88-585: Heaton Norris is a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport , Greater Manchester , England. It is one of the Four Heatons , along with neighbours Heaton Chapel , Heaton Mersey and Heaton Moor . Originally within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire , part of Heaton Norris was annexed to the County Borough of Stockport in 1835; Heaton Chapel and Heaton Moor followed in 1894 and
176-418: A London–Glasgow time of 4 hours 8 minutes. Some projects that were removed from the modernisation as a result of the de-scoping, such as a flyover at Norton Bridge station, were later restarted. A £250 million project to grade-separate the tracks at Norton Bridge that allowed for increased service frequency as well as improved line-speeds was completed in spring 2016. Other projects such as
264-458: A population of 150, the ten freeholders of the escheated manor had the right to graze on common pasture and to cut wood. There was no chapel of ease , unlike neighbouring St Ostwalds at Didsbury , and it did not get one until St Thomas' was built in 1758. The township remained part of the parish of Manchester in the Salford Hundred of Lancashire until 1835 when the southern portion of
352-410: A reappraisal of the plans, while the cost of the upgrade soared. Following fears that cost overruns on the project would push the final price tag to £13 billion, the plans were scaled down, bringing the cost down to between £8 billion and £10 billion, to be ready by 2008, with a maximum speed for tilting trains of a more modest 125 mph (201 km/h) – equalling the speeds available on
440-652: A single route, but was built as a patchwork of local lines which were linked together, built by various companies, the largest of which amalgamated in 1846 to create the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), which then gradually absorbed most of the others; the exceptions were the Caledonian Railway in Scotland, and the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) which both remained independent until 1923. The core route
528-603: A telephone banking centre in the Stockport pyramid in 1994. In 1999, the Stockport pyramid became the administrative home of smile.co.uk , an internet bank owned by the Co-op. The Co-op moved out of the pyramid building in 2019 and it is now available to let. Experian ranked Stockport fifth in North West England for shopping. The Merseyway Shopping Centre underwent a £15m redevelopment. Other shopping centres in Stockport include
616-512: A track realignment scheme to raise speeds on the WCML; a proposed project called InterCity 250 , which entailed realigning parts of the line in order to increase curve radii and smooth gradients in order to facilitate higher-speed running. The scheme, which would have seen the introduction of new rolling stock derived from that developed for the East Coast electrification, was scrapped in 1992. As part of
704-520: A useful alternative route to Manchester, however poor relations between the LNWR and the NSR meant that through trains did not run until 1867. The route to Scotland was marketed by the LNWR as 'The Premier Line'. Because the cross-border trains ran over the LNWR and Caledonian Railway, through trains consisted of jointly owned "West Coast Joint Stock" to simplify operations. The first direct London to Glasgow trains in
792-464: Is Andrew Gwynne ( Labour ). Showing former status (prior to 1974), the entire district is unparished (note that Offerton Park , called "Offerton Estate" until 2006, existed from 2002 to 2011): There are 21 electoral wards in Stockport, each with 3 councillors, giving a total of 63 councillors. From 2002 until 2014, the Liberal Democrats had a controlling majority on the council. Following
880-479: Is 2,257/km (5,850/sq mi) and, for every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. Of those aged 16–74 in Stockport, 25.7% had no academic qualifications , lower than 28.9% in all of England. 5.0% of Stockport's residents were born outside the United Kingdom, significantly lower than the national average of 9.2%. The largest minority group was recorded as Asian, at 2.1% of the population. The table below details
968-499: Is 399 miles (642 km) long, with principal InterCity stations at Watford Junction , Milton Keynes Central , Rugby , Stafford , Crewe , Warrington Bank Quay , Wigan North Western , Preston , Lancaster , Oxenholme Lake District , Penrith and Carlisle . The spine has bypasses serving the major towns and cities of Northampton , Coventry , Birmingham and Wolverhampton . Spurs serve Stoke-on-Trent , Macclesfield , Stockport , Manchester, Runcorn and Liverpool . There
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#17328516078111056-513: Is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is south-east of central Manchester and south of Tameside . As well as the towns of Stockport , Bredbury and Marple , it includes the outlying villages and suburbs of Hazel Grove , Bramhall , Cheadle , Cheadle Hulme , Gatley , Reddish , Woodley and Romiley . In 2022, it had a population of 297,107, making it the fourth-most populous borough of Greater Manchester. The borough
