicinity of Egremont/Seacombe. The nearest station would have been Seacombe at the junction of Church Road/Borough Road on the former Wirral Railway lines. There is also a possibility  that Lowry for some reason had the Queen Park Station in Kilburn in mind. Lowry does make reference to Kilburn Empire in his novel Under The Volcano and he may have been familiar with the station.

James Street Station, Liverpool

James Street station on far right with its hydraulic tower

James Street railway station is located in the centre of Liverpool, England, and situated on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. James Street is an underground station; access is via lift from James Street and, at peak times, via a tunnel from the India Buildings on Water Street.

The station opened as the original terminus of Mersey Railway Tunnel in 1886. In 1892 the tunnel was extended to Liverpool Central station. By this time, there were trains from Liverpool to Birkenhead Park and Rock Ferry stations in Birkenhead. The line was electrified in 1903. Through trains to West Kirby and New Brighton commenced in 1938, when the former Wirral Railway routes were electrified. There were originally two platforms, either side of a twin-track tunnel.  The station building was destroyed in WW2. Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to the station in his short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour'; "At Birkenhead Park we left the car. ....We took the Mersey Underground Railway. My father was getting off at James Street: we said goodbye, under the sea, without ceremony. I went on to Central." (Pg. 233). The journey made by the narrator of the story may have been a familiar one to Lowry as he is on his way back to school probably using the same route as Lowry did - by car from Caldy, underground to Liverpool Central station and main line train to the Leys School.

Mersey Railway

The Mersey Railway company opened in 1886 to connect the communities of Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey; the company built the Mersey Railway Tunnel for its line; this was the first tunnel built under the River Mersey. The line opened with steam locomotive traction, hauling unheated wooden carriages: it later electrified its services in 1903.

The Mersey Railway remained independent in the railway grouping of 1923, although it became closely integrated with the LMS railway's electric train services operating over the former Wirral Railway routes from 1938. The Mersey Railway was nationalised, along with most other British rail services, in 1948.
The tunnel and railway are still in use today as part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail commuter rail network.

Lowry refers to five stations on the Mersey Railway in his work - Birkenhead Central, Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Park, James Street and Liverpool Central.

Central Railway Station, Birkenhead

Birkenhead Central is a railway station serving the town of Birkenhead, Wirral. Situated on the south side of Birkenhead town centre, it lies on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network. The station is in a deep cutting and reached by stairs down from the street level entrance. Birkenhead Central station was opened in 1886 as part of the Mersey Railway's route from Liverpool, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. The station was the location of the Mersey Railway's headquarters.

Lowry refers to the station in his novel Ultramarine when Dana is on his drunken trawl around Dairen in Chapter 3; when Dana and Norman visit the cinema in Dairen, Norman jokes at the box office; "I want one third day-return to Birkenhead Central,' he roared" (Pg. 96); again Norman drunkenly asks for "Three, four, five, fifteen day-returns to Birkenhead Central." (Pg.97) and later they stop at the south station in Dairen, Norman jokes; "Third return Birkenhead Central," said Norman." (Pg. 101);

Birkenhead Park Railway Station

Birkenhead Park railway station is situated in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 31⁄2 miles (5.6 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.

The station was opened on 2 January 1888, as a joint station between the Wirral Railway and the Mersey Railway. It replaced the Wirral Railway's original terminus at Wallasey Bridge Road (close to the present-day Birkenhead North station), becoming an interchange between their line to West Kirby and the Mersey Railway's new line to central Liverpool. On the same day, the Wirral Railway's new line to Wallasey Grove Road opened, which was extended to New Brighton later that year.

Lowry refers to the station in his short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour'; "At Birkenhead Park we left the car. I said goodbye to Featherstonbaugh, giving him one of the half-crowns that had already taken shape from my father's eyes that morning....We took the Mersey Underground Railway." (Pg. 233). The journey made by the narrator of the story may have been a familiar one to Lowry as he is on his way back to school probably using the same route as Lowry did - by car from Caldy, underground to Liverpool and main line train to the Leys School.

