Southport Pier Tramway
Coordinates: 53°39′11″N 3°01′01″W / 53.653°N 3.017°W
Southport Pier is a Grade II listed building in Southport, Merseyside, England. At 1,216 yards (1,112 m) it is the second longest in Great Britain after Southend Pier. It was listed at Grade II on 18 August 1975. The Southport Pier Tramway ran from Southport Promenade to the pier head (the far end of the pier) at various times in the pier's history, most recently from August 2005 until June 2015.
Recent modernisation and repair of the pier formed part of a wider redevelopment strategy, including the new Marine Drive sea wall, landscaping around the pier and the new tram route, and the new £23m Ocean Plaza shopping centre - which presents a blank back wall on the seaward side. Completion was in 2002.
The pier is a completely open structure, with modern railings on an older base, and a deck made of hardwood slats, affording a partial view of the sea below. Plans to restore the Victorian shelters along its length remain just plans.
The modern structure at the pier head, the Pavilion, was designed by Liverpool architects Shed KM. The building houses a cafeteria with airport style floor to ceiling windows overlooking the beach and until mid-May 2012, a collection of vintage mechanical amusement machines, re-creating a traditional pier-end penny arcade. The former exhibition of Edwardian and Victorian machines operated on pre-decimalisation pennies, which were available to purchase on-site (£1 bought 10 old pennies) and proved very popular with locals and tourists alike.
The first tramway on Southport Pier was a line for carrying baggage that opened in 1863. The line was upgraded to cable operation in 1865. The line was re-laid in 1893, and electrified in 1905. Southport Corporation took over operation in 1936, and rebuilt the tramway's rolling stock. The pier was closed during the Second World War and when it reopened the tram did not reopen with it. When it finally reopened in 1950, the line had moved to the side of the pier from its previous central position, the gauge had been changed from 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge to 1 ft 11 1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge, and the line was now diesel operated with two new trains, known as the Silver Belle, built by local engineer Harry Barlow, owner of the Lakeside Miniature Railway.
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