The West Cheshire Railway (WCR) was an early railway company based in
Cheshire,
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 ...
.
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 for a line via Mouldsworth to Helsby. In 1862, the WCR again sought powers for their line to Chester, with connecting branches from Mouldsworth to Helsby and from Cuddington to Winsford. Again, parliamentary approval was restricted, being confined to the line to Helsby and a branch to Winsford.
Construction and early WCR operations
Following receipt of its statutory powers, the WCR commenced construction of its main line running west from the existing
Cheshire Midland Railway
The Cheshire Midland Railway was authorised by an Act of Parliament, passed on 14 June 1860, to build a railway from Altrincham on the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJAR) to Northwich.
History
The 1860 Act was promoted ...
at
Northwich to join the
Birkenhead Railway at Helsby Junction. On 15 August 1867, the WCR became a constituent of 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 a ...
(CLC). Construction continued and the line from Northwich to Helsby opened for goods traffic on 1 September 1869 and for passenger trains on 22 June 1870. The public passenger service from Northwich to Helsby lasted only until 1 May 1875, but workmen's trains continued until 1944.
From 1 May 1875, passenger trains from Northwich were re-routed south from Mouldsworth to operate along the newly opened line to Chester Northgate (see below).
A branch line was built from Cuddington Junction to Winsford & Over railway station, which opened to goods traffic on 1 June 1870 and to passenger trains on 1 July 1870. A further short but important branch line to
Winnington
Winnington is a small, mainly residential area of the town of Northwich in Cheshire, England.
Industry
Winnington is the home to Brunner Mond UK chemical works, where soda ash is created. Polythene, the material used in many plastic items (e.g ...
, for goods traffic only, opened on 1 September 1869. This line, branching off the WCR route south of Northwich Junction, primarily served the
Brunner Mond Brunner may refer to:
Places
* Brunner, New Zealand
* Lake Brunner, New Zealand
* Brunner Mine, New Zealand
* Brunner, Houston, United States
* Brunner (crater), lunar crater
Other uses
* Brunner (surname)
* Brunner the Bounty Hunter, a cha ...
chemical works.
Route and stations
The WCR's main line left Northwich in a southwesterly direction and crossed the
River Dane and the
River Weaver
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included ...
by means of a long viaduct with forty-eight stone arches and two wrought-iron girder bridges. The first station out of Northwich was Hartford and Greenbank, renamed
Greenbank on 7 May 1973. Further stations were located at
Cuddington,
Delamere,
Mouldsworth, and Manley before the line's terminus at Helsby and Alvanley station. A goods station, engine shed and locomotive turntable were constructed between Helsby station and the junction with the Birkenhead Railway. Although the passenger service from Northwich to Helsby was terminated in 1875, the line from Mouldsworth to Helsby Junction continued in use until 14 September 1991 for freight trains heading for the Birkenhead Railway.
Chester & West Cheshire Junction Railway
This company was incorporated on 5 July 1865 with the intention of seeking parliamentary approval for a railway linking the WCR's line at Mouldsworth Junction to a new station at
Chester Northgate. It received authorisation and the company and its powers were transferred to the CLC on 10 August 1866.
Construction of the line began in 1871 and it opened for freight trains on 2 November 1874. Chester Northgate was completed on 1 May 1875, when passenger trains from Manchester and Northwich commenced running to the new station.
See also
*
Winsford and Over Branch Line
References
; Notes
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
{{refend
Early British railway companies
Rail transport in Cheshire
Railway companies established in 1861
Railway lines opened in 1865
Cheshire Lines Committee Lines
1861 establishments in England