It was inspected by Captain Ritchie of the Board of Trade on 16 June 1866 and was opened to traffic on Monday 18 June 1866. However this apparently did not result in a regular train service until 2 July 1866, following a further inspection by Ritchie on that date. There were six trains a day, four on Sundays, running from "Birkenhead Docks" (i.e. Wallasey Bridge Road) to Hoylake; an omnibus connection was operate to Seacombe. "All the stations were of the most elementary type, having cinder platforms very scantily supplied with buildings, a state of affairs which in the case of the intermediate stations has persisted to the time of electrification." Financial performance Although passenger business was very brisk at first, this soon tailed off and the financial performance of the company was very poor, and the train service was reduced. Robinson wrote: "The building of the line was premature, however. Hoylake in those days was a small fishing village and the rest of the coast quite undeveloped, and it was soon found that the traffic was too small to make it a paying concern. Money was also owing from the construction of the line, and a Mr Vyner of Bidston had not been paid for land the company had acquired from him; the debt was £9,000, which the company did not have at its disposal; indeed its other liabilities amounted to £20,000. He was able to arrange for bailiffs to seize part of the line at the eastern end of the network, and traffic had to be suspended. It was reported: Sale of a Railway: ln pursuance of a Chancery decree, obtained by Mr. Robert Vyner, who has never been paid for his land, that portion of the Birkenhead and Hoylake Railway which runs through his property, was offered for sale by auction at the Queen’s Hotel, Chester, on Saturday [18 September 1869]. One of the conditions of sale was that the purchaser was to pay, beyond his bid for the land, for everything found upon it a valuation made by the auctioneers, Messrs. Churton and Elphick. The solicitor representing the railway company protested against anything but the land being sold; but the auctioneer said he was acting under the authority of the Court of Chancery, and proceeded to put up the four "lots". The first lot was knocked down to Messrs. Roberts and Potts, Chester, for 4,000l, the