Beeston Castle and Tarporley railway station

Last updated

Beeston Castle and Tarporley railway station
Beeston Castle & Tarporley Station 1781802 99809193.jpg
The station in 1961
General information
Location Tiverton, Cheshire West and Chester
England
Coordinates 53°07′59″N2°40′05″W / 53.1331°N 2.6680°W / 53.1331; -2.6680
Grid reference SJ554597
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Grand Junction Railway
Pre-grouping London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1840Opened as Beeston [1]
1868Renamed Beeston Castle [1]
1873Renamed Beeston Castle and Tarporley [1]
1966Closed [1]

Beeston Castle and Tarporley railway station was a railway station serving the villages of Tarporley, Tiverton, and Beeston in Cheshire, England. The station was originally part of the Crewe to Chester line of the Grand Junction Railway.

Contents

History

The station opened on 1 October 1840 when it was simply known as Beeston but was renamed Beeston Castle on 1 October 1868, and again Beeston Castle and Tarporley in January 1873. [2]

In 1880 the station was the site of an accident where the Dublin boat train reversed into the Birmingham train to Rhyl, and while several people were injured this was a very narrow escape from what could have been a major railway tragedy. Heavy rain had caused a stream running down from the direction of Beeston Castle to pool up on one side of the embankment further down the line toward Chester. A local coal merchant spotted that this had caused a sudden collapse of the embankment leaving a 20-foot (6.1 m) chasm where the embankment had been washed away leaving the rails and attached sleepers suspended over the gap. He succeeded in stopping the Dublin and London expresses "both within a few yards of the spot". [3] After a temporary footbridge was made of sleepers the trains exchanged passengers and they were taken on to Crewe and Chester. The accident at the station was when the Irish Express backed into the Birmingham Express which had been held at the station. [4]

The original goods siding was at the station, but at the end of the 19th century a new goods yard was opened on the west side of the A49 close to the livestock auction site. During 1940-1941 a Ministry of Defence hidden fuel depot was built to the south and west of this goods yard, connected by pipeline to Stanlow Oil Refinery and Avonmouth as part of the Government Pipelines and Storage System (GPSS). At Beeston there were provisions for loading rail tankers and road tankers if required.

The goods facilities were closed on 4 January 1966, the station was closed on 18 April 1966. [2] Only parts of the platforms and the signal box still remain.

Services

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Calveley
Line open, station closed		  London and North Western Railway
North Wales Coast line 		  Tattenhall Road
Line open, station closed

Reopening

In early 2020 Michael Flynn [5] [6] a businessman who lived locally and was involved in the construction and operation of railways in the UK and around the world, frustrated at what he saw as the amateur and unserious nature of previous campaigns, formed the Beeston and Tarporley Station Reopening Group, [7] [8] with the object of preparing a professional proposal to reopen the station that stood a chance of actually being funded.

On 18 June 2020, the Beeston and Tarporley Station Reopening Group working closely with the local Member of Parliament Edward Timpson MP submitted a 55-page proposal to the Department for Transport seeking funding to develop a comprehensive business case for the project. [9] [7] [10] On 25 November 2020, the DfT announced that the proposal had been successful and granted the group £50,000 towards developing a formal business case, along with DfT professional support to ensure that the next phase submission for funding to construct and commission the station would be robust and capable of approval. [11]

In September 2021 Cheshire West & Chester Council was criticised in the House of Commons by the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps for failing to contribute £5,000 to the costs of the Business Case [12] but in May 2022 the Reopening Group submitted a Feasibility, and Preliminary Business Case to the Department of Transport for approval with a response expected in the Autumn of that year. [13]

In October 2023, it was announced that the DfT had approved the station's reopening. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheshire</span> County of England

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in the north-west of England. It is bordered by Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south, and the Welsh counties of Flintshire and Wrexham to the west, with a short coastline on the Dee Estuary. Warrington is the largest settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beeston, Cheshire</span> Village and civil parish in England

Beeston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, which itself is in the ceremonial county of Cheshire in the north of England. It is located approximately 10 km south-east of Chester, and approximately 3.5 km south-west of Tarporley, close to the Shropshire Union Canal. According to the 2011 census, Beeston had a population of 188.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crewe</span> Town in England

Crewe is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The civil parish of Crewe had a population of 55,318 in the 2021 census. The larger Crewe built-up area, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston, Shavington cum Gresty and Wistaston, had a total population of 76,437 in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nantwich</span> Market town in Cheshire, England

Nantwich is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. It had a population of 14,045 in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crewe railway station</span> Railway station in Cheshire, England

Crewe railway station serves the railway town of Crewe, in Cheshire, England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shropshire Union Canal</span> Canal in North West England