1144-442: Is a short double track stretch through the 777-yard (710 m) Shugborough Tunnel. The line is then quadruple track most of the way to Acton Bridge railway station, except for a double track section between Winsford and Hartford. The line is double track from Acton Bridge railway station to Weaver Junction (where a double track spur to Liverpool branches off). The line is double track from Weaver Junction to Warrington Bank Quay, but
1232-506: Is about 4.5 miles (7 km) south of St Ann's Square, Manchester. The soil is clay on marl and red sandstone. The former Manchester to Buxton Roman road, now the A6 , passes through Heaton Norris. The M60 motorway passes to the south of the suburb; junction 1 serves Heaton Norris. A spur of the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly passes through
1320-545: Is also a branch to Edinburgh , at Carstairs in Scotland which is not the most direct route between London and Edinburgh. It provides a direct connection between the WCML and the East Coast Main Line . Originally, the lines between Rugby , Birmingham and Stafford were part of the main spine, until the Trent Valley Line was built in 1847. This line formed a direct connection between Rugby and Stafford becoming
1408-552: Is entirely electrified – this situation is, however, changing since the expansion of the Pendolino fleet; from 2013 onward Class 390 sets have been routinely deployed on Edinburgh/Glasgow–Birmingham services. By 2012, the WCML Pendolino fleet was strengthened by the addition of two coaches to 31 of the 52 existing sets, thus turning them into 11-car trains. Four brand new 11-car sets are also part of this order, one of which replaced
1496-539: Is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail , regional rail , commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 400 miles (644 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1881. With additional lines deviating to Northampton , Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km). The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects
1584-529: Is the loss of through services between Liverpool and Scotland; however these were restored by TransPennine Express in 2019. British Rail introduced the Advanced Passenger Train APT project, which proved that London–Glasgow WCML journey times of less than 4 hours were achievable and paved the way for the later tilting Virgin Pendolino trains. In the late 1980s, British Rail put forward
1672-579: Is the principal rail freight corridor linking the European mainland (via the Channel Tunnel ) through London and South East England to the West Midlands, North West England and Scotland. The line has been declared a strategic European route and designated a priority Trans-European Networks (TENS) route. A number of railway writers refer to it as "The Premier line". The WCML was not originally conceived as
1760-567: The 2014 Local Elections , no party had overall control. The Liberal Democrats remained the largest party, despite losing a seat, but decided not to form a minority administration and strongly refused any possibility of a coalition with the Conservatives. Following the 2016 Local Elections , no party had overall control with the Liberal Democrat council leader Sue Derbyshire losing her seat and Labour taking over as largest party. Following
1848-529: The 2022 Local Elections , the Liberal Democrats took control of the council and Mark Hunter became leader. At the 2001 UK census , the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport had a total population of 284,528. Of the 120,456 households in Stockport: 38.0% were married couples living together, 30.3% were one-person households, 8.3% were co-habiting couples and 9.4% were lone parents. The population density
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#17328516078111936-481: The Birmingham branch , and the routes to Manchester via Stoke-on-Trent was completed on 6 March 1967, allowing electric services to commence to those destinations. In March 1970 the government approved electrification of the northern half of the WCML, between Weaver Junction (where the branch to Liverpool diverges) and Glasgow, and this was completed on 6 May 1974. The announcement, after five years of uncertainty,
2024-437: The Four Heatons in 1913. The Marple Urban District of Cheshire, formed in 1894, gained parts of Derbyshire in 1936 including Mellor and Ludworth from Chapel en le Frith Rural District. Prior to its creation, it was suggested that the metropolitan borough be named "Norchester", but this was rejected as "a concocted name", being beaten by "Stockport" by a vote of 16 to 5. There are four parliamentary constituencies in
