Chester Northgate is a former railway station in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England; it was a terminus for 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 ...

and

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

. It was the city centre's second station, after Chester General, with regular services to , and .

History

Chester Northgate Locomotive Depot geograph-2359879-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The station, which was located on Victoria Road in the Newtown area of the city, was originally planned by the West Cheshire Railway in 1865. A year later, the company was acquired by the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) which opened the station on 1 May 1875 for services to Manchester Central on the Mid-Cheshire Line via . The CLC track crossed the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

and

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

line over a

flying junction A flying junction or flyover is a railway junction at which one or more diverging or converging tracks in a multiple-track route cross other tracks on the route by bridge to avoid conflict with other train movements. A more technical term is "gr ...

Mickle Trafford Mickle Trafford is a village in Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire, England. It is the main village in the civil parish of Mickle Trafford and District. The A56 road from Chester to Warrington passes through the village and the Chester to Manc ...

. Chester Northgate had a station building and a covered roof for each platform; it had four tracks with two

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...

s, the central tracks being used to store carriages. One of the roofs had been removed by 1966. There were also lower level sidings that contained a locomotive yard. In 1890, 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 ...

(renamed

in 1897) completed the Chester & Connah's Quay Railway to

Hawarden Bridge Hawarden Bridge (; ) is a railway bridge over the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, near Shotton, Flintshire, Shotton, Flintshire, Wales. It was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (which later became the Great Central Railw ...

. Services from Chester Northgate ran to Shotton High Level via and also to and on the Wirral. A triangle junction outside the station allowed trains to either terminate at Chester Northgate or pass through the city without stopping. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the station served military personnel that were based at RAF Sealand and at Blacon Camp. In 1969, a

level junction A level junction (or in the United Kingdom a flat crossing) is a railway junction that has a track configuration in which merging or crossing railroad lines provide track connections with each other that require trains to cross over in front o ...

was installed at Mickle Trafford so that Manchester trains could be diverted to Chester General. Services to Wrexham and New Brighton had previously been withdrawn on 9 September 1968. The station closed on 6 October 1969.

Railway line

Although Chester Northgate closed and the line to the station itself lifted, the line north of the station (avoiding Northgate by the Liverpool Road spur) remained for another 25 years. It was used by the Corus steelmaking plant at Shotton until March 1980. Freight continued to pass north of the former station on a double-tracked line until 20 April 1984. Goods services resumed on a single-tracked line on 31 August 1986, before final closure in October 1992.

The site today

Mannings Lane South railway bridge - geograph

The site is now occupied by the Northgate Arena. Some of the original railway station railings can still be seen along Victoria Road, opposite the entrance to the arena. The trackbed is now a footpath and cycleway.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

History, timetables, maps, tickets and photos

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chester Northgate Railway Station History of Chester

Former Cheshire Lines Committee stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1875 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1969 Beeching closures in England