The Liverpool Overhead Railway (known locally as the Dockers' Umbrella) was an elevated railway in Liverpool which operated along the Liverpool Docks. It opened in 1893 with lightweight electric multiple units. The design of an overhead line probably originated from the New York High Line which was authorised in 1847. Just five years later, in 1852, the need arose in Liverpool for a similar solution. The railway had a number of world firsts: