Latchford Lock, Manchester Ship Canal - geograph

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

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 ...

(MSJAR), to provide a through route to Manchester, and Warrington Arpley on the

St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway was an early railway line owned by a company of the same name in Lancashire, England, which opened in 1833. It was later known as St Helens Railway. It ran originally from the town of St Helens to the area whi ...

providing a link with

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 ...

Renaming

A bill to build an extension, designed by

Thomas Brassey Thomas Brassey (7 November 18058 December 1870) was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about o ...

, to Stockport was authorised on 4 August 1853 also renamed the railway company to the Warrington and Stockport Railway.

Opening

The Warrington and Stockport Railway (W&SR) was opened on 1 November 1853 from a temporary station at Wilderspool in Warrington to a station at Altrincham which later became Broadheath. Delays in the delivery of iron work for the bridges over the

Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

and

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was opened in 1761 from Wo ...

meant that the line was initially isolated from the rest of the railway network. The line was opened throughout from 1 May 1854 although passenger trains terminated at Broadheath until the W&SR and MSJAR could agree on charges for passengers travelling beyond there to Manchester via Timperley. A link with Stockport was achieved when the

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 ...

(ST&AJ) opened its line on 1 February 1866 from Broadheath Junction on the W&SR to

Skelton Junction Skelton 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, via the Glazebrook East Junction to Skelton Junction Line and the LN ...

on the newly opened line from Deansgate Junction to Stockport. The LNWR operated the line from opening and on 1 January 1861 bought it. On 9 July 1893 the line was re-routed to allow for the

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the ri ...

, which would open in 1894, the canal being crossed by the high level Latchford Viaduct.

Closure

Passenger trains on the line ended on 10 September 1962. The line to the east of Latchford closed completely on 7 July 1985. The line was still busy at this time but extensive (and costly) repairs would have been needed to the Latchford Viaduct for continued operation – these were deemed not to be economically justifiable given that the remaining freight traffic could be diverted via alternative routes and there was no desire to extend the Manchester tram system to Warrington.

Current status and future plans

The trackbed between Latchford and Broadheath now forms part of the Trans Pennine Trail. Current plans for HS2 show it may cross the line between Heatley and Carr Green. In March 2015 a planning application was submitted to build up to 280 homes on the former route in Latchford. This would involve levelling the railway embankment to the west of Latchford viaduct. However as of 2020, nothing has been approved nor planned to continue due to the line being protected by the council. In August 2019, the town council announced they were looking to build a mass transit network that would involve crossing the canal and have identified but yet to confirm it will go ahead. The line at Latchford. They also have announced in their proposal that any disused rail corridor in the borough is protected from development so it may be used again for either rail or different transport. In March 2020, a bid was made to the Restoring Your Railway fund to get funds for a feasibility study into reinstating the line between Warrington and Stockport. This bid was unsuccessful. In November 2021 the UK Government announced its

Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands or more simply, the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), is a United Kingdom government proposal published on 18 November 2021. It aims to deliver "increased capacity, faster journeys or more frequent ser ...

, part of which proposes the reuse of part of the line to connect Liverpool to HS2 via Warrington and involves reinstating the low-level platforms at Warrington Bank Quay station

Stations

Warrington Arpley railway station Warrington Arpley railway station was a station located on the south side of Wilson Patten Street, Warrington, England at the junction of St Helens Railway and Warrington and Stockport Railway The Warrington and Altrincham Junction Rail ...

Latchford railway station Latchford railway station was a station in Latchford, Cheshire, Latchford, Cheshire, England. The first station at Latchford was called Latchford and Grappenhall Road and opened in 1853; this was renamed ''Latchford'' in June 1854 but it closed ...

Thelwall railway station Thelwall railway station was a station to the south of Stockport Road A56 road, Thelwall, England, at the junction of St Helens Railway and Warrington and Stockport Railway The Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway was a railway l ...

Lymm railway station Lymm railway station was a station to the west of Whitbarrow Road, Lymm, England on the Warrington and Stockport Railway The Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway was a railway line that was in operation from 1 November 1853 to 7 Ju ...

Heatley & Warburton railway station Heatley & Warburton railway station was located in Heatley near Warburton, Greater Manchester. It opened in 1853 and closed in 1962. Construction and opening The Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway (W&AJR) built its railway line from W ...

Dunham Massey railway station Dunham Massey railway station was a station in England, serving the Dunham Massey. The station opened in 1854 and closed in 1962. Construction and opening The Warrington and Altrincham Junction Railway (W&AJR) built its railway line from Warri ...

* Broadheath railway station

References

Sources

* * {{cite book, first=G.O., last=Holt, title=A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain – vol.10 The North West, publisher=David & Charles, year=1986, isbn=0-946537-34-8 Closed railway lines in North West England Rail transport in Greater Manchester Rail transport in Cheshire Early British railway companies London and North Western Railway Railway companies established in 1851 Railway lines opened in 1853 1851 establishments in England Closed railway lines in Greater Manchester