Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Locale | Lancashire Merseyside | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway was an early British railway company operating in the then county of Lancashire. It was constructed to link the Cheshire Lines Committee railway at Aintree to Southport. It operated from 1884 to 1952.
Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1881 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Citation | 44 & 45 Vict. c. cxciii |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 11 August 1881 |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1882 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Citation | 45 & 46 Vict. c. cclxi |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 18 August 1882 |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
The Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway was authorised by two acts of Parliament, the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. cxciii) of 11 August 1881 and the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. cclxi) of 18 August 1882, the first authorising the line as far as Birkdale and the second the remaining section to Southport Lord Street. [1] It was promoted by the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) and was a natural extension of their North Liverpool Extension Line to Southport. [2] [3]
Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1885 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Long title | An Act to empower the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Company to raise further Money; to confirm Agreements with reference to the working of their Railway by the Cheshire Lines Committee; and for other purposes. |
Citation | 48 & 49 Vict. c. liii |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 25 June 1885 |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1889 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Citation | 52 & 53 Vict. c. lxx |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 9 July 1889 |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1892 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Long title | An Act to confer further powers on the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Company and for other purposes. |
Citation | 55 & 56 Vict. c. xcv |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 20 June 1892 |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
The 14 miles 3 chains (22.6 km) line was built as a double track railway opening on 1 September 1884. The line was worked by the CLC under arrangements made in its acts of Parliament, these acts were ratified and amended by the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. lxx) to allow working with other companies. [4]
The railway remained independent until nationalisation in 1948. [4]
Passenger services ended 7 January 1952 and goods six months later. [4] The line remained in intermittent use from Aintree to Altcar and Hillhouse to provide access to private sidings until May 1960, when the line was finally lifted.
The trackbed forms part of National Cycle Network Route 62, the Trans Pennine Trail. From Woodvale northwards the trail is joined by the Southport Coastal Road.
In January 2019, the Campaign for Better Transport released a report identifying the line which was listed as Priority 2 for reopening. Priority 2 is for those lines which require further development or a change in circumstances (such as housing developments). [5]
The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, the urban districts of Formby and Litherland, and part of West Lancashire Rural District. It consists of a coastal strip of land on the Irish Sea which extends from Southport in the north to Bootle in the south, and an inland part to Maghull in the south-east, bounded by the city of Liverpool to the south, the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley to the south-east, and West Lancashire to the east.
Maghull is a town and civil parish in Sefton, Merseyside, England. The town is north of Liverpool and west of Kirkby. The town is also the location of Ashworth Hospital.
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsby. It pursued a policy of expanding its area of influence, especially in reaching west to Liverpool, which it ultimately did through the medium of the Cheshire Lines Committee network in joint partnership with the Great Northern Railway and the Midland Railway.
The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated 143 miles (230 km) of track in the then counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. The railway did not become part of the Big Four during the implementation of the 1923 grouping, surviving independently with its own management until the railways were nationalised at the beginning of 1948. The railway served Liverpool, Manchester, Stockport, Warrington, Widnes, Northwich, Winsford, Knutsford, Chester and Southport with connections to many other railways.
Ainsdale is a village near Southport, in the Sefton district, in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the historic county of Lancashire, at the 2001 Census it had a population of 12,723. By the time of the 2011 census, only figures for Ainsdale (ward) were available.
Great Altcar is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, England, close to Formby on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The population as taken at the 2011 census was 213. The name Altcar is Norse meaning "marsh by the Alt". The church of St Michael and All Angels is a timber framed structure dating from 1879.
The Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway was formed in 1884, and totaled 7 miles. In 1897 it became part of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, and on 1 May 1901, its northern terminus switched from Southport Central to Southport Chapel Street.
The North Liverpool Extension Line was a railway line in Liverpool, England in operation between 1879 and 1972. It was at one stage intended to become the eastern section of the Merseyrail Outer Loop, an orbital line circling the city.
Southport Lord Street was a railway station located on Lord Street, Southport, Merseyside, England. It was the terminus of the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway from Liverpool.
Birkdale Palace railway station was located in Birkdale, Lancashire, England. The station was opened by the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway in 1884 and closed in 1952.
Ainsdale Beach was a railway station located in Ainsdale, Merseyside, England.
Woodvale railway station was a railway station located in Woodvale, Merseyside, England.
Altcar and Hillhouse was a railway station located on the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway near Great Altcar, Lancashire, England.
Lydiate railway station was a station located on the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway off Carr Lane, just outside Lydiate. The Merseyside and Lancashire border runs down the stream alongside Altcar Lane, which runs parallel to the line.
Sefton and Maghull railway station was a station located on the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway on Sefton Lane, Maghull, Merseyside, England.
Aintree Central railway station was a station located on the North Liverpool Extension Line on Park Lane, Aintree, Merseyside, across Park Lane from the current Aintree station.
Southport Central was a railway station in Southport, Lancashire, England.
Broadheath (Altrincham) railway station served Broadheath and the northern part of Altrincham in Cheshire, England, between its opening in 1853 and closure in 1962.