2112-623: The Grand Central Stockport and the Stockport Peel Centre . Medical equipment and technology, financial and professional services, computer and internet based services, and creative industries have been identified as growth industries in Greater Manchester, all with concentrations in Stockport. With employment at 2.0%, Stockport has the lowest rate of unemployment of all Greater Manchester's boroughs. Average house prices in
2200-562: The London and Birmingham Railway was completed, connecting to the capital via Coventry , Rugby and the Watford Gap . The Grand Junction and London and Birmingham railways shared a Birmingham terminus at Curzon Street station , so that it was now possible to travel by train between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. These lines, together with the Trent Valley Railway (between Rugby and Stafford, avoiding Birmingham) and
2288-564: The Manchester and Birmingham Railway (Crewe–Manchester), amalgamated operations in 1846 to form the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Three other companies, the North Union Railway ( Parkside –Wigan–Preston), the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway and the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway , completed a through route to Carlisle by the end of 1846, these were later absorbed by
2376-484: The Mark 2 and from 1974 the fully integral , air-conditioned Mark 3 design. These remained the mainstay of express services until the early 2000s. Line speeds were raised to a maximum 110 mph (180 km/h), and these trains, hauled by Class 86 and Class 87 electric locomotives, came to be seen as BR's flagship passenger service. Passenger traffic on the WCML doubled between 1962 and 1975. The modernisation also saw
2464-633: The Quintinshill rail disaster , occurred on the WCML during World War I , on 22 May 1915, between Glasgow Central and Carlisle, in which 227 were killed and 246 injured. The entire route came under the control of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) on 1 January 1923 when the railway companies were grouped , under the Railways Act 1921 . The LMS competed fiercely with the rival LNER 's East Coast Main Line for London to Scotland traffic (see Race to
2552-450: The death of Queen Elizabeth II , locomotive hauled services returned briefly to the WCML once more when incumbent operator Avanti West Coast employed a rake of Mark 3 coaches (hauled by a Class 90 locomotive) to provide additional services to Euston for those wishing to travel to London for the Queen's lying-in-state and subsequent funeral. The following table lists the rolling stock which forms
2640-555: The early railway era was for companies to promote individual lines between two destinations, rather than to plan grand networks of lines, as it was considered easier to obtain backing from investors. The first stretch of what is now the WCML was the Grand Junction Railway connecting the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to Birmingham , via Warrington , Crewe , Stafford and Wolverhampton , opening in 1837. The following year
2728-585: The privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s, the infrastructure was taken over in 1994 by the private company Railtrack , which later collapsed in 2002, and was replaced by the not-for-profit company Network Rail . WCML's InterCity services became part of the InterCity West Coast franchise , which was won by Virgin Trains who took over in 1997. In 2019, Avanti West Coast won the new West Coast Partnership franchise, taking over from Virgin Trains. By
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2816-520: The 1850s took 12.5 hours to complete the 400-mile (640 km) journey. The final sections of what is now the WCML were put in place over the following decades. A direct branch to Liverpool , bypassing the earlier Liverpool and Manchester line, was opened in 1869, from Weaver Junction north of Crewe to Ditton Junction via the Runcorn Railway Bridge over the River Mersey . At
2904-445: The 1980s; an ill-fated high speed train which used tilting technology , which was required to allow faster speeds on the curving route, and the abortive InterCity 250 project in the early-1990s. Further modernisation of the route finally occurred during the 2000s in the period of privatisation , which saw speeds raised further to 125 mph (201 km/h) and the introduction of tilting Class 390 Pendolino trains. As much of
2992-589: The 2010-2017 timeframe. The Wigan North Western to Lostock Parkway branch is also in the process of being electrified. The majority of stock used on the West Coast Main Line is new-build, part of Virgin's initial franchise agreement having been a commitment to introduce a brand-new fleet of tilting Class 390 "Pendolino" trains for long-distance high-speed WCML services. The 53-strong Pendolino fleet, plus three tilting SuperVoyager diesel sets, were bought for use on these InterCity services. One Pendolino
