Chester Northgate railway station

Chester Northgate is a former railway station in Chester, Cheshire that was a terminus for the Cheshire Lines Committee and Great Central Railway. It was the city centre's second station with trains to Manchester, Birkenhead and North Wales.

History

The station, which was located on Victoria Road in the Newtown area of the city, was originally planned by the West Cheshire Railway in 1865. A year later the company was acquired by the Cheshire Lines Committee. It opened the station on May 1, 1875 (1875-05-01) for train services to Manchester Central on the Mid-Cheshire Line via Northwich. The CLC track crossed the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and Great Western Railway line over a flying junction at Mickle Trafford.

Chester Northgate had a station building and two covered roofs, it had four tracks with two side platforms. There were also lower level sidings that contained a locomotive yard.^[1]

In 1890 the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (renamed Great Central Railway in 1897) completed the 6 miles (9.7 km) Chester & Connah's Quay Railway to Hawarden Bridge. Services from Chester Northgate ran to Connor's Quay via Blacon; and also to Wrexham General and New Brighton, Wirral.

A triangle junction outside the station allowed trains to either terminate at Chester Northgate or pass through the city without stopping. During the Second World War, the station served military personnel that were based at RAF Sealand and at Blacon Camp.

In 1969 a level junction was installed at Mickle Trafford so Manchester trains could be diverted to Chester General.

The station closed on October 6, 1969 (1969-10-06). The site is now occupied by the Northgate Arena.

Railway line

Although Chester Northgate closed, the line it once served remained open for another 25 years. It was used by the Corus steelmaking plant at Shotton until March 1980.^[2] Freight continued to pass the former station on a double-tracked line until 20 April 1984. Goods services resumed on a single-track line on 31 August 1986 before final closure in the early 1990s.^[1][3] The trackbed is now a cycle way.

Services

References

Bibliography

• Awdry, Christopher, "Encyclopedia of British Railway Companies", Guild Publishing, 1990, reference CN 8983.
• Butt, R.V.J., "The Directory of Railway Stations", Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, England, 1995, ISBN 1-85260-508-1.

Further reading

• Biddle, Gordon (1981). "Chapter 1 – North Cheshire & The Peak". Railway Stations in the North West. Clapham, Yorkshire: Dalesman. p. 9, fig. 2. ISBN 0 85206 644 9.  – photo of station platforms and roof

External links

• Images of the line in its final operating days
• Pre-grouping railway - Chester