53-615: Cadishead Viaduct is a disused railway viaduct of multi-lattice girder construction. It was built in 1892 by the Cheshire Lines Committee to clear the newly built Manchester Ship Canal to carry the new deviation of the Glazebrook to Woodley Main Line. The central span is 40 yards (37 m) long, and the clearance is 75 feet (23 m). The route opened to goods on 27 February 1893 and to passenger traffic on 29 May 1893. Following
106-529: A goods warehouse adjacent to the former Free Trade Hall station, between it and Deansgate ; the warehouse and its connecting line opened in 1898. The GNR worked goods trains into it from Colwick, using running powers over the Midland from Codnor Park Junction. The Manchester South District Railway (MSDR) was originally promoted by a group of local landowners, supported by the Midland Railway (MR), to provide
159-453: A daily goods train from Wellington Road goods; there were intermediate stations at Chorlton-cum-Hardy , Withington , Didsbury and Heaton Mersey . On 1 August 1880, MR switched its services from London Road to Manchester Central. When the MR was established at Central, they had 26 departures: the 14 South District local trains; and 12 trains for Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and London. In 1891,
212-604: A junction at Mickle Trafford connecting to the Birkenhead Railway . This was a natural extension of the CLC network and indeed authorised, albeit by a different company, what the West Cheshire Railway had applied, and failed, to do in 1861. It brought access to the county town of Chester , an important tourist centre and gateway to North Wales to the expanding network. The Chester and West Cheshire Junction Railway Company
265-484: A local railway between Manchester and Alderley. It was incorporated by the Manchester South District Railway Act 1873 ( 36 & 37 Vict. c. ccxxii), but nothing done by 1875 when the MR proposed that the section north of Stockport should become part of the CLC, thereby providing MR with access to Central. At about the same time, in 1875, the construction of Manchester Free Trade Hall station
318-468: A new line 1 mile 20 chains (2.0 km) long from Cornbrook into Manchester, with all proper stations, approaches, works and conveniences connected therewith, terminating on the southern side of Windmill Street. This brought the CLC right into Manchester city centre and a temporary station, Manchester Free Trade Hall station, was opened on 9 July 1877. This station was a modest affair, with two platforms and two intermediate tracks, but it enabled
371-626: A separate legal body, providing instead for the two companies to manage and work the four railways through their existing structures. In 1861, the two partners, MS&LR & GNR, had been authorised by the Garston & Liverpool Railway Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. xxxv) to construct the Garston and Liverpool Railway which made an end-on connection with the St Helens Canal and Railway Company at Garston Dock . This line opened on 1 June 1864 and ran for 3 miles 73 chains (6.3 km) to
424-538: A terminus at Liverpool Brunswick. This terminus station was only in use from 1864 to 1874, when it was superseded by Liverpool Central, but it did have an extended life as a goods station. The act included a short (26 chains (520 m)) line to connect a goods station, Wavertree Road (later Wavertree and Edge Hill), to the LNWR at Edge Hill and running powers from there to Garston. Included within this act were running powers between Garston Dock and Timperley Junction using
477-600: A turntable. There was a timber yard in Victoria Road and a lairage for a further 1,200 cattle in Foster Street, to cope with the cattle traffic from Ireland; much of which was on its way to Stanley cattle market near Knotty Ash station. A short (30 chains (600 m)) connection was made from Huskisson to Victoria Yard Goods (owned by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board ) and Sandon and Canada Goods railway station (owned by
530-677: The London and North Western Railway . Although Central was always a busy station, it was scheduled for closure under the Beeching Axe , services to Central from Warrington and beyond Garston being re-routed around the Allerton Curve , the L&;NWR Speke to Edge Hill line, and into Lime Street instead. Central High Level, and the Garston line, closed in 1972. The line would re-open again in 1978, as part of
583-502: The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (Liverpool Extension) Act 1866 ( 29 & 30 Vict. c. cxci), then formally transferred these lines into the CLC. The direct line to Liverpool Brunswick was opened in 1873 and, from then, the CLC used this more direct route between Manchester London Road and Liverpool Brunswick . The route was further improved when Liverpool Central station opened on 1 March 1874, bringing trains into
