Cheshire Lines Committee
Encyclopedia
The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was the second largest joint railway
in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire
. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway. It served Liverpool
, Manchester
, Stockport
, Warrington
, Widnes
, Northwich
, Winsford
, Knutsford
, Birkenhead
, Chester
and Southport
.
and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
(MS&LR) in 1862 to regulate traffic on four proposed lines in Cheshire
(listed below). This was made official by the Great Northern (Cheshire Lines) Act of 1863. The Midland Railway
(MR) became an equal partner under the Cheshire Lines Transfer Act of 1865. Under the Cheshire Lines Act of 1867, it became a wholly independent organisation, although its management consisted of three directors of the three companies. Its purpose was to gain control of lines in Lancashire and Cheshire, an area which was dominated by the LNWR
. In its early years, the driving force behind the expansion of the railway was Sir Edward Watkin
.
It was granted the powers to build a line to Liverpool, opened 1873, from a temporary station in Manchester, 34 miles (54.7 km) long. The section nearest Liverpool from near Cressington was along the Garston and Liverpool Railway
, which had been absorbed on 5 July 1865. From 1874 the CLC was headquartered at Liverpool Central station
.
By the late 1870s, Manchester had become the city from which the CLC's services radiated and it became necessary to bring the various Manchester operations into a single terminus – the Midland and the MS&LR were using London Road (now Piccadilly) which the latter shared with the LNWR. Accordingly Manchester Central
was built in 1880. The MR moved its trains to the new station on its completion.
, while the MS&LR (by then the Great Central Railway
) became part of the London and North Eastern Railway
. The line continued to be joint, with a 1/3 share LMS and a 2/3 share by the LNER. On nationalisation in 1948 both parent companies became part of British Railways, and shortly afterwards operation of the CLC lines came under the control of the London Midland Region.
, survive. Several CLC stations remain in their original form, such as Widnes
, Warrington Central
and Urmston
. Liverpool Central station has been demolished: local services on the former CLC line in Liverpool, operated by Merseyrail
, run through an underground station at the same site, and mainline services run to and from Liverpool Lime Street. Manchester Central Station is now the Manchester Central Conference Centre.
Absorbed:
Built:
Joint railway
A joint railway is a railway operating under the control of more than one railway company: those companies very often supplying the traction over the railway.-United Kingdom:There are many examples of joint railway working in the United Kingdom...
in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway. It served Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
, Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
, Winsford
Winsford
Winsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the...
, Knutsford
Knutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
, Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
.
Formation
The Cheshire Lines group was formed by a joint committee of the Great Northern RailwayGreat Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...
(MS&LR) in 1862 to regulate traffic on four proposed lines in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
(listed below). This was made official by the Great Northern (Cheshire Lines) Act of 1863. The Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
(MR) became an equal partner under the Cheshire Lines Transfer Act of 1865. Under the Cheshire Lines Act of 1867, it became a wholly independent organisation, although its management consisted of three directors of the three companies. Its purpose was to gain control of lines in Lancashire and Cheshire, an area which was dominated by the LNWR
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
. In its early years, the driving force behind the expansion of the railway was Sir Edward Watkin
Edward Watkin
Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet was an English railway chairman and politician.- Biography :Watkin was born in Salford, Lancashire, the son of a wealthy cotton merchant, Absalom Watkin who was noted for his involvement in the Anti-corn Law League.After a private education, he returned to...
.
It was granted the powers to build a line to Liverpool, opened 1873, from a temporary station in Manchester, 34 miles (54.7 km) long. The section nearest Liverpool from near Cressington was along the Garston and Liverpool Railway
Garston and Liverpool Railway
The Garston and Liverpool Railway line ran from the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway line at Garston Docks to Brunswick railway station. It opened on 1 June 1864...
, which had been absorbed on 5 July 1865. From 1874 the CLC was headquartered at Liverpool Central station
Liverpool Central railway station
Liverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...
.
