Northenden railway station
Encyclopedia
Northenden railway station was located in Manchester
, England. It was built by the Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway (ST&AJ) and was opened for both passenger and goods traffic on 1 February 1866.
From 15 August 1867 the ST&AJ became part of the Cheshire Lines Committee
(CLC). From 1 January 1923 the CLC was jointly owned by the London and North Eastern Railway
(two-thirds ownership) and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
(one-third ownership). However, the CLC continued to retain its separate identity and management.
Some official railway timetables described the station as Northenden
for Wythenshawe
because the station lay between and served the two districts. It was situated between the road overbridges at Sharston Road and Longley Lane.
On the south side of the line was a smaller brick-built waiting room for passengers, which was reached from the station's eastern end by a boarded railway crossing for both passengers and staff to use with care. This platform served passenger trains from Stockport travelling westwards towards Warrington and Liverpool.
Northenden Junction signal box was located 200 yards (183 metres) to the east of the main station buildings, on the north side of the line, adjoining Longley Lane. The signal box was built using CLC's standard dark brick construction and utilised an unusually tall design, which had been made sufficiently high to enable the signalman on duty to readily see over the Longley Lane road bridge over the line and on to Northenden Junction, 200 yards (183 m) away to the east, where the London & North Western Railway's line from Stockport (Edgeley) station joined the Cheshire Lines Committee line from Stockport Tiviot Dale
. The signal box controlled sets of signals protecting the junction and also operated the powered railway switching points.
, Warrington Central
and Liverpool Central stations.
The London and North Western Railway
(LNWR) opened its line from Stockport Edgeley
, via Cheadle LNW
to Northenden on 1 August 1866. Between that date and 1917, the LNWR operated a passenger train service from Stockport (Edgeley) and on to Broadheath
and Warrington Arpley
, thence to Liverpool Lime street
. These trains used the Northenden Line Junction to Cheadle Village Junction curve in Stockport to access the line to Northenden (see adjacent map).
Until 1939, some express trains running through Sheffield Victoria along the Woodhead Line
used the route from Godley East
through Northenden to bypass Manchester, including some LNER Hull to Liverpool trains.
The weekday westbound CLC local train service in July 1922 comprised four trains to Warrington or Liverpool and five to Altrincham. By August 1946, the service to Altrincham had ceased and just four passenger trains per weekday ran to Warrington Central and Liverpool Central. The January 1956 passenger service was at the same sparse level..
For most of the station's existence, the passenger trains were hauled by steam locomotives, but for some years leading up to the second World War, some services from Stockport via Northenden to Altrincham were operated by the CLC's own fleet of Sentinel
steam railcars. Northenden station was closed on 30 November 1964 when passenger trains were withdrawn by British Railways and the buildings were later demolished. Passenger trains using Diesel multiple units still operate through the disused site, but these are now from Manchester Piccadilly via Stockport
, then travelling non-stop to Navigation Road and onwards to Altrincham, Northwich
and Chester
.
.
Until the early 1960s there was a very intensive service of freight trains through Northenden, with trains heading from Yorkshire
and the North Midlands
to Liverpool Docks and Birkenhead
Docks and elsewhere. Local freight trains stopped at Northenden each day, with goods wagons containing coal and other materials being shunted into the sidings for unloading by local merchants and businesses.
A large waste disposal terminal was constructed to the south of the junction in the mid 1970's. This being the property of Greater Manchester County Council
(until 1986). Since 1986 - GMW. This continues to despatch trains of landfill refuse by way of container trains. The destination for these being Roxby Gullet near Scunthorpe
, North Lincolnshire
Diesel-hauled freight trains still run through Northenden. These include heavy block trains carrying limestone
from quarries
at Tunstead (near Buxton
) Derbyshire
to the alkali
works located near Northwich
.
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...
, England. It was built by the Stockport, Timperley and Altrincham Junction Railway (ST&AJ) and was opened for both passenger and goods traffic on 1 February 1866.
From 15 August 1867 the ST&AJ became part of the Cheshire Lines Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee 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...
(CLC). From 1 January 1923 the CLC was jointly owned by 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...
(two-thirds ownership) and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, 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...
(one-third ownership). However, the CLC continued to retain its separate identity and management.
Some official railway timetables described the station as Northenden
Northenden
Northenden is a suburban area and electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England. It lies on the south side of both the River Mersey and the M60 motorway, west of Stockport and south of Manchester city centre. Northenden is bounded by the districts of Didsbury, Gatley and...
for Wythenshawe
Wythenshawe
Wythenshawe is a district in the south of the city of Manchester, England.Formerly part of the administrative county of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the 1920s to resolve the problem of its inner...
because the station lay between and served the two districts. It was situated between the road overbridges at Sharston Road and Longley Lane.
Station facilities
The main brick-built station building was constructed to a typical Cheshire Lines Committee design with steeply sloping roofs and decorative wooden barge boarding. It contained the booking office, passenger waiting room, parcels office, toilet facilities and the station master's accommodation. The building was located on the north side (nearest to Northenden village) of the twin railway tracks and served the passenger trains travelling eastwards from Liverpool and Warrington towards Stockport.On the south side of the line was a smaller brick-built waiting room for passengers, which was reached from the station's eastern end by a boarded railway crossing for both passengers and staff to use with care. This platform served passenger trains from Stockport travelling westwards towards Warrington and Liverpool.