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#1732844993122636-453: The Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) as far as Cornbrook, then crossing onto the CLC direct line. It was recognised early on that the additional services were going to cause congestion at the Manchester end of the line; at this time, London Road station had been expanded and effectively divided into several stations. The main station was split in half: one half for
689-605: The Stockport & Woodley Junction (incorporated 15 May 1860) were to form part of the initial CLC. In 1860, the MS&;LR was interested in three additional bills that would extend its influence towards Liverpool and Chester; they were the Garston & Liverpool (incorporated 17 May 1861), the Stockport, Timperley & Altrincham Junction (incorporated 17 May 1861) and the West Cheshire (incorporated 11 July 1861). Unfortunately,
742-470: The soffits and trough decking of the major steel span of the viaduct. The Hamilton Davies Trust proposes to restore the viaduct to operation as a multi-modal route, with the potential to operate a heritage railway across it. Cheshire Lines Committee The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which
795-541: The 1970s. Although the line had been built through mostly open countryside, Liverpool's southern suburbs began to develop and expand along the line around this time, making it an important commuter route into Central station, the most central of Liverpool's three major termini. Competition for routes along the Mersey had led to duplication of routes within the Cheshire Lines Committee and against their competitors
848-745: The CLC acquired 23 acres (9.3 ha) of land at Huskisson in north Liverpool. To access this site, several lines were authorised by the Cheshire Lines Act 1874 ( 37 & 38 Vict. c. clxix). These lines, known locally as the North Liverpool Extension Line , were: The lines were opened to Aintree Junction and Walton-on-the-Hill on 1 December 1879, with stations at Gateacre for Woolton , Childwall , Old Swan and Knotty Ash , West Derby and Walton-on-the-Hill . The section to Huskisson and Huskisson station, for both passenger and goods trains, opened on 1 June 1880. A passenger service
901-522: The CLC had with the dock complex on the Mersey was at Brunswick, at the very southern end of the docks. Despite improvements made during the 1870s and 1880s and connections with adjacent docks from 1884, the CLC was not able to compete with other railways in the area for the large freight market. Both the LNWR and the L&;YR had better connections to the docks, both in terms of quantity and the quality of which docks they connected to. To improve this situation,
954-543: The CLC lines, but ran to an underground station accessed via steps from the upper station concourse. Garston and Liverpool Railway The Garston and Liverpool Railway line ran from the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway line at Garston Docks to Brunswick railway station , later to central Liverpool . The company was formed on 17 May 1861 by the Garston & Liverpool Railway Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. xxxv) and
1007-651: The CLC to introduce an improved hourly express service to Liverpool taking 45 minutes which attracted passengers. Even before the temporary Free Trade Hall station opened, the CLC had been authorised by the Cheshire Lines Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. xci) to build a permanent stationq; this station, Manchester Central which was opened on 1 July 1880, was immediately adjacent to Free Trade Hall station with its frontage on Windmill Street. This station had two storeys, goods below and passengers above; it had eight platforms, later increased to nine, six of which were covered by an impressive 210 feet (64 m) single span roof,
1060-485: The GNR to share in the enterprise, in which case the line would have transferred to the CLC; this option was not exercised, so it remained a Midland Railway line. The line from Heaton Mersey Junction to Throstle Nest Junction (later Throstle Nest East Junction), on the CLC near Cornbrook, opened on 1 January 1880. The Midland set up local services from Free Trade Hall to Stockport Tiviot Dale of 14 passenger trains each way, plus
1113-507: The Garston and Liverpool Railway would be the means for this, extending beyond the Garston terminus, and following the Mersey downstream to the North West. It was absorbed by the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) on 5 July 1865, whose Liverpool to Manchester line joined it at Cressington Junction . The first terminus at Brunswick was poorly placed as a station to serve central Liverpool and almost as soon as it opened, an act of Parliament
