Peak evening traffic 1953
Tunnel entrance 1967
Following on from Friday’s post – two more images of the Birkenhead Tunnel. The first shows the chaos as workers head back home to the Wirral. There seems to be an absence of road markings – which must have made the journey somewhat hazardous. Those old cars must have broken down regularly – creating mayhem. Outside, the decorations for the Coronation are still very much in evidence – an easy way to date the photograph.
In the bottom photograph, the Beacon is nearing completion. The basalt lighting column (see May 4th post ) had already been taken away and the toll booths at the Liverpool side were soon to follow (date ?).
That bottom photo’s fascinating! I never knew there were booths at that end of the tunnel – I can see why they were removed.
The other interesting thing is the ‘flock’ of cranes in the background. The whole feel of the photo is similar to the run-up to 2008 (and beyond) – a new age of hope?
I can remember the toll booths on the “old tunnel” – and, (I think) the white land-rovers for the tunnel cops.
The Chippy On A Stick being built