By the late 1870s, Manchester had become the city from which the CLC's services radiated and it became necessary to bring the various Manchester operations into a single terminus – the Midland and the MS&LR were using London Road (now Piccadilly) which the latter shared with the LNWR. Accordingly Manchester Central
Manchester Central railway station
Manchester Central railway station is a former railway station in Manchester City Centre, England. One of Manchester's main railway terminals between 1880 and 1969, it now houses an exhibition and conference centre named Manchester Central.-History:...
was built in 1880. The MR moved its trains to the new station on its completion.
Grouping and nationalisation
In 1923 the Midland Railway, along with the LNWR, was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish RailwayLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
, while the MS&LR (by then the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
) became part of the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
. The line continued to be joint, with a 1/3 share LMS and a 2/3 share by the LNER. On nationalisation in 1948 both parent companies became part of British Railways, and shortly afterwards operation of the CLC lines came under the control of the London Midland Region.
The CLC today
The CLC routes between Liverpool and Manchester and between Manchester and Chester via NorthwichMid-Cheshire Line
The Mid-Cheshire Line is a railway line in the north-west of England, between Chester and Manchester.- History :The Mid Cheshire line has its origins in railways promoted by three separate railway companies in the 19th century. The Cheshire Midland Railway was opened to passengers between...
, survive. Several CLC stations remain in their original form, such as Widnes
Widnes railway station
Widnes railway station is a railway station in the town of Widnes, in the Halton unitary authority, in the county of Cheshire in North West England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building...
, Warrington Central
Warrington Central railway station
Warrington Central railway station is one of two main railway stations serving the town of Warrington in the north-west of England. It is located on the southern route of the Liverpool to Manchester Line , and is situated around halfway between the two cities...
and Urmston
Urmston railway station
Urmston railway station in Urmston is in the Trafford metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in the north west of England. The station is 9 km west of Manchester Oxford Road on the Manchester-Liverpool Line...
. Liverpool Central station has been demolished: local services on the former CLC line in Liverpool, operated by Merseyrail
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...
, run through an underground station at the same site, and mainline services run to and from Liverpool Lime Street. Manchester Central Station is now the Manchester Central Conference Centre.
Lines
Created from:- Stockport and Woodley Junction Railway http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=11639&CATLN=3&Highlight=&FullDetails=True
- Cheshire Midland RailwayCheshire Midland RailwayAn act was passed on 14 June 1860 to build a railway from Altrincham on the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway to Northwich. The line would be 12 miles 65 chains in length...
- Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=11641&CATLN=3&Highlight=,STOCKPORT,TIMPERLEY,AND,ALTRINCHAM,JUNCTION,RAILWAY,STOCKPORT,TIMPERLEY,AND,ALTRINCHAM,JUNCTION,RAILWAY&FullDetails=True
- West Cheshire RailwayWest Cheshire RailwayThe West Cheshire Railway was an early railway company based in Cheshire England.-Early Company history:The WCR was incorporated on 11 July 1861. In 1861, the WCR requested powers to construct a line from Northwich to Chester, with a branch to Helsby, but parliamentary approval was received only...
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=11699&CATLN=3&Highlight=&FullDetails=True
Absorbed:
- Garston and Liverpool RailwayGarston and Liverpool RailwayThe Garston and Liverpool Railway line ran from the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway line at Garston Docks to Brunswick railway station. It opened on 1 June 1864...
Built:
- Skelton JunctionSkelton JunctionSkelton Junction is a complex of railway junctions to the south of Manchester in Timperley, near Altrincham. Both the Cheshire Lines Committee's Liverpool to Manchester line and the LNWR's Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway fed into the junction from Liverpool in the west...
to Cressington Junction line, as part of Liverpool- Manchester line. - North Liverpool Extension LineNorth Liverpool Extension LineThe North Liverpool Extension Line is a now-disused railway line in Liverpool, England. The line was to be the eastern section of the Merseyrail Outer Loop...
- Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension RailwaySouthport & Cheshire Lines Extension RailwayThe Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway is a now-disused railway line in Merseyside, England. It was built by the Cheshire Lines Committee, extending the North Liverpool Extension Line to Southport in 1884. Passenger services ended 7 January 1952 and goods six months later...