3080-607: The Crewe–Manchester line via Wilmslow was completed in summer 2006. In September 2006, a new speed record was set on the WCML ;– a Pendolino train completed the 401-mile (645 km) Glasgow Central – London Euston run in a record 3 hours 55 minutes, beating the APT's record of 4 hours 15 minutes, although the APT still holds the overall record on the northbound run. The decade-long modernisation project
3168-488: The East Coast route, but some way short of the original target, and even further behind BR's original vision of 155 mph (250 km/h) speeds planned and achieved with the APT. The first phase of the upgrade, south of Manchester, opened on 27 September 2004 with journey times of 1 hour 21 minutes for London to Birmingham and 2 hours 6 minutes for London to Manchester. The final phase, introducing 125 mph (201 km/h) running along most of
3256-600: The LNWR. North of Carlisle, the Caledonian Railway remained independent, and opened its main line from Carlisle to Beattock on 10 September 1847, connecting to Edinburgh in February 1848, and to Glasgow in November 1849. Another important section, the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR), which opened its route in 1848 from Macclesfield (connecting with the LNWR from Manchester) to Stafford and Colwich Junction via Stoke-on-Trent , also remained independent. The NSR provided
3344-780: The Midlands and this area has been called the " Golden Triangle of Logistics ". Nearly all of the WCML is electrified with overhead line equipment at 25 kV AC . Several of the formerly unelectrified branches of the WCML in the North West have recently been electrified such as the Preston to Blackpool North Line on which electric service commenced in May 2018 along with the Preston – Manchester Piccadilly line which saw electric service commence in February 2019. Wigan to Liverpool via St Helens Shaw Street and St Helens Junction were also electrified in
3432-458: The North ). Attempts were made to minimise end-to-end journey times for a small number of powerful lightweight trains that could be marketed as glamorous premium crack expresses, especially between London and Glasgow, such as the 1937–39 Coronation Scot , hauled by streamlined Princess Coronation Class locomotives, which made the journey in 6 hours 30 minutes, making it competitive with
3520-495: The Stockport Metropolitan Borough: Stockport , Cheadle , Hazel Grove , and Denton and Reddish . Stockport has been represented by Navendu Mishra ( Labour ) since 2019 . Mary Robinson ( Conservative ) has been MP for Cheadle since 2015 . William Wragg (Conservative) has been MP for Hazel Grove since 2015 . The constituency of Denton and Reddish bridges Stockport and Tameside ; the current member
3608-438: The Stockport are second out of all the metropolitan boroughs in Greater Manchester, 27.7% higher than the average for the county. At the 2001 UK census, Stockport had 204,812 residents aged 16 to 74. 2.4% of these people were students with jobs, 3.3% students without jobs, 5.4% looking after home or family, 5.0% permanently sick or disabled and 2.4% economically inactive for other reasons. These figures were generally in line with
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3696-514: The UK, BR carried out an extensive programme of modernisation of it between the late 1950s and early 1970s, which included full overhead electrification of the route, and the introduction of modern intercity passenger services at speeds of up to 110 mph (177 km/h). Further abortive modernisation schemes were proposed, including the introduction of the Advanced Passenger Train (APT) in
3784-544: The WCML to Edinburgh. However, the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line . Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry , Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns. It is one of the busiest freight routes in Europe, carrying 40% of all UK rail freight traffic. The line
3872-683: The WCML) were given 30 new "Desiro" Class 350s , originally ordered for services in the south-east. Following Govia 's successful bid for the West Midlands franchise in 2007, another 37 Class 350 units were ordered to replace its older fleet of Class 321s . The older BR-vintage locomotive-hauled passenger rolling stock still has a limited role on the WCML, with the overnight Caledonian Sleeper services between London Euston and Scotland using Mark 3 and Mark 2 coaches until their replacement with Mark 5 stock in October 2019. Virgin also retained and refurbished one of
3960-591: The a part of the spine. South of Rugby, there is a bypass loop that serves Northampton . There is a spur at Weaver Junction north of Crewe to Liverpool . Weaver Junction on this branch is the oldest flyover-type junction in Britain. A spur branches off from Crewe to serve Manchester . There is also a spur between Colwich Junction in the Trent Valley, south of Stafford to Stoke-on-Trent, with another spur north of Stafford, also to Stoke-on-Trent. The geography of