Lowry also makes another possible reference to the station in his novel Ultramarine when Dana recalls his time with Janet; "His whole being was drowning in memories, the smells of Bikenhead and of Liverpool were again heavily about him, there was a coarse glitter in the cinema fronts, children stared at him strangely from the porches of public-houses. Janet would be waiting for him a the Crosville bus stop, with her red mackintosh and her umbrella, while silver straws of rain gently pattered on the green roof..."Where shall we go? The Hippodrome or the Argyle? ..... I've heard there's a good show on at the Scala - (Pg. 27)

If Janet (Tess) was coming from her home in 26 Thirlemere Street in Liscard then she could have taken a Wallasey Corporation bus from Liscard across Birkenhead Docks to Park Station, which was the terminus of Crosville buses in 1927 in Birkenhead. This would have been logical if Hilliot (Lowry) travelled to meet her either using the steam train from West Kirby Station, which terminated at Park Station in the 20's before electrification in the 30's; or he travelled by Crosville bus 108 from West Kirby.

Rock Ferry Station, Birkenhead

Rock Ferry station was opened in 1891 as the terminus of the Mersey Railway's line from Liverpool via the Mersey Railway Tunnel, when it was extended from its previous terminus at Green Lane station to the north. Electric train services began in 1903, when the line was electrified. Until 1967 it was the first stop out of Birkenhead Woodside on the former GWR's main line from Birkenhead to London Paddington, and all long-distance services stopped to make connection with the Mersey railway for Liverpool passengers. From then until 1985 after the closure of Birkenhead Woodside it was the terminus for services from Chester and Helsby, giving a connection to services on the Mersey section. Further electrification in the 1980s and 1990s allowed electric train services to be extended, first to Hooton in 1985, then to Chester in 1993 and finally Ellesmere Port in 1994.

Lowry refers to the station in his short story 'Through The Panama';" - a letter came on board causing me much anxiety: my brother reports my mother is seriously ill in England. this is the first time i shall have seen her, as I hope to, in 20 years. Last time I saw her was at Rock Ferry Station, Birkenhead (where Nathaniel Hawthorne was consul), when she saw me off on the London train." (Pgs. 100-101). This incident maybe based on a real event though Lowry's last visit to England was in 1934 which is outside the timescale as 'Through The Panama' is based on a voyage made by Lowry in November 1947.

Liverpool Overhead Railway

The Liverpool Overhead Railway was the world's first electrically-operated overhead railway. The railway ran close to the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, following the line of Liverpool Docks. The Liverpool Overhead Railway was opened on 4 February 1893.

The railway ran from Alexandra Dock to Herculaneum Dock, a distance of six miles. It used standard gauge track with 11 intermediate stations along the line. The railway gained the affectionate nickname of Dockers' Umbrella, as a great proportion of the railway was elevated and dockers could walk beneath it as they travelled around the docks. During World War II, the railway suffered extensively from bomb damage. As a purely local undertaking, it was not nationalised in 1948 with the rest of the British railway system.

The railway was carried mainly on iron viaducts, with a corrugated iron decking, onto which the tracks were laid. As such, it was vulnerable to corrosion - especially as the steam-operated Docks Railway operated beneath some sections of the line. During surveys it was discovered that expensive repairs would be necessary to ensure the line's long term survival, at a cost of £2 million. The Liverpool Overhead Railway Company could not afford such costs and despite considerable protest, the line was closed on the evening of 30 December 1956

Lowry refers to the railway in his short story 'Goya The Obscure'; "and the Overhead Railway and a number of sloping bridges leading to the landing stage spread round in bleak and bare confusion." (Pg.277) and the sames lines in his novel Ultramarine (Pg. 69) and "A dockside train with its diminutive engine is rumbling along cautiously beneath the Overhead railway bridges in the direction of Mann Island and Canning Dock...." 'Goya The Obscure' (Pg. 2770 and Ultramarine (Pg. 70).

L.N.E.R. Timetables

Lowry notes “L.N.E.R. time-tables” in his short story 'Goya The Obscure' (Pg. 275). The timetables are those on the London North Eastern Railway information boards (most likely at Liverpool Central Station where the L.N.E.R. operated). An example from 1931 can be seen above.

Liverpool Central Station

The original station, which was a large above ground terminal station, opened on 2 March 1874, at the end of the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) line to Manchester Central. The three-storey building fronted Ranelagh Street in the city centre, with a 65 feet (20 m) high, arched shed behind. There were 6 platforms within the station, offering journeys to Manchester Central (in 45 minutes, making the route the quickest and most direct between Liverpool and Manchester), London St. Pancras, Hull, Harwich, Stockport, Southport and an alternative London route to that of the Midland Railway terminating at London Marlebone. In 1966, most services on the CLC route were diverted to Liverpool Lime Street and the building demolished.

Lowry would have passed through this station as the Lower Central Station was part of the Mersey Railways, which connected the Wirral to Liverpool via an underground link under the River Mersey.

