Saltney was a minor

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

located on the Great Western Railway's

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

line a few miles west of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Although the station is now closed, the route is still open today as part of the

Shrewsbury to Chester Line Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

History

The GWR and 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 L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

had raced from London to develop their services throughout

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and onto the important shipping facilities on the Mersey. After the

North Wales Coast Line The North Wales Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir Gogledd Cymru), also known as the North Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell Gogledd Cymru or cy, label=none, Prif Linell y Gogledd), is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire, ...

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

had been incorporated into the LNWR, the two companies agreed compromise in the Chester area, thereby jointly owning and operating the Birkenhead Joint Railway north from Chester to Birkenhead with its branches from Hooton to Helsby and Parkgate (later extended to West Kirby), and from Chester to Warrington. Although Saltney hence was a small station, Saltney Junction just to its north became important in the operations of the GWR, as it was where tariffs became applicable for the shipment of traffic over the jointly operated lines. Express trains on the route did not call here, only local trains. According to the

Official Handbook of Stations The ''Official Handbook of Stations'' was a large book (, 494 pages) listing all the passenger and goods stations, as well as private sidings, on the railways of Great Britain and Ireland. It was published in 1956 by the British Transport Commiss ...

the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G & P, and there was a 6-ton crane.

Present

Nothing now remains of the station, on what is an abandoned expanse of waste ground. The double track on the Chester to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

section was made into a single track in 1983, and subsequently work to redouble the track completed in April 2017. Network Rail had originally expected to start running trains over the redoubled track in November 2015. There is a proposal to open a new station at Lache a short distance to the south.

Neighbouring stations

References

External links

Saltney station on navigable 1946 O.S. map
Disused railway stations in Cheshire Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1846 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1917 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1932 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1960

History

Present

Neighbouring stations

References

Further reading

External links