Northenden Junction and signal box
Stockport Tiviot Dale railway station
Stockport Tiviot Dale was one of two main railway stations serving the town of Stockport, Cheshire, England, the other being Stockport Edgeley .-Location and operating companies:...
. The signal box controlled sets of signals protecting the junction and also operated the powered railway switching points.
Passenger train service
From its opening in 1866, Northenden station was served by local CLC passenger trains from Stockport Tiviot Dale to AltrinchamAltrincham railway station
Altrincham Interchange serves the town of Altrincham in Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It was originally named Altrincham and Bowdon railway station and is located on Stamford New Road, adjacent to the Altrincham Ice Dome—home to the Manchester Phoenix ice hockey team...
, 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 Liverpool Central stations.
The London and North Western Railway
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...
(LNWR) opened its line from Stockport Edgeley
Stockport railway station
Stockport railway station is in Greater Manchester, England, 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly station on the West Coast Main Line from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. It was opened on 15 February 1843 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, following completion of the large...
, via Cheadle LNW
Cheadle LNW railway station
Cheadle LNW railway station was a railway station that served Cheadle, Cheshire between 1866 and its closure in 1917.-Construction, location and facilities:The London and North Western Railway completed its line from Stockport Edgeley to Northenden in 1866...
to Northenden on 1 August 1866. Between that date and 1917, the LNWR operated a passenger train service from Stockport (Edgeley) and on to Broadheath
Broadheath railway station
Broadheath railway station was a station that served Broadheath and the northern part of Altrincham in Cheshire, England between its opening in 1853 and closure in 1962.-Station construction, opening and ownership:...
and Warrington Arpley
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. It opened on the 1 May 1854; and it closed to passengers on 5 September 1958. Both railways were absorbed...
, thence to Liverpool Lime street
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
. These trains used the Northenden Line Junction to Cheadle Village Junction curve in Stockport to access the line to Northenden (see adjacent map).
Until 1939, some express trains running through Sheffield Victoria along the Woodhead Line
Woodhead Line
The Woodhead Line was a railway line linking Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester in the north of England. A key feature of the route is the passage under the high moorlands of the northern Peak District through the Woodhead Tunnels...
used the route from Godley East
Godley East railway station
Godley East was a railway station in the Godley area of Hyde, Tameside, Greater Manchester, on the Manchester-Glossop Line.Godley was the temporary terminus of the route to Sheffield when the first section of the Woodhead Line was opened in 1841, but the original station was located about ¼ mile...
through Northenden to bypass Manchester, including some LNER Hull to Liverpool trains.
For most of the station's existence, the passenger trains were hauled by steam locomotives, but for some years leading up to the second World War, some services from Stockport via Northenden to Altrincham were operated by the CLC's own fleet of Sentinel
Sentinel Waggon Works
Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.-Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow:...
steam railcars. Northenden station was closed on 30 November 1964 when passenger trains were withdrawn by British Railways and the buildings were later demolished. Passenger trains using Diesel multiple units still operate through the disused site, but these are now from Manchester Piccadilly via Stockport
Stockport railway station
Stockport railway station is in Greater Manchester, England, 8 miles south-east of Manchester Piccadilly station on the West Coast Main Line from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. It was opened on 15 February 1843 by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, following completion of the large...
, then travelling non-stop to Navigation Road and onwards to Altrincham, Northwich
Northwich railway station
Northwich railway station serves the town of Northwich in Cheshire, England. The station has two platforms and is located on the Mid-Cheshire Line.-Services:...
and Chester
Chester railway station
Chester railway station is a railway station in Newtown in the city of Chester, England. It is currently operated by Arriva Trains Wales, although Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Virgin Trains also run services from the station. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre...
.
Freight services
A two-line goods siding was located to the south of the westbound platform. This was served by local freight trains, which shunted the sidings each day. The goods facilities at Northenden were withdrawn on 19 June 1965. The sidings remain in use for various cement manufacturing companies over the years including Blue Circle Cement and now LafargeLafarge
Lafarge is a French industrial company specialising in four major products: cement, construction aggregates, concrete and gypsum wallboard. In 2010 the company was the world's second-largest cement manufacturer by mass shipped behind Holcim.-History:...
.
Until the early 1960s there was a very intensive service of freight trains through Northenden, with trains heading from Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and the North Midlands
North Midlands
The North Midlands is a loosely-defined area of England. It is typically held to include South Yorkshire and the northern parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and in some definitions also covers southern Cheshire and parts of Lincolnshire and Staffordshire. The region's largest city is Sheffield...
to Liverpool Docks and 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...
Docks and elsewhere. Local freight trains stopped at Northenden each day, with goods wagons containing coal and other materials being shunted into the sidings for unloading by local merchants and businesses.
A large waste disposal terminal was constructed to the south of the junction in the mid 1970's. This being the property of Greater Manchester County Council
Greater Manchester County Council
The Greater Manchester County Council — also known as the Greater Manchester Council — was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater Manchester from 1974 to 1986...
(until 1986). Since 1986 - GMW. This continues to despatch trains of landfill refuse by way of container trains. The destination for these being Roxby Gullet near Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
, North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....
Diesel-hauled freight trains still run through Northenden. These include heavy block trains carrying limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
from quarries
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
at Tunstead (near Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
) Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
to the alkali
Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...
works located near 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...
.
Railway diagram showing Northenden station and junction