Lowry notes the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) timetables in his short story 'Goya The Obscure' (Pg. 275). This most likely was noted at Liverpool Central Station where the L.N.E.R. operated)

Victoria Railway Station, London

Victoria station also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It is named after nearby Victoria Street. The mainline station's most important longer-distance destinations include Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Eastbourne, Canterbury and Dover. In 1898 the LB&SCR decided to demolish its station and replace it with an enlarged red-brick Renaissance-style building. Since widening of the station was prevented by the existing LCDR station and the Buckingham Palace Road, increased capacity was achieved by lengthening the platforms and building crossovers, to allow two trains to use each platform simultaneously. Work was completed in 1908, and included the rebuilding of The Grosvenor Hotel at the same time. (Read more on Wikipedia)

Jan Gabrial arrived at the station on the 22nd September 1933 from Paris with the intention of meeting Lowry; "Malcolm not only failed to meet the channel ferry but even to return to London." (Jan Gabrial Inside The Volcano Pg. 22) and "Malcolm ..contended, not too convincingly, that we'd managed to miss each other...at Victoria Station." (Pg. 23).

Odéon Metro Station, Paris

Odéon is a station on lines 4 and 10 of the Paris Métro in the 6th arrondissement in the heart of the Left Bank.

The station was opened on 9 January 1910 as part of the connecting section of the line under the Seine between Châtelet and Raspail. The line 10 platforms opened on 14 April 1926 as part of the line's extension from Mabillon. It was the eastern terminus of the line until its extension to Place d'Italie (now on line line 7) on 15 February 1930. Named after the nearby Odéon theatre, the station is located under the Carrefour de l'Odéon, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. The platforms on Line 4 were opened on 9 January 1910 and the platforms on Line 10 were opened on 14 February 1926.

Jan Gabrial caught a train from here after arguing with Lowry when they met at Cafe de la Rotonde when he told her that he had read her European diaries; "As I plunged toward the Odéon metro, I tried to remember what it was I'd written.." Jan Gabrial Inside The Volcano Pg. 55).

Gare du Nord, Paris

The first Gare du Nord was built by Bridge and Roadway Engineers on the behalf of the Chemin de Fer du Nord company. The station was inaugurated on 14 June 1846, the same year as the launch of the Paris–Amiens–Lille rail link. It was partially demolished in 1860 to provide space for the current station. The station complex was designed by French architect Jacques Hittorff and built between 1861 and 1864. It is situated in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.

Lowry arrived at the station on 30th December 1933 where he was met by Jan Gabrial. "He was carrying twin ukuleles, one of them for me. Snow fell softly as we left the station." (Jan Gabrial Inside The Volcano Pg. 41).

Holmenkollbanen, Oslo

The Holmenkollen Line (Norwegian: Holmenkollbanen) is an 11.4-kilometre (7.1 mi) long line of the Oslo Metro between Majorstuen and Nordmarka in Oslo, Norway. It is served by Line 1 of the metro, and is the line with the least passengers and the only to still have level crossings and short station platforms. The line runs mostly through residential areas with single dwellings, but the upper parts of the line mainly serve the recreational area of Nordmarka. Holmenkollen Station is located close to Holmenkollen National Arena which hosts international Nordic skiing tournaments.

The line is the oldest of the metro, and was opened as a light rail in 1898 by the company Holmenkolbanen. Originally it ran 6.2 kilometers (3.9 mi) from Majorstuen Station to Besserud. In 1916, the line was extended to Tryvann, with the last 1.4 kilometers (0.87 mi) only being used for freight. In 1928, the city terminus was moved 2.0 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the underground Nationaltheatret Station.

Read more on Wikipedia

The line was extended in 1916 to Frognersaeteren which is how Lowry must have travelled to the resort on his 1931 trip to Norway. He later described to his wife Jan Gabrial in a letter dated Summer 1933 how to get there; "go down the Holmerkollen, from there, which is the Oslo underground, just turn to the left at the Nationaltheatret exit from Røde Mølle, that being an ugly looking theatre with Ibsen, Bjornsen & Heiberg outside it, & walk up the hill a bit, the entrance to the underground is on the middle of the square behind the Nationaltheatre - go down the right entrance, & when you see a tram come along with Frognarsaeteren on its forehead, take it, pay 90 ore I think it is, go all the way; it will take you up a mountain which is just the best thing in the world & there's a restaurant up there where they speak German for you." (Collected Letters Vol. 1 Pgs. 130-131).