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#17328449931221166-505: The LNWR and the other for the MS&LR, which it shared with the Midland Railway. The third section of the station was the MSJ&;AR platform area, adjacent to the main station; these platforms were used as the terminus for passenger services, but the lines also provided a through connection for freight from Lancashire to Yorkshire. Initially, the CLC obtained powers, in the Cheshire Lines Act 1872 ( 35 & 36 Vict. c. lvii), to build
1219-504: The MR to join as an equal partner, which it did in 1866. The MS&LR's Godley and Woodley Branch Railway was transferred to the CLC by the Cheshire Lines Act 1866 ( 29 & 30 Vict. c. cccli). This left a small section (27 chains (540 m)) of track between Apethorne Junction and Woodley Junction that still belonged to the Sheffield and Midland Joint Railway, with the CLC having running powers. The Cheshire Lines Committee
1272-467: The MS&LR and the MR; the CLC ran a passenger service on the line. The loop line closed in 1964. The building of the Manchester Ship Canal resulted in two diversions of the line in order to cross the canal at a high level on fixed bridges. The first was at Irlam where a diversion was constructed to the south of the original line and a new station was constructed, both the old route and
1325-464: The MS&LR was unable to fund the building of these railways by itself. The shortage of funds led to a variety of negotiations, including the potential of a merger with the GNR, but eventually an agreement was reached on 11 June 1862 between the MS&LR and the GNR. The arrangement was for the establishment of a joint committee to regulate and work traffic on four of the railways already authorised but not yet open. The lines were: Each company
1378-637: The Mersey in Birkenhead; they opened Shore Road Goods depot on 1 July 1871 to the south of the docks and the East & West Float depot at Duke Street in November 1892 to the north. Neither depot was connected to CLC lines, but were accessed from Helsby over the Birkenhead Railway . The Mersey Railway completes a link from its former terminus at Liverpool James Street to a new station at Liverpool Central (low-level) on 11 January 1892. The railway did not connect to
1431-546: The Midland Railway) in 1882. The junction with the L&YR was to the north of a further station, Aintree Racecourse which opened on 13 July 1880 (becoming Aintree on 1884). This connection at Aintree provided an additional route onto the CLC for Midland Railway traffic, which had access from the north via Colne and Preston. The Midland Railway made a connection at Fazakerley to its Langton Dock Branch and goods station in 1885. The CLC established goods depots over
1484-481: The Midland proposed that the MSDR became a joint railway to be known as the Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies Committee (MS&LR & MR). A condition of the joint railway was equal funding of the capital to build the line; the MS&LR was not forthcoming with their share and the Midland then petitioned for the undertaking to be transferred to its sole ownership, which was accepted. The Act also provided powers for
1537-451: The city centre. The station was situated on Ranelagh Street on the edge of the city centre and was a much grander station of three stories with a large arched roof and six platform faces. At the same time as Central opened, Brunswick closed to passenger traffic; it became a goods station and a much larger warehouse was built around the original station building. The building was so large, about 300 by 500 feet (91 m × 152 m), it
1590-426: The developing Lancashire coal fields and the growth of the Mersey's seaborne trade. In 1857, the GNR and MS&LR arranged to work closer together. The MS&LR had just come out of an unhappy alliance with the LNWR and the GNR was motivated by the opportunity to gain access to Manchester, via the MS&LR route from Retford. A joint MS&LR/GNR service between Manchester London Road and London Kings Cross
1643-572: The diversion were operational from 9 January 1893 to 27 March 1893 when the original route closed. The second diversion was between Glazebrook and West Timperley where both intermediate stations, Cadishead and Partington , were rebuilt on raised lines either side of the ship canal. Both routes were operational from 27 February 1893 to 29 May 1893 when the original route closed. The Chester and West Cheshire Junction Railway Company had been incorporated in 1865 to construct railways from Mouldsworth to Mickle Trafford and onto Chester Northgate , with
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1696-582: The late 1850s from the close working together of two railways, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and the Great Northern Railway (GNR); this was in their desire to break the near monopoly on rail traffic held by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in the Southern Lancashire and Northern Cheshire areas. The CLC operated in an area which included the rapidly growing major cities of Manchester and Liverpool ,
