Mid-Cheshire line

The Cheshire Midland Railway was opened to passengers between Altrincham and Knutsford on 12 May 1862 (1862-05-12), then completed to Northwich on 1 January 1863 (1863-01-01).Services were operated by the CLC until nationalisation on 1 January 1948, when the line became part of British Railways London Midland Region.Local services between Manchester London Road and Altrincham were then provided by electric multiple unit trains.The CLC trains typically took 13 minutes to travel between Manchester Central (Oxford Road from 1969) and Altrincham with one stop at Sale.1990 saw further changes as Mid-Cheshire line trains were diverted via Stockport in preparation for conversion of the Sale route to Metrolink.The electrification system between Manchester and Altrincham was changed for the second time, to 750 V DC, and the electric trains replaced by trams.One service was required by the terms of the invitation to tender to run semi-fast and must call at Stockport, Altrincham, Knutsford and Northwich only, between Greenbank and Manchester in both directions.The announcement of Arriva as the franchise winner in December 2015 indicated that the future operator has gained agreement for the additional service to call at Hale although this was not specified in the invitation to tender.Due to growing numbers of passengers, the new Northern franchise planned to include increased services.[11][12] Reopening the Northwich to Sandbach line to passenger trains This would allow a direct train service from stations along the line to access Crewe, without the need to change at Chester, which will should reduce journey times to destinations south of Chester, as well as reducing fares to those destinations.From the start of operations, motive power was provided by the MSLR and later the GCR, although locomotives and stock from the other CLC constituent companies could also be seen.This gave the Mid-Cheshire line a very "cosmopolitan" feel until well into the 1960s when older locomotives were replaced by British Railways (BR) standard designs.works at Winnington and Lostock attracted much traffic, in particular heavy trains consisting of custom-built bogie hoppers, which carried limestone from Derbyshire.The primary source of traffic for many years was limestone from quarries near Buxton, Derbyshire, to Brunner Mond's works at Winnington.Some limestone traffic from Buxton to the former ICI terminal near Lostock Gralam (serving Tata's other chemical plant in the area) continues to run.
Northern RailChesterNetwork RailGreater ManchesterCheshireStockportNorth West EnglandManchester PiccadillyNational RailNorthern TrainsClass 150Class 156Track gaugestandard gaugeNorth Wales Coast LineRiver DeeChester & Connah's Quay RlyChester NorthgateWirral lineChester (General)Chester–Crewe lineChester–Warrington lineA41 roadMickle Trafford EastBarrow for TarvinEllesmere Port–Warrington lineHelsby and AlvanleyManleyMouldsworthDelamereWinsford and OverWhitegateWinsford and Over branch lineA49 roadCuddingtonWest Coast Main LineGreenbankA533 roadNorthwichLostock GralamPlumleyKnutsfordMobberleyAshleyM56 motorwayAltrinchamNavigation RoadWarrington and AltrinchamJunction Railwayto Glazebrook East JunctionSkelton JunctionBaguleyStafford–Manchester lineManchester MetrolinkManchester CentralChester GeneralCheshire Midland RailwayWest Cheshire RailwayManchester, South Junction and Altrincham RailwayLondon and North Western RailwayManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire RailwayGreat Central RailwayCheshire Lines CommitteeGreat Northern RailwayMidland Railway1923 GroupingBritish RailwaysLondon Midland RegionManchester Central railway stationBeeching closuresthe Winsford and Over branchWarrington Bank QuayManchester Oxford RoadBowdon railway stationManchester London Roadelectric multiple unitManchester Oxford Road railway stationoriginal electric trains25 kV ACBritish Rail Class 304Navigation Road railway stationfreightSandbachCrewe to Manchester LineMiddlewichrailway stationWarringtonArrivaPacer trainsBlackpoolRudheathManchester AirportStyal Lineskip-stopCheadleSentinelrailmotorsCharles SacreJohn RobinsonGCR class 11B (LNER class D9)GCR class 11E (LNER class D10)GCR class 11F (LNER class D11)GCR class 9K (LNER class C13)class 108class 101diesel multiple unitsI.C.I.bankingLMS class 8F 2-8-0class 40class 47class 20LMS class 4FGCR class 8K (LNER class O4)class 9D (LNER class J10)GCR class 9F (LNER class N5)class 08Class 142Class 158Class 175sClass 150sClass 156sBuxtonBrunner MondRuncornBuxton lineCalder Valley lineCrewe–Derby lineGlossop lineHope Valley lineHuddersfield lineLeeds–Morecambe lineMorecambe branch lineRibble Valley lineTyne Valley lineWeaver Junction–Liverpool lineBlackpool branch linesBorderlands lineChester–Birkenhead lineCrewe–Manchester lineCumbrian Coast lineEast Lancashire lineFurness lineHooton–Helsby lineKirkby branch lineLiverpool–Manchester linesLiverpool–Wigan lineManchester–Preston lineManchester–Southport lineNorthern lineOrmskirk branch lineSettle–Carlisle lineStockport–Stalybridge lineWindermere branch lineEast Lancashire RailwayEden Valley RailwayLakeside & Haverthwaite RailwayRibble Steam Railway