4048-620: The area became largely residential in order to house workers in local mills. The majority of Heaton Norris is characterised by deck-access or high-rise estates (such as Lancashire Hill) and Victorian terraced housing. Heaton Norris Rovers, now known as Stockport County Football Club , was formed in 1883, and used to play on a pitch behind the Nursery Inn on Green Lane. In 1902, they left the Green Lane ground and moved to Edgeley Park. Heaton Norris, Heaton Mersey, Heaton Moor and Heaton Chapel are on
4136-781: The dawn of the 1990s, it was clear that further modernisation was required. Initially this took the form of the InterCity 250 project. The modernisation plan unveiled by Virgin and the new infrastructure owner Railtrack involved the upgrade and renewal of the line to allow the use of tilting Pendolino trains with a maximum line speed of 140 mph (225 km/h), in place of the previous maximum of 110 mph (177 km/h). Railtrack estimated that this upgrade would cost £2 billion, be ready by 2005, and cut journey times to 1 hour for London to Birmingham and 1 hr 45 mins for London to Manchester. However, these plans proved too ambitious and were subsequently scaled back. The upgrade
4224-456: The demolition and redevelopment of several of the key stations on the line: BR was keen to symbolise the coming of the "electric age" by replacing the Victorian-era buildings with new structures built from glass and concrete. Notable examples were Birmingham New Street , Manchester Piccadilly , Stafford , Coventry and London Euston . To enable the latter, the famous Doric Arch portal into
4312-453: The economic climate of the time. The early history of the WCML is complex, as it was not originally conceived as a single trunk route, but was built as a patchwork of separate lines by different companies, mostly during the 1830s and 1840s, but some parts were opened as late as the 1880s. After the completion of the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830, schemes were mooted to build more inter-city lines. The business practice of
4400-461: The line has a maximum speed of 125 mph (201 km/h), it meets the European Union 's definition of an upgraded high-speed line , although only Class 390 Pendolinos and Class 221 Super Voyagers with tilting mechanisms operated by Avanti West Coast travel at that speed. Non-tilting trains are limited to 110 mph (177 km/h). The spine between London Euston and Glasgow Central
4488-468: The line is quadruple track between Warrington Bank Quay to Wigan North Western. At Newton-le-Willows, the slow tracks join the Liverpool to Manchester line to pass through the centre of the town, while the fast tracks take the direct route via the Golborne cut-off. There are two more stretches of quadruple track, otherwise the line is double track to Scotland. The first is from Euxton Balshaw Lane to Preston, and
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#17328516078114576-609: The line was closed. The Stockport branch of the Ashton Canal terminated at Heaton Norris. In 1820, William Nelstrop established his flour mill on Lancashire Hill. Nelstrops Albion Flour Mills were rebuilt on the same site in 1893 following a fire. The company is now one of Britain's largest independent flour millers. Notable landmarks in Heaton Norris include: In the 1990s BBC television series The Mrs Merton Show , and its spin-off sitcom, Mrs Merton and Malcolm (1999),
4664-487: The line, was announced as opening on 12 December 2005, bringing the fastest journey between London and Glasgow to 4 hours 25 mins (down from 5 hours 10 minutes). However, considerable work remained, such as the quadrupling of the track in the Trent Valley, upgrading the slow lines, the second phase of remodelling Nuneaton, and the remodelling of Stafford, Rugby, Milton Keynes and Coventry stations, and these were completed in late 2008. The upgrading of
4752-595: The national averages, although the proportion of people looking after home and family and students without jobs was significantly lower than the national average. In 2001, of 136,059 residents of Stockport in employment, the industry of employment was: 17.3% retail and wholesale, 14.7% manufacturing, 13.8% property and business services, 11.7% health and social work, 8.9% education, 7.7% transport and communications, 6.1% construction, 5.3% finance, 4.6% public administration and defence, 4.1% hotels and restaurants, 0.7% energy and water supply, 0.6% agriculture and 4.3% other. This
4840-556: The north bank of the River Mersey and south of the Cringle Brook; it is sited to the west of Reddish and the River Tame . The land slopes gently towards the north from a high point in the south above a steep descent to the Mersey. Most of the townships are between 60 and 70 metres (200 and 230 ft) above sea level, and 30 to 60 metres (98 to 197 ft) above the river. Heaton Norris
