Skelton Junction is a complex of railway junctions to the south of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in Timperley, near

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

. Both 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 an ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

to Manchester line, via the Glazebrook East Junction to Skelton Junction Line and the

LNWR The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the ...

Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway The Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway was a railway line that was in operation from 1 November 1853 to 7 July 1985. The railway was created by an act of parliament on 3 July 1851 to build a line between Timperley Junction on the Manc ...

fed into the junction from Liverpool in the west. 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 Piccadilly) in Manchester. The MSJ&AR line operat ...

provided a connection from the Altrincham direction and a short spur from Timperley towards Stockport, while the CLC's

Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway The Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway(ST&AJR) was authorised by an Act of Parliament, passed on 22 July 1861 to build a railway from to Altrincham. History The 1861 Act was for a locally promoted line supported by the Ma ...

continued east to Stockport.

The lines today

Active

The only line currently in use is the line from Altrincham towards Stockport; this is used by the Chester to Manchester Piccadilly via Altrincham and Northwich service. Additionally various freight workings use the line including heavy block trains carrying limestone from quarries at Tunstead (near Buxton) to alkali works at Northwich.

Closed

The line via Broadheath and Lymm to Warrington closed on 7 July 1985 and has now been lifted. The line via West Timperley and Partington is still intact as far as Partington, but has been disused since October 1993, when all regular freight traffic to the chemical works ceased. The Great Central Railway connection north from the CLC to the MSJ&A Rly towards Timperley Station closed before the Second World War. There used to be a small marshalling yard including a turntable in the fork between the Altrincham and Partington lines. The yard was traversed by a long concrete foot bridge known locally as The Black Bridge. This has now been replaced by a shorter green steel bridge but it is still known as The Black Bridge.

References

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