1749-572: The line opened on 1 June 1864. Garston Dock station had opened in 1852 as the terminus of the St Helens Canal and Railway Company 's line from Warrington . The act of Parliament for this line had also given the company rights to construct a deepwater dock on the River Mersey at Garston, extending the early St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway further down the Mersey to a better and less tidal port. The company also aspired to reach Liverpool and
1802-461: The lines of the LNWR through Widnes, Warrington and Lymm. and then the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) through to Manchester. The jointly administered lines at this time were known as The Liverpool, Garston & Cheshire Railways . Liverpool Brunswick station was inconveniently situated near the Southern docks, a good distance from the city centre. This necessitated
1855-608: The other CLC partners as it was in their interest, because of a competing potential alliance between the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) and the Great Eastern Railway (GER). This proposal led to the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (Extension to Liverpool) Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. ccclxxviii); this act was subsequently amended by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (New Lines) Act 1866 ( 29 & 30 Vict. c. cxcii) which altered
1908-536: The other two were protected by an awning on the side of the shed. Most of the station facilities, including the booking office and waiting rooms, were of wooden construction, being intended for temporary use but they lasted until the station's eventual closure in 1969. When Central opened in 1880, the Free Trade Hall station closed to passengers and was converted to a goods station; it had another warehouse added in 1882. The Great Northern Railway (GNR) opened
1961-574: The railway to transport passengers and their goods by omnibus into the city centre. To rectify this, the partners applied to build an extension railway and this resulted in the building of a difficult line, mainly in tunnels, to a new Central Station , with powers granted by the Liverpool Central Station Railway Act 1864 ( 27 & 28 Vict. c. ccxc). The Midland Railway (MR) secured a route into Manchester city centre in 1862 and they began to look at options to secure traffic to
2014-440: The route slightly. The result was two lines: The other alteration to the route, promulgated under the 1866 act, was as the result of Warrington residents agitating to have the railway come closer to the town centre. The 1865 plan had Warrington station positioned to the north on the straight route , halfway between Padgate and Sankey stations in a direct line; this would have been about 1,000 yards (910 m) further from
2067-466: The section from Throstle Nest Junction to Chorlton Junction (the junction with the MS&LR line to Fairfield on the London Road to Guide Bridge route) was transferred to the CLC. Completion of the direct Manchester to Liverpool line, and the connections to it from Timperley and on to the Midland Railway, provided the partners with access to Liverpool without going through Manchester. The only connection
2120-451: The town. A loop was constructed into the town and Warrington Central and goods yard was constructed on it. The loop and station opened in 1873; the direct route, otherwise known as the Warrington avoiding line , was not opened until 1883. In 1897 an impressive two-storey brick goods warehouse was built in the goods yard, superseding an earlier smaller structure. A further MS&LR act,
2173-470: The west of Manchester and particularly into Liverpool. This led to their associating with the MS&LR and GNR and their partnership working of the lines mentioned above. These lines were brought together under the direct joint ownership of the MS&LR and GNR by the Cheshire Lines Transfer Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. cccxxvii). They were: The act additionally gave powers for
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2226-437: The withdrawal of passenger services in 1964, the line became goods only, and when expensive repairs to the viaduct were needed in the early 1980s, British Rail closed the viaduct and the preceding line towards Glazebrook. The viaduct is now blocked with containers on each end owing to anti-social behaviour and to stop people walking across it, as the deck of the viaduct is in a very bad state with major corrosion setting in on
2279-399: Was finally authorised, by the Cheshire Lines Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. ccvii), as a fully independent organisation with a board formed from three directors from each of the parent companies. Not all non-CLC stations are shown In 1864, Mr Edward Watkin , the MS&LR's chairman, proposed a more direct railway from Manchester to connect with the Garston and Liverpool Railway; this
