The Cheshire Midland Railway was authorised by an act of Parliament, passed on 14 June 1860, to build a railway from

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

on the

Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) was a suburban railway which operated an route between Altrincham in Cheshire and Manchester London Road railway station (now Manchester Piccadilly station, Piccadilly) in Manches ...

Northwich Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane, east of Chester, south of Warrington and south of Ma ...

History

The ( 23 & 24 Vict. c. xc) was promoted by landowners and supported by the

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grims ...

(MS&LR). The

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

were given leave to subscribe to the undertaking but they chose not to and the found help from Great Northern Railway (GNR) instead. Ashley Railway Station

A further act, the ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. cxiii), modified the route and provided for the official involvement of the . Together the and formed a joint committee to operate this railway along with three others that had been authorised but were not yet open. Together these railways connected up to provide an alternative route into North Cheshire that avoided Manchester. Each company 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 The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire and ...

( 26 & 27 Vict. c. cxlvii). This act had not, however, formally set up a separate legal body, providing instead for the two companies to manage and work the four railways through their existing structures. This arrangement eventually led to the formation of the

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 was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire and ...

in 1865. The line was then formally brought under the direct joint ownership of the and in 1865 by the

Cheshire Lines Transfer Act 1865 The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire and ...

( 28 & 29 Vict. c. cccxxvii). The act allowed the Midland Railway to join as an equal partner, which it did in 1866. and finally The

was authorised by the

Cheshire Lines Act 1867 The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire and ...

( 30 & 31 Vict. c. ccvii) as a fully independent organisation with a board formed from three directors from each of the parent companies. Today the railway forms part of the

Mid-Cheshire Line The Mid-Cheshire line is a railway line in the north-west of England that runs from Chester railway station, Chester to Edgeley Junction in Stockport; it connects Chester with , via . After Chester Northgate railway station, Chester Northgate ...

Opening

The Cheshire Midland Railway opened in stages: *

Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East district, in Cheshire, England; it is located south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and south-east of Warrington. The population of the parish at the 2021 Uni ...

Mobberley Mobberley is a village in Cheshire, England; it is sited between Wilmslow and Knutsford. In 2001, it had a population of 2,546, increasing to 3,050 at the 2011 census, and to 3,119 in 2021. History Mobberley is mentioned, as ''Motburlege'', ...

opened for passenger traffic on 12 May 1862 and for goods traffic on 1 May 1863. *

to Knutsford opened for passenger traffic on 1 January 1863 and for goods traffic on 1 May 1863. A mineral railway ran to the north between Lostock and Northwich, this line, usually known as the Marston branch, provided access to a number of works, mostly connected to salt mining and extraction. They opened for freight only from 17 December 1867 onwards. Northwich station - geograph

Route and stations

The railway started from an end-on connection with the

(MSJ&AR) at Altrincham Junction, just south of station on the . Initial intermediate stations were at: * Bowdon Peel Causeway, renamed Peel Causeway on 1 January 1899 and renamed on 1 January 1902. * , described as Ashley for Rostherne in some timetables. * . * , original station opened at end of the first stage of construction when the line reached Knutsford. The first station closed and was replaced by a second station when the line was extended to Northwich on 1 January 1863. * Plumbley, renamed on 1 February 1945. * Lostock, renamed sometime later in 1863. * , original station opened with the line on 1 January 1863, it closed on 1 September 1869 and became the goods station from this time. A second station was opened nearby when the line was extended by the building of the West Cheshire Railway's line onwards to opening on 1 September 1869. The first part, , of this route to Northwich Junction was opened earlier than this to allow

(LNWR) services to access to both stations. The line terminated at Northwich Junction where the line headed south towards Sandbach and the West Cheshire line continued westward. A further station, Plumbley West Platform, is known to have been open for passengers only from sometime in 1915. It was closed by September 1926. The station was sited west of Plumbley.

Public house

The former 'Cheshire Midland' public house by Hale railway station on Ashley Road, Hale was named after the railway.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{refend Early British railway companies Railway companies established in 1860 Railway lines opened in 1862 Cheshire Lines Committee Lines 1860 establishments in England British companies established in 1860