Monument record 2267/1/0 - Manchester to Chester Line (CLC)

The Manchester to Chester Line was owned and operated by the Cheshire Lines Committee. It ran on the Mid-Cheshire Line via Northwich, incorporating the Cheshire Midland Railway (from Manchester to Northwich), the West Cheshire Railway (from Northwich to Helsby) and the Cheshire and West Cheshire Junction Railway (Helsby to Chester). It opened in 1875 following the construction of the Northgate Station where the line terminated.

The Cheshire Midland Railway Company was given permission by Act of Parliament in 1860 for a 12 mile stretch between Manchester and Northwich and was completed in 1863. The West Cheshire Line was originally proposed in 1861 between Northwich and Chester but was only granted permission to extend as far as Mouldsworth in 1862 (1). The Cheshire and West Cheshire Junction Railway Company was formed in 1865 to extend the line to Chester. Construction began on this last leg of the railway in 1871 and was opened for goods traffic in 1874 and finally for passengers in 1875 following the construction of the Northgate Station.

Following the closure of Northgate Station in 1969, the line to the station was removed, however, the junction linking it to the Wrexham line (CHER 10867/1/0) remained open for industrial and commercial traffic until the 1990s when it was finally shut down and dismantled. (1)

<1> Bolger. P., 1984, An illustrated history of the Cheshire Lines Committee, P25 (Book). SCH6823.

<2> Griffiths. R.P, 1947, The Cheshire Lines Railway, P2 (Book). SCH6824.

<3> Dyckhoff, N, 1984, The Cheshire Lines Committee: Then and Now (Book). SCH6825.

<4> Norton P A, 1984, Railways and Waterways to Warrington, /15 (Book). SCH2793.

<5> Holt, G.O., 1978, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 10, the North West (Book). SCH107.

<6> Ordnance Survey, 1871-1882, Ordnance Survey County Series (Epoch 1) 25 inch to 1 mile - Cheshire (Maps and Plans). SCH2462.