2332-463: Was long enough to write the owners names in full Great Northern, Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire and Midland Railways . In 1879, a connection was made from the direct line to the expanding town of Widnes ; the Widnes loop line ran from a junction between Sankey and Farnworth to the south, through Widnes Central and back to join the direct line at Hough Green . The line was jointly owned by
2385-456: Was made in 1875 to enable traffic between the CLC and Chester General but it was not used due to a dispute. The CLC ran five trains in each direction daily between Manchester Oxford Road which was a MSJ&AR station and Chester Northgate . The direct route to Liverpool, and into Liverpool Central station from 1874, allowed an increased density of service with sixteen trains in each direction. These trains left Manchester London Road using
2438-420: Was mainly on the grounds that the existing arrangements for running powers on LNWR lines were inadequate. He had a point, as the lines were being used by three companies and had several curves that needed careful, and therefore slow, negotiation; there were 95 level-crossings and 60 or more signals in each direction. This proposal was made in the name of the MS&LR only, but Mr Watkin solicited support from
2491-544: Was obtained for the Liverpool Central Station Railway , which would divert from just before Brunswick through a mile and a half of deep cuttings and tunnels in the red sandstone through St James and to a terminus at Liverpool Central . The extensive civil engineering works needed meant that construction took nearly ten years, opening on 2 March 1874. Brunswick station remained open as a goods station between Harrington Dock and Herculaneum Dock into
2544-703: Was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway , operated 143 miles (230 km) of track in the then counties of Lancashire and Cheshire . The railway did not become part of the Big Four during the implementation of the 1923 grouping , surviving independently with its own management until the railways were nationalised at the beginning of 1948. The railway served Liverpool , Manchester , Stockport , Warrington , Widnes , Northwich , Winsford , Knutsford , Chester and Southport with connections to many other railways. The Cheshire Lines Committee evolved in
2597-555: Was provided and the arrangements were formalised by Parliament in the Great Northern and Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Traffic Arrangements Act 1858 ( 21 & 22 Vict. c. cxiii). Relations between the LNWR and MS&LR companies were never strong, but they deteriorated in 1859 when the MS&LR supported several new railways in the Manchester area; two of which, the Cheshire Midland (incorporated 14 June 1860) and
2650-580: Was provided from Liverpool Central to Walton-on-the-Hill, but it proved unpopular and thereafter most services terminated at Gateacre. When Huskisson opened, it too was provided with a passenger service that was even less popular: it was withdrawn on 1 May 1885 and the station closed. The line became known as the Liverpool Loop Line . Huskisson goods facility became a large complex of warehouses and sidings, including cranes, stablings, cattle pens for up to 2,000 cattle, cotton and grain stores, offices and
2703-486: Was taking place; the authorisation for the permanent Manchester Central station had been obtained and the MS&LR gave notice to the Midland to quit using Manchester London Road station within three years because of the congestion, as the Midland was a partner in the CLC it was natural for them to try to gain access to the new Central. In 1876, with nothing much happening on the MSDR and the Midland Railway becoming increasing anxious to find station facilities in Manchester,
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#17328449931222756-472: Was to provide an equal amount of capital and four representatives to the joint management committee. This arrangement was confirmed by the Great Northern Railway (Cheshire Lines) Act 1863 ( 26 & 27 Vict. c. cxlvii); this was the first official use of Cheshire Lines and at the time it was entirely appropriate as the majority of the lines involved were in Cheshire. This act had not, however, formally set up
2809-561: Was transferred into the CLC on 10 August 1866. Construction work did not start straight away, being delayed by contractual negotiations until 1871. The route was 7 miles 43 chains (12.1 km) of double track with 23 bridges. There were intermediate stations at Tarvin & Barrow and Mickle Trafford . The railways, but not the junction with the Birkenhead Railway, opened for goods traffic on 2 November 1874 and for passengers on 1 May 1875. The junction at Mickle Trafford
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