4928-612: The northern end, the Caledonian replaced its original Southside terminus in Glasgow, with the much larger and better located Glasgow Central in 1879. To expand capacity, the line between London and Rugby was widened to four tracks in the 1870s. As part of this work, a new line, the Northampton Loop , was built, opening in 1881, connecting Northampton before rejoining the main line at Rugby. The worst-ever rail accident in UK history,
5016-848: The original Philip Hardwick -designed terminus was demolished in 1962 amid much public outcry. Electrification of the Edinburgh branch was carried out in the late 1980s as part of the East Coast Main Line electrification project in order to allow InterCity 225 sets to access Glasgow via Carstairs Junction. Modernisation brought great improvements in speed and frequency. However some locations and lines were no longer served by through trains or through coaches from London, such as: Windermere ; Barrow-in-Furness , Whitehaven and Workington ; Huddersfield , Bradford Interchange , Leeds and Halifax (via Stockport); Blackpool South ; Colne (via Stockport); Morecambe and Heysham ; Southport (via Edge Hill ); Blackburn and Stranraer Harbour. Notable also
5104-444: The original Mark 3 rakes with a Driving Van Trailer and a Class 90 locomotive as a standby set to cover for Pendolino breakdowns. This set was retired from service on 25 October with a rail tour the following day. In November 2014, the "Pretendolino" was transferred to Norwich Crown Point depot to enter service with Abellio Greater Anglia having come to the end of its agreed lease to Virgin Trains. In September 2022, following
5192-594: The other main line between London and Scotland. The principal solution has been the adoption of tilting trains , initially with British Rail 's APT and latterly the Class 390 Pendolino trains constructed by Alstom and introduced by Virgin Trains in 2003. A 'conventional' attempt to raise line speeds as part of the InterCity 250 upgrade in the 1990s would have relaxed maximum cant levels on curves and seen some track realignments; this scheme faltered for lack of funding in
5280-591: The parish was absorbed into Stockport. In 1866 Heaton Norris became a separate civil parish , in 1894, under the Local Government Act 1894 , it was divided again, with a portion becoming part of Stockport county borough in Cheshire , and the remaining part forming the Heaton Norris urban district in Lancashire. A further 16 acres (65,000 m) transferred in 1901, and the remainder, Heaton Moor and Heaton Chapel,
5368-513: The percentage of pupils attaining at least 5 A*-C grades at GCSE including Maths and English (50.0% compared with the national average of 45.8%). In 2006, Cheadle Hulme School was the most successful school in Stockport at both GCSE and A-level; 99% of the pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at A*-C grade including Maths and English. At A-level, it was also the 72nd most successful school in the country. The Borough of Stockport has formal twinning arrangements with two European places: Béziers
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#17328516078115456-439: The population change since 1801, including the percentage change since the last available census data. Although the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport has only existed 1974, figures have been generated by combining data from the towns, villages and civil parishes that would later be constituent parts of the borough. The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Stockport. The Co-operative Bank opened
5544-524: The remnant in 1913. Historically part of Lancashire , Heaton Norris was part of the Manchester barony of the Grelley family, but between 1162 and 1180 it belonged to William le Norreys. In the early 13th century, Heaton Norris, a sub manor of Manchester, encompassed all of the Four Heatons . It was escheated (i.e. reverted) to the manor of Manchester in around 1280. In 1322, there were 32 dwellings suggesting
5632-794: The replacement of a weak bridge in Watford allowed line-speeds to be increased from 90 mph (145 km/h) to 125 mph (201 km/h), decreasing journey times. The main spine of the WCML is quadruple track almost all of the route from London to south of Winsford . At Hanslope Junction (near Milton Keynes ), the line divides with one pair going direct to Rugby and the other pair diverting via Northampton to rejoin at Rugby. The spine continues north in quadruple track until Brinklow, where it reduces to triple track. The line between Brinklow and Nuneaton has three tracks, with one northbound track and fast and slow southbound tracks. The line then reverts to quadruple track at Nuneaton. North of Rugeley, there
5720-433: The rival East Coast Flying Scotsman (British Railways in the 1950s could not match this, but did achieve a London-Glasgow timing of 7 hours 15 minutes in the 1959–60 timetable by strictly limiting the number of coaches to eight and not stopping between London and Carlisle. ) In 1948, following nationalisation , the line came under the control of British Railways ' London Midland and Scottish Regions , when