Oslo Østbanestasjon, Oslo

Lowry arrived at the Oslo Østbanestasjon - Oslo's main station in 1931. Located on Jernbanetorget. He had travelled overnight from Aandalsnes en route to try and meet Nordahl Grieg in the city. This was the site of the Aftensposten Lysavis which Lowry must have seen on his visit to the city which he refers to in Ultramarine when he thinks of meeting Janet Travena; "Under the Aftenpostens Lysavis...." (Pg. 52). 

Exchange Station, Liverpool

Front of Station in Tithebarn Street in 1920s

Originally opened as Tithebarn Street railway station on 13 May 1850, as the terminus of the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway, Liverpool and Bury Railway and Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway. Extensively rebuilt and enlarged between 1886 and 1888, being renamed Liverpool Exchange on 2 July 1888. Became the Liverpool terminus of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Under four extremely long roofs lay ten platforms, providing long distance services to destinations such as Manchester Victoria, Blackpool North the Lake District, Whitehaven and Glasgow Central. Bradford Exchange and Leeds Central. Electric trains replaced steam hauled trains in the to Southport Chapel Street (1904) and Ormskirk (1911).

Station Concourse 1934

Closed on 30 April 1977. The replacement Moorfields station opened the following Monday, 2nd May. Old station was demolished. However, the frontage of the station building was preserved and incorporated into a new office building built behind, called Mercury Court.

Liverpool Exchange Station, 7 August 1918

Approach to Liverpool Exchange Station, 1921

Liverpool Exchange Station, 1927

Liverpool Exchange station, about 1925

Lowry refers in his short story 'Hotel Room In Chartres' to the bosun's starting his rail journey from Exchange Station to Preston to join his ship. This is based on a similar journey made by Lowry to Preston to join the S.S. Fagervik en route to Norway in 1931.

Images courtesy of NMSI 

Maintenon

Maintenon is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located 63.5 km (39.5 mi) southwest of the center of Paris.

Lowry mentions Maintenon in his short story 'Hotel Room in Chartres'; "as the train thundered through Maintenon on its way to the sea.." (Psalms Pg. 22).

Alésia Metro

Alésia is a station of the Paris Métro on line 4 in the 14th arrondissement. The line 4 platforms were opened on 30 October 1909 when the southern section of the line opened between Raspail and Porte d'Orléans. The name refers to Rue d'Alésia, named for the Battle of Alesia between the Gauls of Vercingetorix and the Romans of Julius Caesar.


Lowry refers to the metro station in 'Hotel Room in Chartres'; "..but by the time he reached the Alesia metro, his footsteps were faltering, and he was looking around. His wife was not following. By the time he had stripped his ticket from his metro carnet, he was feeling bereaved". Psalms Pg. 20

Paris Montparnasse Railway Station

Paris Montparnasse is one of the six large terminus railway stations of Paris, located in the Montparnasse area in the XIVe arrondissement. The station was opened in 1840, and rebuilt completely in 1969.


The former seaman and his wife catch a train from the station to Chartres in Lowry's short story 'Hotel Room In Chartres'. "He searched the lists: Brest, Le Mans, Passy, Versailles. Ah, the 17.03 train for Brest stopped a t Chartres" Psalms Pg. 20; Lowry goes onto describe signs and adverts in the station, the rain on the station, noises of the trains; "like a ship letting off steam in her winches" Psalms Pg. 21 and ; he watched the clock in the wall above the tracks, its silver fingers creeping towards five" Psalms Pg. 21

Montparnasse-Bienvenüe Metro

Montparnasse-Bienvenüe is a station of the Paris Métro which is a transfer point between lines 4, 6, 12 and 13. It is the third-busiest station on the metro system in Montparnasse at the intersection of the 6th, 14th and 15th arrondissements. On 24 April 1906 the station opened as Montparnasse station in the Avenue du Maine at the southern end of the old Gare Montparnasse (at the site currently occupied by the Tour Montparnasse, before it was moved south of the Avenue du Maine in the 1960s) with the opening of the extension of line 2 Sud from Passy to Place d'Italie. On 14 October 1907 line 2 Sud became part of line 5. On 11 March 1910 the Montparnasse station was renamed Avenue du Maine and on 30 June 1933 it was renamed Bienvenüe in honour of the principal engineer of the Paris Métro, Fulgence Bienvenüe.

The former seaman in Lowry's short story 'Hotel Room In Chartres' takes the metro to Montparnasse- Bienvenüe to catch a train from Gare Montparnasse to Chartres; "At Montparnasse he got out and went up and into the concourse." Psalms Pg. 20