Liverpool Overhead Railway

[gregred]

Hi i found out today that apperently my great grandfather was the first ford dealer in liverpool on the site the blakes took over.WEBBS OF LIVERPOOL,funny thing is i have loved cars and motorsport all my life and not even known about this.I only found out because i (through my passion for cars) am starting my own valeting buisness and while using my uncles hot washer he told me about my relatives owning this garage and after going bust opening the hale village garden centre (wich i did know about)sadly this is also know closed.Being a bit flumuxed i have'nt asked him much but will be asking my mum as soon as she gets back from thailand. I hope i can get hold of some pictures and maybe post them on here.Many thanks to you i sort of found some info but it seems with blakes being more sucsesfull webbs ford has been forgotten.Thanks for a informative read.

[shytalk]

Gregred,
In the 50's I worked for Blakes. At the time there were three Ford Main dealers in Liverpool. J.Blake & Co. Ltd. A.W.Webb Ltd. and J.C. Whitney in Scotland Road. Webbs was in Pilgrim St. and last time I was around there the building was still there but being used for something else. If you go up Pilgrim St. from Berry St. it is a 2 story building with a ramp up the side to drive onto the roof.
I don't remember when they went out of business. Blakes used to advertise that they were the oldest Ford dealer in the country, established in 1912.

[gregred]

Thanks for the reply,my uncle was telling me today that it was a three storey building with a car park on the roof.Ben webb was my greatgrandfathers name and arthur was his fathers name.I know from looking at photos when i was young he owned a daimler.It may not of been an official ford dealer but they only bought cars from ford.Maybe dealerships were just starting and that owned garages were getting squeezed out?I do know that my grandad lesley cook (husband of nancy webb ben's daughter)worked their.People allways tell me it's like looking at a ghost when they see me as i look so much alike him.Another spookey thing is when i was looking at the photos of the cars in the dingle tunnel from the links in this thread,the white or cream car has the numbers 913 in.My birthday is 13/9 spooky,.I am in widnes so i am going to do some investigating.My mum had told me that their was a garage buisness at one time in her family but she failed to mention it was a dealership possibly or even that they sold cars.

I feel very proud though knowing that somebody other than family remembers my great grandfathers buisness and as would he i would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for replying.You have made my day i just wish they still had the buisness then i could of had my dream car a ford escort cosworth he he.Still hopefully in a couple of thousand valets i might be a little closer to being able to afford one.Thing that gets me though is why my mum never really mentioned it to me knowing how mad about cars i was.Still at least i know were i get it from.I will try my best to get some photos,i am going to be pestering my mum and aunts and uncles for pics as i would be really interested to contest blakes claims.

My sincere thanks to you for replying i had noticed the thread was a couple of months old and was wondering if i would get one. You really have made my day .

[gregred]

Just found out that my great grandfather was not only the first ford dealer in liverpool he also sold the first ford from a liverpool garage.My auntie who worked in fords halewood say's there was a huge picture in fords of my great grandfather with the car sold.She thinks it was a ford anglia.I have also contacted an ex employee and i am hoping he will be able to shed some light on the situation.How i would love to re open that garage and put a sign up saying we were the first official ford dealership and put that photo in the showroom to prove it.If indeed it is the case webbs were the first,I know it 's probobly not of huge importance to anyone but i know if my great grandfather was the first it would be a nice thing for me to prove he was.

[Kev]

Was there any future for the much-lamented Liverpool Overhead Railway?, asks Peter Elson on the 50th anniversary of its closure.

Read on.....

[shytalk]

gregred,
It could not have been a Ford Anglia that was the first Ford sold in the city. Blakes owned a 1914 Model T amongst their collection of antiques. The story was that it was the first Model T sold in Liverpool by them.
The name anglia was first used I believe in 1947, Ford previously used model numbers, the car they called the Anglia had previously been known as the Ford 7Y. 8hp. Halewood opened in the early 60's and the first car they produced used to be in Liverpool museum and was only brought out for dealer promotions. It was the 105E Anglia identifiable by the backwards sloping back window.
If you need any more information on the car trade in that era please feel free to message me, I don't want to keep getting off the theme of this thread.

[w141]

exellent link Kev

[PhilipG]

Was there any future for the much-lamented Liverpool Overhead Railway?, asks Peter Elson on the 50th anniversary of its closure.[B]

Poor maintenance is very often the reason for demolition.
From New Brighton Tower to Municipal Housing.

The Palm House almost went the same way.
The list is endless.

[marky]

LOR supports, Wapping.

[Kev]

LOR supports, Wapping.

Cheers Mary

[Gnomie]

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Gnomie

Lovely poster, Gnomie! Thanks for sharing it with us.

As for whether there was a future for the Overhead Railway, it would appear self-evident that if the powers that be had thought it was worth preserving, it would still be with us today. But no doubt the feeling was that the Overhead Railway had served its usefulness and that buses rather than local rail or tramways were the wave of the future. This was the trend not only in the UK but also here in the United States, where streetcars (trams) were done away with in favor of buses. Only recently have trams or light rail transportation made a comeback.

Chris

[ChrisGeorge]

LOR supports, Wapping.

Great pics, Marky! The picture of the Wapping wall brings a smile to my face because this is where I worked on the docks as a clerk in the summer of 1966, my first job when I was still a student at Quarry Bank.

Chris

[PhilipG]

Great pics, Marky! The picture of the Wapping wall brings a smile to my face because this is where I worked on the docks as a clerk in the summer of 1966, my first job when I was still a student at Quarry Bank.

Chris

Good grief, Chris.
You're younger than me.

[Kev]

A NEW film is set to re-create Liverpool’s famous Overhead Railway, fondly remembered around the world as the “Dockers Umbrella”.

Now, using computer-generated wizardry, the railway – and the long-gone trams that passed under it – have been brilliantly brought back to life by North Star, the Liverpool production company behind gangster movie Going Off Big Time.

Old footage of the railway was used as the basis for images which brought gasps of delight and astonishment from an audience of VIPs who were given a sneak preview at the city’s Radisson Hotel. more