The Shropshire Union Canal, nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union (SU) system and lie partially in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddisbury (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885 to 1950 and 1983 onwards

Eddisbury is a constituency in Cheshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Edward Timpson, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarporley</span> Village in Cheshire, England

Tarporley is a large village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. The civil parish also contains the village of Rhuddall Heath. Tarporley is bypassed by the A49 and A51 roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwich railway station</span> Railway station in Cheshire, England

Northwich railway station serves the town of Northwich in Cheshire, England. The station has two platforms and is located on the Mid-Cheshire line 28+1⁄4 miles (45.5 km) southwest of Manchester Piccadilly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Battle of Middlewich</span>

The Second Battle of Middlewich took place on 26 December 1643 near Middlewich in Cheshire during the First English Civil War. A Royalist force under Lord Byron defeated a Parliamentarian army commanded by Sir William Brereton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leighton Hospital</span> Hospital in Cheshire, England

Leighton Hospital is a hospital located to the northwest of the town of Crewe in the county of Cheshire, England. It is managed by the Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peckforton Hills</span> Sandstone ridge in Cheshire, England

The Peckforton Hills are a sandstone ridge running broadly northeast–southwest in the west of the English county of Cheshire. They form a significant part of the longer Mid Cheshire Ridge which extends southwards from Frodsham towards Malpas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calveley</span> Human settlement in England

Calveley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Alpraham and Calveley, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 5½ miles to the north west of Nantwich. The parish also includes parts of the settlements of Barrets Green and Wardle Bank. The total population is 280 people. The area is largely agricultural and includes a short stretch of the Shropshire Union Canal. There is an Anglican parish church, a primary school and a public house. Nearby villages include Alpraham, Bunbury, Haughton and Wardle. In 2011 the parish had a population of 280.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cholmondeston</span> Village in Cheshire, England

Cholmondeston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 5 miles (8 km) to the northwest of Nantwich. Nearby villages include Aston juxta Mondrum, Barbridge, Calveley and Wettenhall. The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal and the Crewe–Chester railway line run through the civil parish. The area is predominantly rural, with a total population of around 150 in 2001, increasing to 175 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wardle, Cheshire</span> Human settlement in England

Wardle is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies on the Shropshire Union Canal, north west of Barbridge Junction, and is 4 miles to the north west of Nantwich, and the parish also includes part of the small settlement of Wardle Bank. The total population is around 250. RAF Calveley was a flight-training station during the Second World War, and the Mark III radio telescope stood on the airfield site in 1966–96. The modern civil parish includes Wardle Industrial Estate and is otherwise largely agricultural. Nearby villages include Barbridge, Calveley and Haughton.

The Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire, excluding those in the city of Chester, total around 80. Almost half of these are churches that are contained in a separate list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlewich railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Middlewich railway station served the Cheshire, England, salt-producing town of Middlewich between 1868 and 1960. It lay on a branch line from Sandbach to Northwich. The Mid Cheshire Rail Users' Association is campaigning for the reopening of the line to passenger traffic, and the construction of a new station at Middlewich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calveley railway station</span> Disused railway station in Cheshire, England

Calveley railway station was located in the centre of the small village of Calveley, Cheshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worleston railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Worleston railway station was located just north of the small village of Worleston, Cheshire, England.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Paul Shannon & John Hillmer (2003). British Railways Past and Present no 40 Cheshire. Kettering: Past & Present Publishing Ltd. p. 113. ISBN   1-85895-232-8.
  2. 1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 31. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
  3. ↑ Alarming Railway Accident, Shields Daily News, 10 August 1880, p4
  4. ↑ The Railway Accident Near Chester, Manchester Evening News, 9 August 1880, p3
  5. ↑ "Major boost for plans to reopen railway station that shut over 50 years ago". Chester and District Standard. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  6. ↑ says, Frank Richards (16 July 2020). "Beeston Castle and Tarporley station could reopen by 2022". Nantwich News. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Plans on track to reopen railway station which shut more than 50 years ago". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  8. ↑ says, Frank Richards (16 July 2020). "Beeston Castle and Tarporley station could reopen by 2022". Nantwich News. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  9. ↑ says, Frank Richards (16 July 2020). "Beeston Castle and Tarporley station could reopen by 2022". Nantwich News. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "Tattenhall Online". Archived from the original on 24 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "Restoring your railway: successful bids - GOV.UK". assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "Tarporley railway station: Grant Shapps criticises council in funding row". BBC News. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "Bid for Beeston and Tarporley station takes step forward". Nantwich News. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  14. ↑ "Plan to reopen Cheshire station shut by Beeching axe approved". BBC News. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.