The Altcar Bob was a train service introduced in July 1906 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway on the Barton Branch of the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway. The service was so named because it terminated at Altcar and Hillhouse, though from 1926 it only went as far as Barton. The Bob was a diminutive steam railmotor: a locomotive permanently attached to a single coach. The coach was supported by only a single bogie at one end, and the locomotive at the other. Remote controls located at the rear of the coach meant that the vehicle did not require turning.

The origin of the term "Bob" is uncertain. Old railwaymen claim that it was named after one of the original drivers, while others insist that this was a common term given to many small locomotives. Another theory is that it relates to the cost of a journey in the early days of the service, "bob" being a slang term for a shilling coin.

The service ceased when the line closed to passengers on 26 September 1938 ^[1].

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Gell, Rob (1986). An Illustrated Survey of Railway Stations Between Southport & Liverpool 1848-1986. Heyday Publishing Company. ISBN 0-947562-04-4. 
• Marshall, J (1981). Forgotten Railways North-West England. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6. 

[edit] External links

• "On The Track of Altcar Bob", written by John Ashcroft 1972
• "Our Ticket to Ride", newspaper article