5808-537: The route was determined by avoiding large estates and hilly areas, such as the Chilterns ( Tring Cutting ); the Watford Gap and Northampton uplands, followed by the Trent Valley; the mountains of Cumbria , with a summit at Shap ; and Beattock Summit in South Lanarkshire . This legacy means the WCML has limitations as a long-distance main line, with lower maximum speeds than the East Coast Main Line (ECML) route,
5896-435: The route with overhead line equipment. The first stretch to be upgraded and electrified was Crewe to Manchester, completed on 12 September 1960. This was followed by Crewe to Liverpool, completed on 1 January 1962. Electrification was then extended south to London. The first electric trains from London ran on 12 November 1965, with a full public service to Manchester and Liverpool launched on 18 April 1966. Electrification of both
5984-522: The second is a busy section around Glasgow. The WCML is noted for the diversity of branches served from the spine, notably those to/from the West Midlands and North Wales , Greater Manchester , and Liverpool. These are detailed in the route diagram . The complete route has been cleared for W10 loading gauge freight traffic, allowing use of higher 9 ft 6 in (2,896 mm) hi-cube shipping containers . The route passes through Nuneaton and
6072-500: The set lost in the Grayrigg derailment. Although the new stock was supplied in Virgin livery, it was not expected to enter traffic before 31 March 2012, when the InterCity West Coast franchise was due to be re-let, though the date for the new franchise was later put back to December 2012, and any effect of this on the timetable for introducing the new coaches remains unclear. Previous franchisees Central Trains and Silverlink (operating local and regional services partly over sections of
6160-412: The start of the 19th century, Oldknows Limekilns and the Marple Aqueduct . Stockport has 14 local nature reserves : Abney Hall Park, Carr Wood, Chadkirk Country Estate, Crookilley Woods, Etherow Country Park , Gatley Carrs, Heaton Mersey Common, Happy Valley, Mersey Vale Nature Park, Poise Brook, Reddish Vale Country Park, Tangshutts Fields, Woodbank Park and Wright's Wood. Overall, Stockport
6248-453: The suburb, over the large brick-built Stockport Viaduct . Heaton Norris railway station was a stop on the line, before it was closed in 1959. The Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway , operated by Cheshire Lines Committee , ran parallel the north bank of the river. This provided passenger services between Manchester , Liverpool , Warrington Central and Derby until January 1967; freight services continued until 1983 when
6336-455: The technical viability and cost of implementing moving block prior to promising the speed increase to Virgin and the government. By 1999, with little headway on the modernisation project made, it became apparent to engineers that the technology was not mature enough to be used on the line. The bankruptcy of Railtrack in 2001 and its replacement by Network Rail following the Hatfield crash brought
6424-409: The term "West Coast Main Line" came into use officially, although it had been used informally since at least 1912. As part of the 1955 modernisation plan , British Rail carried out a large programme of modernisation of the WCML in stages between 1959 and 1974; the modernisation involved upgrading the track and signaling to allow higher speeds, rebuilding a number of stations, and electrification of
6512-432: The title character, Mrs Merton, played by Greater Manchester native Caroline Aherne , often refers to living in Heaton Norris. The latter series was set in the area. Another BBC comedy series, Early Doors , principally written by and starring Aherne's collaborator Craig Cash (also a former Heaton Norris resident), revolved around a failing pub, which by inference and local references was also in Heaton Norris. The pub
6600-464: Was added to Stockport county borough on 9 November 1913. There was a plebiscite in the 1930s on whether the area wished to become part of Manchester again, but the vote was lost. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Stockport. In 1931 the parish had a population of 13,410. Since 1974, it has formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester . Weaving
6688-469: Was created in 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 , from the former area of the County Borough of Stockport and from the administrative county of Cheshire the urban districts of Bredbury and Romiley , Cheadle and Gatley , Hazel Grove and Bramhall and Marple . Stockport became a county borough in 1889 and was enlarged by gaining territory from Lancashire , including Reddish in 1906 and
6776-419: Was described as "a classic example of disastrous project management". Central to the implementation of the plan was the adoption of moving block signalling , which had never been proven on anything more than simple metro lines and light rail systems – not on a complex high-speed heavy-rail network such as the WCML. Despite this, Railtrack made what would prove to be the fatal mistake of not properly assessing
