Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Closed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | North Staffordshire Railway Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Cheshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Heavy rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1869 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | 1970 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 11 mi (17.7 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&MR) was a railway line between Macclesfield and Marple, England; it was 11 miles (18 kilometres) in length. The route was opened jointly by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) in 1869. It was part of an alternative link between Manchester and destinations south of Macclesfield. The line was closed in 1970 and its route now forms the Middlewood Way, a trail used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
In the 1840s and 1850s, NSR was trying to find a route from Macclesfield to Manchester independent of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR), which insisted on any NSR traffic going via Crewe, thus ensuring a higher L&NWR mileage and charges.
In 1863, a Macclesfield businessman, Thomas Oliver, promoted a scheme for a local line from Macclesfield to Marple, via Bollington, where it would connect with the MS&LR. It was hoped that the line would revive Bollington's cotton industry, carry the stone from quarries in Kerridge and serve the collieries around Poynton.
The MS&LR seized on this scheme because the company needed another line from which to start a possible independent extension line to London. In 1864, Parliament authorised the creation of the railway by passing the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway Act 1864. Both the MS&LR and NSR were empowered to subscribe £80,000 each for its construction, and for its operation and maintenance once open.
In response to such competition, the L&NWR, which was surprised by the success of the MB&MR's proposal, quickly came to an amicable traffic agreement with the NSR. This deal negated the original purpose and urgency of the line because the NSR now no longer needed an independent route to Manchester, as it could use L&NWR lines.
Under these conditions, and with a general trade depression of the mid-1860s, construction of the new line was very slow. On 2 August 1869, a single-track line opened for passengers only; goods traffic started on 1 March 1870. In 1871, the whole line was double-tracked.
Initially, there were five stations on the line: Marple (Rose Hill), High Lane, Higher Poynton, Bollington and Macclesfield. In 1879, a new station was opened at Middlewood; it was later renamed Middlewood Higher.
In 1948, the line became part of the London Midland Region of British Railways. In 1960, Middlewood Higher station closed. By the 1960s, the line was considered to be a loss maker and was recommended for closure under the Beeching cuts.
On 5 January 1970, the section between Rose Hill (Marple) and Macclesfield closed to all traffic; the track was lifted in early 1971. Only Rose Hill remained in operation due to the high number of passengers commuting to Manchester Piccadilly. It is now a terminus for a spur off the Hope Valley Line.
The station buildings at Higher Poynton and Bollington were demolished at around the same time. High Lane station remained derelict for seven years after closure; the buildings were demolished in 1977. Bollington station goods yard is now the site of the Clough Bank industrial estate.
Since closure, the trackbed has been turned into the Middlewood Way, a shared-use path between Macclesfield and Rose Hill in Marple. It was officially opened on 30 May 1985 by Dr David Bellamy. The platforms of High Lane and Higher Poynton stations are still extant; they have been restored and include picnic sites.
The trail crosses over a small valley of the River Dean at Bollington, via a curved 23-arch stone viaduct. The viaduct was originally slated to be demolished but, after protests, it was saved to form part of the trail.
Bollington is a town and civil parish in Cheshire, England, to the east of Prestbury. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Earl of Chester's manor of Macclesfield and the ancient parish of Prestbury. In 2011, it had a population of 8,310.
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire.
Marple is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is on the River Goyt, 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Manchester, 9 miles (14 km) north of Macclesfield and 4 miles (6 km) south-east of Stockport. In 2011, it had a population of 23,686.
High Lane is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, on the Macclesfield Canal, 5 miles (8 km) from Stockport.
Poynton is a town in the civil parish of Poynton-with-Worth, in the Cheshire East district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the easternmost fringe of the Cheshire Plain, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Manchester, 7 miles (11 km) north of Macclesfield and 5 miles (8 km) south of Stockport. From 1974 to 2009 it was in Macclesfield district.
The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England. There were various proposals for a canal to connect the town of Macclesfield to the national network from 1765 onwards, but it was not until 1824 that a scheme came to fruition. There were already suggestions by that date that a railway would be better, but the committee that had been formed elected for a canal and the engineer Thomas Telford endorsed the decision. The canal as built was a typical Telford canal, constructed using cut and fill, with numerous cuttings and embankments to enable it to follow as straight a course as possible, although Telford had little to do with its construction, which was managed by William Crosley.
The Middlewood Way is an 11-mile (16 km) shared use path in north-west England, between Macclesfield and Rose Hill, Marple ; it was opened on 30 May 1985 by Dr David Bellamy. It serves the needs of walkers, dog walkers, cyclists, joggers and horse riders and plays host to a wide range of flora and fauna.
Macclesfield railway station is a main line station serving the Cheshire market town of Macclesfield. It lies on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom.
Middlewood railway station serves the village of High Lane in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.
Marple railway station in Marple, Greater Manchester, England, is on the Hope Valley Line 8.9 miles (14.3 km) south-east of Manchester Piccadilly. The station, opened in 1865 by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, was demolished and rebuilt in 1970. It is managed and served by Northern Trains, who provide two trains per hour in each direction.
Romiley railway station serves Romiley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.
Rose Hill Marple railway station is in Marple in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, England. The station, which opened in 1869, is the last surviving stop on the former Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&MR). It is connected via a short branch to the Hope Valley Line. The original line to Macclesfield closed in January 1970, leaving Rose Hill Marple as the terminus of the route. Daily services run to Manchester Piccadilly, via the Hyde loop; there is no service on Sundays.
Disley Tunnel was built by the Midland Railway in 1902 on its line between New Mills South Junction and Manchester Central, which was more direct than the congested and difficult lines through Stockport Tiviot Dale.
Stockport bus station in Stockport, Greater Manchester was a bus terminus for approximately sixty-five bus services. It opened on 2 March 1981 on the site of a former car park. Before the bus station opened, most services terminated at Mersey Square.
Macclesfield Hibel Road railway station was a railway station serving the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire, England. It was opened as a joint station by the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) and the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on 13 July 1849, with the opening of the NSR route to Uttoxeter via North Rode and Leek and it replaced an earlier, temporary, LNWR station at Beech Bridge. Built right at the point where the track of the two companies made an end-on junction, the station was managed by a joint committee of the two companies.
Bollington railway station was a railway station serving the town of Bollington in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1869 by the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M) - a joint line constructed and operated by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) and North Staffordshire Railways (NSR). The passenger station was on the north side of Grimshaw Lane, with a goods yard on the south side.
Higher Poynton was a railway station serving the eastern side of the town of Poynton in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1869 by the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M) - a joint line constructed and operated by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) and North Staffordshire Railways (NSR).
Middlewood Higher was a railway station located near to the village of High Lane in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1879 by the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M) – a joint line constructed and operated by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) and North Staffordshire Railways (NSR).
High Lane railway station was a railway station serving the village of High Lane in Greater Manchester, England. It was opened in 1869 by the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M) - a joint line constructed and operated by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) and North Staffordshire Railways (NSR).
Macclesfield railway station was a short lived railway station serving the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire, England. It was opened in 1869 by the Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&M) - a joint line constructed and operated by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) and North Staffordshire Railways (NSR) - and closed in 1873.