6864-477: Was finally completed in December 2008. This allowed Virgin's VHF (very high frequency) timetable to be progressively introduced through early 2009, the highlights of which are a three-trains-per-hour service to both Birmingham and Manchester during off-peak periods, and nearly all London-Scottish timings brought under the 4 hours 30 minutes barrier – with one service (calling only at Preston) achieving
6952-416: Was first recorded in 1580 and by 1776 farms were being advertised as having cowsheds and large loom houses. In spite of the industrial developments nearby in Stockport and Manchester, most of Heaton Norris remained agricultural, though in 1836 there were 20 mills employing upwards of 5,000. The rural nature changed with the arrival of the railway station at Heaton Norris in 1840 and Heaton Chapel in 1852, when
7040-399: Was later dropped) and offering journey times as London to Birmingham in 1 hour 35 minutes, and London to Manchester or Liverpool in 2 hours 40 minutes (and even 2 hours 30 minutes for the twice-daily Manchester Pullman ). This represented a big improvement on the 3 hours 30 minutes to Manchester and Liverpool of the fastest steam service. A new feature
7128-472: Was made 48 hours before the writ was issued for a by-election in South Ayrshire . The Observer commented that, if the £25 million decision was politically rather than financially motivated, it would have the makings of a major political scandal. A new set of high-speed long-distance services was introduced in 1966, launching British Rail's highly successful " Inter-City " brand (the hyphen
7216-445: Was mostly built between the 1830s and 1850s, but several cut-off routes and branches were built in later decades. In 1923, the entire route came under the ownership of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) when the railway companies were grouped under the Railways Act 1921 . The LMS itself was nationalised in 1947 to form part of British Railways (BR). As the WCML is the most important long-distance railway trunk route in
7304-477: Was originally twinned with the County Borough of Stockport and became twinned with the Metropolitan Borough on its creation in 1974. West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line ( WCML ) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham , Manchester , Liverpool and Edinburgh . It
7392-578: Was ranked 21st out of all the Local Education Authorities in SATs performance in 2006 and was 2nd in Greater Manchester. Authorised and unauthorised absences from Stockport secondary schools in 2006-07 were 6.7% and 1.3% respectively, almost the same as the national average (6.8% and 1.3%). In 2007, the Stockport LEA was ranked 30th out of 148 in the country, and 2nd in Greater Manchester, based on
7480-737: Was roughly in line with national figures, except for the proportion of jobs in agriculture which is less than half the national average, reflecting the town's suburban nature and its proximity to the centre of Manchester. Stockport has 386 listed buildings . There are six Scheduled Ancient Monuments in the borough. Two date to the Bronze Age , a cairn in Ludworth and the Brown Low bowl barrow . Two related to medieval halls, Peel Hall in Heaton Moor and Torkington Moat . The final two were both built at
7568-663: Was set in The Grapes, Stockport , and based on the Three Crowns in Heaton Norris. Some of the scenes for the BBC1 comedy drama Sunshine , starring Steve Coogan , Bernard Hill , Craig Cash and Phil Mealey , were filmed in the Nursery Inn , a local pub. Part of an advert for Paddy Power starring Rhodri Giggs was also filmed in Heaton Norris Park. Metropolitan Borough of Stockport The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
7656-479: Was that these fast trains were offered on a regular-interval service throughout the day: initially hourly to Birmingham, two-hourly to Manchester, and so on. The service proved to be so popular that in 1972 these InterCity service frequencies were doubled to deal with increased demand. With the completion of the northern electrification in 1974, London to Glasgow journey times were reduced from 6 hours to 5. Along with electrification came modern coaches such as
7744-673: Was written off in 2007 following the Grayrigg derailment . After the 2007 franchise "shake-up" in the Midlands, more SuperVoyagers were transferred to Virgin West Coast, instead of going to the new CrossCountry franchise. The SuperVoyagers are used on London–Chester and Holyhead services because the Chester/North Wales line is not electrified, so they run "under the wires" between London and Crewe. SuperVoyagers were also used on Virgin's London-Scotland via Birmingham services, even though this route
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